Arthur Attwood

Arthur Albert Attwood was born on 1 December 1901 in Walsall, Staffordshire. The 1921 Census finds him serving as a private in the 2nd Battalion, King's Shropshire Light Infantry, then based at Curragh Camp in Ireland. He went on to spend several years with the British Army of the Rhine, during which he played representative football for Army teams. Towards the end of his military service he was occasionally able to play football for Walsall LMS, and in September 1928, after he left the Army, he turned professional with Football League Third Division South club Walsall. A switch from outside right to centre forward in late October brought Attwood nine goals in two matches, six against Bilston in the Birmingham League and three against Birmingham in the Staffordshire Senior Cup, and a place in the first team. He made his Football League debut on 3 November 1928 at home to Brentford, scored, and by his 14th league match, on 23 February 1929 against Queens Park Rangers, he had 13 goals. Straight after that match, Attwood signed for First Division club Everton for a fee widely described as substantial, believed by the Birmingham Gazette's Nimrod to be "in the region of £2,000", and recorded in the buying club's minutes as £1,500. He made a good impression on debut for Everton's reserves a few days later on a hard and snowy pitch, scoring from a move that he himself had started, but his first-team debut was less successful. Brought into the side with Dixie Dean on international…