Brentford

1944–45 season
Chairman	Frank Davis
Manager	Harry Curtis
Stadium	Griffin Park
Football League South	3rd
Football League South War Cup	Group stage
Top goalscorer	League:Townsend (24) All: Townsend (31)
Highest home attendance	23,207
Lowest home attendance	4,390
Average home league attendance	25,768
Home colours
← 1943–44 1945–46 →

During the1944–45 English football season,Brentford competed in theFootball League South, due to the cessation of competitive football for the duration of theSecond World War. The Bees finished in a wartime-high of 3rd-place, scoring 100 goals in both the league andFootball League War Cup, withforwardsLen Townsend andBob Thomas accounting for over half the team's total.

The familiar pattern of player unavailability prevailed asBrentford entered the 1944–45Football League South season, with 60 players eventually being used over the course of the league, cup andfriendly matches during the campaign.^[1] A number of the club's amateur players were pressed into service during the regular season, as were 30 guests, many of whom made three appearances or less.^[2]

Aided by prolific scoring fromforwardsLen Townsend andBob Thomas, Brentford rocketed along in the first half of the season, losing just four of 22 matches and posting big wins by margins of four, five and six goals.^[2] The Bees' form evaporated when theFootball League War Cup campaign got underway in February 1945, losing four of six matches to crash out in the group stage.^[2] Brentford lost four of the remaining six league matches of the season, with the final match away toWatford (which had been postponed in January 1945) taking place afterVE Day, which marked the end of theSecond World War inEurope.^[2]

Two former Brentford players died during the season:

• PrivateRalph Shields died as aprisoner of war inSandakan Prisoner of War Camp,North Borneo on 21 November 1944.^[3][4][5] He had been serving in theAustralian Army Service Corps and played for Brentford during the1921–22 season.^[3]
• Sub-lieutenant Stan Cousins was killed when "his aircraft flew into abarrage balloon cable and lost awing" during aglide bomb attack on theSoengi Gerong oil refinery,Sumatra on 29 January 1945.^[6] Formerly an employee ofGlyn, Mills & Co, he had joined theRoyal Naval Volunteer Reserve and was serving onHMS Illustrious when he was killed.^[6] Cousins made a singleFootball League War Cup appearance during the1940–41 season.^[7]

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

• Source:100 Years Of Brentford^[2]

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1944–45 season.

