Larrett Roebuck Explained

Larrett Roebuck
Fullname:Larrett Roebuck[1]
Birth Date:27 January 1889
Birth Place:Jump, England
Death Place:near Beaucamps-Ligny, France
Height:5 ft 7 in[2]
Position:Left back
Years1:–1913
Clubs1:Silverwood Colliery
Years2:1913–1914
Clubs2:Huddersfield Town
Caps2:17
Goals2:0

Larrett Roebuck (27 January 1889 – 18 October 1914) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Huddersfield Town as a left back.[3] He was the first Football League player to be killed in the First World War.[4]

Personal life

As a boy, Roebuck worked as a trammer at Silverwood Colliery and after being sentenced to one month's imprisonment for stealing a watch in 1904, he enlisted in the territorial section of the York and Lancaster Regiment.[5] Over the next seven years, he was stationed in India and Ireland and was promoted to lance corporal, but was demoted back to private in 1910 for "misconduct". He married in 1908 and had four children. Roebuck was discharged into the reserves in 1912 and likely returned to work as a miner prior to becoming a professional footballer in 1913. After Britain's entry into the First World War in August 1914, he was mobilised by the York and Lancaster Regiment and arrived on the Western Front in September 1914. On 18 October 1914, Roebuck was recorded as "presumed dead" after an attack near Beaucamps-Ligny during the Race to the Sea. His death was confirmed by two comrades in January 1915. Roebuck is commemorated on the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing.

Career statistics

Club!rowspan="2"
SeasonLeagueFA CupTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Huddersfield Town1913–14[6] Second Division17020190
Career total17020190

See also

Notes and References

  1. Book: Joyce, Michael . Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939 . Tony Brown . 2012 . 978-1905891610 . Nottingham . 251.
  2. News: The coming of the big ball: the Second Division: Huddersfield Town . Athletic News . Manchester . 18 August 1913 . 5 . British Newspaper Archive . subscription.
  3. Book: Thomas . Ian . 99 Years & Counting – Stats & Stories – Huddersfield Town History . Hodgson . Alan . Ward . John . . 2007 . 978-0-9557281-0-5.
  4. Web site: 18 October 1914 Larrett Roebuck killed in action on this day . 13 November 2018 . The Western Front Association.
  5. Web site: 11 November 2011 . Tragedy of Huddersfield Town star Larrett Roebuck killed at Ypres . 4 December 2021 . YorkshireLive . en.
  6. Web site: Player Profile – Larrett Roebuck . 7 September 2020 . HTAFC Archive.