Charles Francis Tyson (Spring 1885 – 31 October 1964) was an English

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played at

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

in the Southern League and for

Dulwich Hamlet Dulwich Hamlet Football Club is a semi-professional football club based in East Dulwich in south-east London, England. They are currently members of and play at Champion Hill. History The club was formed in 1893, by Lorraine 'Pa' Wilson. T ...

. He made one appearance for the England amateur side. By profession, he was a

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...

, spending most of his career at

Alleyn's School Alleyn's School is a 4–18 Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Independent school (United Kingdom), independent, Church of England, day school and sixth form in Dulwich, London, England. It is a registered charity and was originally part of Ed ...

situated in

Dulwich Dulwich (; ) is an area in south London, England. The settlement is mostly in the London Borough of Southwark, with parts in the London Borough of Lambeth, and consists of Dulwich Village, East Dulwich, West Dulwich, and the Southwark half of ...

, south London

Football career

Dulwich Hamlet

Tyson joined

in October 1908, having previously played for the

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

reserve team. His first appearance was on 5 November, against

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

in a London Challenge Cup match which was lost 6–0. In the next match, two days later, Tyson scored in a 5–0 victory against Woodford. A contemporary report said of Tyson: "His personality is such as to inspire confidence in the team". In March 1909, Tyson helped "Hamlet" to a 1–0 victory over Metrogas in the final of the

Surrey Senior Cup The Surrey Senior Cup is the senior Saturday cup competition of the Surrey FA. It is currently competed for by teams playing in the top nine levels of the English football league system who are affiliated to the Surrey FA. The competition was i ...

. The following year, Hamlet again won the trophy after a replay, against

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, with Tyson being described as "the best man on the field". In 1911, Hamlet and

Nunhead Nunhead is a suburb in the London Borough of Southwark in London, England.Southwark Council Nunhead and Peckham Rye Community Council It is an inner-city suburb located southeast of Charing Cross. It is the location of the Nunhead Cemetery.BBC ...

shared the

London Charity Cup The London Charity Cup was one of the London Football Association's cup competitions. History The London FA previously ran three senior cup competitions, the London Challenge Cup, the London Senior Cup (known also as the London Senior Amateur ...

after two drawn matches. In Tyson's last active season with Dulwich Hamlet, the club were losing finalists in both the London Charity Cup and the Surrey Senior Cup.

Southampton

Although still registered with Dulwich Hamlet, Tyson joined Southern League club

in May 1911, retaining his amateur status. He made his first-team debut for the "Saints" when he was called into the side to replace

Bert Lee William Herbert Lee (11 June 1880 – 23 January 1946) was an English songwriter. He wrote for music hall and the musical stage, often in partnership with R. P. Weston. Life and career Lee was born in Ravensthorpe, Yorkshire, England.Richard A ...

, the club captain and regular centre-half who had refused to play out of position, in a

derby match A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees. The intensity of the rivalry can range anywhere from a light hearted banter to serious violen ...

against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

on 28 September 1912. In October, Tyson had a run of eleven matches in the absence of Arthur Coates, before being replaced by Ted Salway, followed by a few matches at the end of the season. Tyson made a total of 14 league appearances plus two in the F.A. Cup in his "Saints" career. Southampton's club historian, Duncan Holley, described Tyson as being "more robust than the average amateur, he was most useful in close quarter tussles and could be trusted to keep a tight grip on opposing forwards".

International career

Tyson was a non-playing reserve for the England amateur side for the match against Belgium at Crystal Palace on 4 March 1911. Three weeks later, on 23 March, he made his only international appearance, in a 3–1 victory against France in Paris, becoming Dulwich Hamlet's first amateur international player. He also toured Scandinavia and Russia with the English Wanderers, playing three matches in Moscow, and represented Surrey County F.A. and London F.A.

Teaching career

Tyson joined the staff at

in 1911, where he taught French and was in charge of football. At the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Tyson established a Cadet Corp. at the school, before enlisting in the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...

, reaching the rank of Captain and becoming

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

with 105th Field Ambulance Corp. He was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

and awarded the

Belgian Croix de guerre The ''Croix de guerre'' ( French) or ''Oorlogskruis'' (Dutch), both literally translating as "Cross of War", is a military decoration of the Kingdom of Belgium established by royal decree on 25 October 1915. It was primarily awarded for bravery ...

in December 1918. The citation reads:

Il est particulièrement distingué par son courage et son devouement au cours de l'offensive des Flanders.
(He is particularly distinguished for his courage and dedication during the Flanders offensive.)

In 1921, Alleyn's School honoured Tyson by naming Tyson's House after him. At the school,

he taught (French) with great patience and precision. He was a big man but very gentle in his ways. He always had a smile and time to talk, even to the smallest boy in his House. He hardly ever punished anybody. No one thought of taking a liberty with him, he was too much of a gentleman.

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he established the South London Emergency Secondary School which was based within the Alleyn's school buildings, going on to become the school's headteacher. After the war, he continued as housemaster until his retirement in 1947.

Death

Tyson died at Harestone Nursing Home,

Caterham Caterham () is a town in the Tandridge District of Surrey, England. The town is administratively divided into two: Caterham on the Hill, and Caterham Valley, which includes the main town centre in the middle of a dry valley but rises to equal ...

, Surrey on 31 October 1964, a few months before his 80th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tyson, Charles 1885 births Footballers from Liverpool 1964 deaths English footballers Association football defenders Southampton F.C. players Dulwich Hamlet F.C. players Southern Football League players England amateur international footballers Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Royal Army Medical Corps officers Schoolteachers from Merseyside British Army personnel of World War I