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Reg Saunders		(1920-07-29)29 July 1920 (aged 24)	Uxbridge Town	1944	Amateur
Defenders
DF	Buster Brown		(1910-09-06)6 September 1910 (aged 33)	Huddersfield Town	1937
DF	Bill Gorman		(1911-01-13)13 January 1911 (aged 33)	Bury	1938
DF	George Poyser		(1910-02-06)6 February 1910 (aged 34)	Port Vale	1934
Midfielders
HB	Albert Ballard		August 1923 (aged 20–21)	Youth	1944
HB	Ted Ballard		(1920-06-16)16 June 1920 (aged 24)	Hayes	1943	Amateur
HB	Albert Hammond		(1924-02-05)5 February 1924 (aged 20)	Queens Park Rangers	1944	Amateur
HB	Tom Manley		(1912-10-07)7 October 1912 (aged 31)	Manchester United	1939
HB	Ernest Muttitt		(1908-07-24)24 July 1908 (aged 36)	Middlesbrough	1932	Guest forChelsea
HB	Billy Scott		(1907-12-06)6 December 1907 (aged 36)	Middlesbrough	1932
Forwards
FW	Johnny Baynham		(1918-04-21)21 April 1918 (aged 26)	Youth	1939
FW	Les Boulter		(1913-08-31)31 August 1913 (aged 30)	Charlton Athletic	1939
FW	Cyril Brown		(1918-05-25)25 May 1918 (aged 26)	Felixstowe	1939
FW	Tommy Cheetham		(1910-10-11)11 October 1910 (aged 33)	Queens Park Rangers	1939	Guest forQueens Park Rangers andWest Ham United
FW	Idris Hopkins		(1910-10-11)11 October 1910 (aged 33)	Crystal Palace	1932	Guest forWest Ham United
FW	Peter Sheldon		April 1927 (aged 17)	Youth	1944
FW	Les Smith		(1918-03-13)13 March 1918 (aged 26)	Petersham	1934	Guest forChelsea
FW	Bob Thomas		(1919-08-02)2 August 1919 (aged 25)	Golders Green	1939	Guest forWest Ham United
FW	Len Townsend		(1917-08-31)31 August 1917 (aged 26)	Hayes	1937
Guest players
GK	Johnny Boyd		n/a	Unattached	1945	Amateur, guest
GK	Harry Brown		(1924-04-09)9 April 1924 (aged 20)	Queens Park Rangers	1944	Guest fromQueens Park Rangers
GK	John Jackson		(1906-11-29)29 November 1906 (aged 37)	Chelsea	1944	Guest fromChelsea
GK	John Jones		(1916-11-25)25 November 1916 (aged 27)	Northampton Town	1944	Guest fromNorthampton Town
DF	Arthur Banner		(1918-06-28)28 June 1918 (aged 26)	West Ham United	1945	Guest fromWest Ham United
DF	Ralph Cowan		n/a	Rangers	1944	Guest fromRangers
DF	Peter Croker		(1921-12-21)21 December 1921 (aged 22)	Charlton Athletic	1945	Guest fromCharlton Athletic
DF	Fred Dawes		(1911-05-02)2 May 1911 (aged 33)	Crystal Palace	1945	Guest fromCrystal Palace
DF	James Fullwood		(1911-02-17)17 February 1911 (aged 33)	Reading	1944	Guest fromReading
DF	Les Goldberg		(1918-01-03)3 January 1918 (aged 26)	Leeds United	1944	Guest fromLeeds United
DF	Dick Jales		(1922-04-03)3 April 1922 (aged 22)	Bradford City	1945	Guest fromBradford City
DF	Cliff Lloyd		(1916-11-14)14 November 1916 (aged 27)	Wrexham	1944	Guest fromWrexham
DF	Reg Mountford		(1908-07-16)16 July 1908 (aged 36)	Huddersfield Town	1945	Guest fromHuddersfield Town
HB	Sam Briddon		(1915-07-26)26 July 1915 (aged 29)	Swansea Town	1944	Guest fromSwansea Town
HB	Matt Busby		(1909-05-26)26 May 1909 (aged 35)	Liverpool	1944	Guest fromLiverpool
HB	Ernie Collett		(1914-11-17)17 November 1914 (aged 29)	Arsenal	1945	Guest fromArsenal
HB	Harold Hobbis		(1913-03-09)9 March 1913 (aged 31)	Charlton Athletic	1945	Guest fromCharlton Athletic
HB	Joe Jobling		(1906-07-29)29 July 1906 (aged 38)	Charlton Athletic	1945	Guest fromCharlton Athletic
HB	Duncan McKenzie		(1912-08-10)10 August 1912 (aged 32)	Middlesbrough	1945	Guest fromMiddlesbrough
HB	Jack Oakes		(1905-09-13)13 September 1905 (aged 38)	Charlton Athletic	1945	Guest fromCharlton Athletic
HB	Taffy O'Callaghan		(1906-10-06)6 October 1906 (aged 37)	Fulham	1945	Guest fromFulham
HB	Bobby Russell		(1919-12-27)27 December 1919 (aged 24)	Chelsea	1945	Guest fromChelsea
HB	Frank Soo		(1914-03-12)12 March 1914 (aged 30)	Stoke City	1944	Guest fromStoke City
HB	R. Tunnicliffe		n/a	Unattached	1945	Guest
HB	Bill F. Whittaker		(1911-04-18)18 April 1911 (aged 33)	Kingstonian	1945	Guest fromKingstonian
HB	Bill P. Whittaker		(1922-12-20)20 December 1922 (aged 21)	Charlton Athletic	1944	Guest fromCharlton Athletic
FW	Maurice Edelston		(1918-04-27)27 April 1918 (aged 26)	Reading	1944	Amateur, guest fromReading
FW	Douglas Hunt		(1914-05-19)19 May 1914 (aged 30)	Sheffield Wednesday	1944	Guest fromSheffield Wednesday
FW	Archie Livingstone		(1915-11-15)15 November 1915 (aged 28)	Bury	1945	Guest fromBury
FW	Bert Stephens		(1909-05-13)13 May 1909 (aged 35)	Brighton & Hove Albion	1945	Guest fromBrighton & Hove Albion
FW	Maurice Tadman		(1921-06-28)28 June 1921 (aged 23)	Charlton Athletic	1945	Guest fromCharlton Athletic
FW	Dave Thomas		(1917-07-06)6 July 1917 (aged 27)	Plymouth Argyle	1944	Guest fromPlymouth Argyle

