Arthur Wileman

Arthur Wileman

Born in Newhall, Derbyshire in 1889, Arthur started with the local Swifts side before joining Gresley Rovers where he was top scorer and catching the eye of Football League outfit Burton United.

At Burton his efforts were not enough to save the club from re-election but his career took an upward turn when four years old Chelsea took him to Stamford Bridge in 1909. His stay at Chelsea lasted two seasons, where he managed five goals from 14 appearances, before he spent a year at Millwall.

Coming to Kenilworth Road in 1912, just as the Hatters had been relegated to Southern League Division Two, Arthur made a steady start before coming to the fore in 1913/14 when the Town won promotion back to Division One.

Forming part of a deadly strike force with Ernie Simms he scored 27 goals to Ernie’s 28 as the Town netted 92 times in only 30 games in a glorious season.

‘His brilliant drives from the inside-right position are not merely spectacular. They are deadly’ said the Luton News as the Town settled back to Southern League Division One football.

Arthur joined the 11th Battalion Royal Sussex Regiment rather than the Footballers Battalion, enlisting at the Kingsway recruiting office in London. He won the Military Medal (MM) for bravery in the field during the third battle of Ypres, better known as Passchendaele, in late 1917. On 28th April 1918, with war slowly coming to an end, Arthur’s unit was in the front line at Elzenwalle Chateau repulsing the German Spring Offensive when he was part of a reconnaissance patrol that was heavily shelled.

His body was never recovered and he is commemorated on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing in Belgium.