• Sources: Timeless Bees,^[8] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939,^[9] 100 Years Of Brentford^[2]

Name	Role
Harry Curtis	Manager
Jimmy Bain	Assistant Manager
Bob Kane	Trainer
Jack Cartmell	Assistant Trainer

Pos	Nat	Name	League		FL War Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Reg Saunders	3	0	—		3	0
DF		Buster Brown	29	0	6	0	35	0
DF		Bill Gorman	2	0	4	0	6	0
DF		George Poyser	20	0	6	0	26	0
HB		Albert Ballard	1	0	—		1	0
HB		Ted Ballard	1	0	—		1	0
HB		Albert Hammond	1	0	—		1	0
HB		Tom Manley	13	1	—		13	1
HB		Ernest Muttitt	15	0	3	0	18	0
HB		Billy Scott	2	0	1	0	3	0
FW		Johnny Baynham	8	3	4	1	12	4
FW		Les Boulter	12	5	—		12	5
FW		Cyril Brown	2	2	2	0	4	2
FW		Tommy Cheetham	2	1	—		2	1
FW		Idris Hopkins	28	3	6	0	34	3
FW		Peter Sheldon	1	0	—		1	0
FW		Les Smith	20	7	1	0	21	7
FW		Bob Thomas	28	23	5	4	33	27
FW		Len Townsend	23	24	5	7	28	31
Players guested during the season
GK		Johnny Boyd	1	0	1	0	2	0
GK		Harry Brown	1	0	—		1	0
GK		John Jackson	16	0	2	0	18	0
GK		John Jones	9	0	3	0	12	0
DF		Arthur Banner	1	0	1	0	2	0
DF		Ralph Cowan	3	0	—		3	0
DF		Peter Croker	1	0	—		1	0
DF		Fred Dawes	—		1	0	1	0
DF		James Fullwood	1	0	—		1	0
DF		Les Goldberg	1	0	—		1	0
DF		Dick Jales	—		1	0	1	0
DF		Cliff Lloyd	2	0	—		2	0
DF		Reg Mountford	1	0	—		1	0
HB		Sam Briddon	5	0	—		5	0
HB		Matt Busby	1	0	—		1	0
HB		Ernie Collett	6	0	—		6	0
HB		Harold Hobbis	1	0	—		1	0
HB		Joe Jobling	1	0	—		1	0
HB		Duncan McKenzie	4	0	—		4	0
HB		Jack Oakes	2	0	—		2	0
HB		Taffy O'Callaghan	1	0	—		1	0
HB		Bobby Russell	1	0	—		1	0
HB		Frank Soo	9	2	1	0	10	2
HB		R. Tunnicliffe	1	0	—		1	0
HB		Bill F. Whittaker	1	0	—		1	0
HB		Bill P. Whittaker	18	0	4	0	24	0
FW		Maurice Edelston	1	0	—		1	0
FW		Douglas Hunt	21	12	5	1	26	13
FW		Archie Livingstone	1	0	—		1	0
FW		Bert Stephens	1	0	—		1	0
FW		Maurice Tadman	1	0	—		1	0
FW		Dave Thomas	6	5	4	0	10	5

• Players listed initalics left the club mid-season.
• Source:100 Years Of Brentford^[2]

Pos.	Nat	Player	FLS	FLC	Total
FW		Len Townsend	24	7	31
FW		Bob Thomas	23	4	27
FW		Douglas Hunt	12	1	13
FW		Les Smith	7	0	7
FW		Les Boulter	5	—	5
FW		Dave Thomas	5	0	5
FW		Johnny Baynham	3	1	4
FW		Idris Hopkins	3	0	3
FW		Cyril Brown	2	0	2
HB		Frank Soo	2	0	2
FW		Tommy Cheetham	1	—	1
HB		Tom Manley	1	—	1
Opponents			1	0	1
Total			87	13	100

• Players listed initalics left the club mid-season.
• Source:100 Years Of Brentford^[2]

Pos.	Nat	Player	Caps	Goals	Ref
FW		Les Smith	5	2	[10]

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League
				P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Harry Curtis		26 August 1944	19 May 1945	36	18	5	13	050.00	30	17	4	9	056.67

Guest players' arrival and departure dates correspond to their first and last appearances of the season.

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous club	Fee	Ref.
1944	HB	Albert Hammond	Queens Park Rangers	Amateur	[11]
Guest players in
Date from	Pos.	Name	Previous club	Date to	Ref.
26 August 1944	FW	Douglas Hunt	Sheffield Wednesday	28 April 1945	[2]
26 August 1944	HB	Frank Soo	Stoke City	10 February 1945	[2]
26 August 1944	HB	Bill P. Whittaker	Charlton Athletic	21 April 1945	[2]
2 September 1944	HB	Sam Briddon	Swansea Town	7 October 1944	[2]
16 September 1944	GK	John Jones	Northampton Town	17 February 1945	[2]
14 October 1944	GK	Harry Brown	Queens Park Rangers	14 October 1944	[2]
14 October 1944	DF	Cliff Lloyd	Wrexham	28 October 1944	[2]
21 October 1944	GK	John Jackson	Chelsea	End of season	[2]
23 December 1944	HB	Matt Busby	Liverpool	23 December 1944	[2]
23 December 1944	FW	Maurice Edelston	Reading	23 December 1944	[2]
23 December 1944	DF	James Fullwood	Reading	23 December 1944	[2]
23 December 1944	DF	Les Goldberg	Leeds United	23 December 1944	[2]
30 December 1944	DF	Ralph Cowan	Rangers	20 January 1945	[2]
13 January 1945	DF	Reg Mountford	Huddersfield Town	13 January 1945	[2]
17 February 1945	DF	Arthur Banner	West Ham United	24 March 1945	[2]
17 February 1945	FW	Dave Thomas	Plymouth Argyle	End of season	[2]
24 February 1945	DF	Fred Dawes	Crystal Palace	24 February 1945	[2]
10 March 1945	GK	Johnny Boyd	Unattached	28 April 1945	[2]
10 March 1945	DF	Dick Jales	Bradford City	10 March 1945	[2]
17 March 1945	DF	Peter Croker	Charlton Athletic	17 March 1945	[2]
17 March 1945	FW	Archie Livingstone	Bury	17 March 1945	[2]
17 March 1945	HB	Jack Oakes	Charlton Athletic	2 April 1945	[2]
24 March 1945	HB	Bobby Russell	Chelsea	24 March 1945	[2]
24 March 1945	HB	R. Tunnicliffe	Unattached	28 April 1945	[2]
31 March 1945	HB	Harold Hobbis	Charlton Athletic	31 March 1945	[2]
2 April 1945	HB	Duncan McKenzie	Middlesbrough	2 April 1945	[2]
14 April 1945	HB	Taffy O'Callaghan	Fulham	End of season	[2]
9 May 1945	HB	Joe Jobling	Charlton Athletic	End of season	[2]
9 May 1945	FW	Bert Stephens	Brighton & Hove Albion	End of season	[2]
9 May 1945	FW	Maurice Tadman	Charlton Athletic	End of season	[2]
9 May 1945	HB	Bill F. Whittaker	Kingstonian	End of season	[2]
Guest players out
Date from	Pos.	Name	To	Date to	Ref.
26 August 1944	FW	Bob Thomas	West Ham United	26 August 1944	[12]
7 October 1944	FW	Tommy Cheetham	Queens Park Rangers	17 March 1945	[13]
5 May 1945	FW	Idris Hopkins	West Ham United	5 May 1945	[14]
12 May 1945	FW	Tommy Cheetham	West Ham United	12 May 1945	[15]
n/a	DF	Jimmy Anderson	Hamilton Academical	n/a	[16]
n/a	FW	Fred Durrant	Blackburn Rovers	n/a	[17]
n/a	FW	Ernest Muttitt	Chelsea	n/a	[1]

• Brentford F.C. seasons
• English football clubs 1944–45 season

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