George Hilsdon	Chelsea FC 8 appearances, 14 goals 2 penalties P 8 W 7 D 1 L 0 F 33: A 4 94% successful 1907-09 captain: none minutes played: 720
Timeline
	Lance Corporal George Hilsdon
	There is no evidence in Hilsdon's registrations that he was given the middle name of Richard. His Birth registration excludes it, as does his marriage and death registrations. None of his census entries confirm a middle name either.
Birth	10 August 1885 in Donald Street, Bromley-by-Bow, Middlesex [registered as George Hilsdon in Poplar, September 1885]. notes: Bromley was part of the Middlesex County Registration until 1889; Attended Marner Street School and Plashet Lane School from 1897.
	According to the 1891 census, George is the sixth of seven children to James Irving and Mary (née Cocklin). They live in 19 Lingen Street in Bromley. His father is a general labourer.
	According to the 1901 census, George is now an office boy, and he remains at home with his parents with five of his siblings. They now live at 11 Abbotts Road in East Ham. His father is now a scaffolder.
Marriage	to Katherine Ethel Kelly [registered in West Ham, Essex, December 1906]. They apparently lived on the Fulham Palace Road.
	According to the 1911 census, the twenty five year old George is a professional footballer married to Katherine. They have two children, George (b.25 April 1907) and Katherine. They also have one servant and they live at 34 Lansdown Road in Forest Gate.
	According to the 1921 census, George, a billiard marker at the White Hart Hotel, is still married, and with their two children, they live at 21 Westbury Road in West Ham.
"George Hilsdon, said to be an international footballer, of Westbury Road, Forest Gate, was fined £10 at West Ham for frequenting Ferndale Road, Forest Gate, for the purposes of betting." - The Essex Chronicle, Friday, 22 September 1922
	Cannot be found on the 1939 register.
Death	10 September 1941, aged 56 years 31 days [registered as George Hilsdon in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire, September 1941]. Only his son, George, his daughter, Katherine and her husband, Christopher McNeil, and their child, Terence, attended his funeral that was paid for by the Football Association.
Source	Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] &
Playing Career
Club(s)	captained his school side and then played centre-half for East Ham Boys FC and played for South-West Ham FC. Hilsdon was spotted playing for Boleyn Castle FC by Syd King and subsequently joined West Ham United FC in November 1904. After suffering injuries achieving just sixteen league appearances and seven goals, Chelsea signed Hilsdon in June 1906 on a free transfer. He went on to score 99 goals (five of them on his debut) in 150 league outings before he returned to West Ham United FC on 7 June 1912, again on a free transfer, to make another 69 league appearances and to score another 24 goals. Guested for Heart of Midlothian FC during the war, as well as representing The Army. Assisted Chatham Town FC in 1919, but his damaged lungs would not allow him to surpass six matches, despite scoring fourteen. He retired soon after.
Club honours	Football League Division Two runners-up 1906-07, 1911-12;
Individual honours	Football League (two appearances)
Distinctions	His son, George was a television actor, playing Hazell's father in BBC's Hazell, amongst other roles.
Height/Weight	5' 8½", 12st. 2lbs [1911].
Source	Douglas Lammings' An English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990].
England Career
Player number	One of five who became 321st players (325) to appear for England
Position(s)	Centre-forward
First match	No. 89, 16 February 1907, England 1 Ireland 0, a British Championship match at Goodison Park, Walton, Liverpool, aged 21 years 190 days.
Last match	No. 99, 13 February 1909, England 4 Ireland 0, a British Championship match at Horton Park Avenue, Horton Park, Bradford, aged 23 years 187 days.
Major tournaments	British Championship 1906-07, 1907-08, 1908-09;
Team honours	British Championship shared 1907-08, winners 1908-09;
Individual honours	England's Top Goascorer (twelve, 1909) a new record
Distinctions	Died sixteen days after Jimmy Ward
Beyond England
Hilsdon was part of the East Surrey Regiment and during WW1, he was badly gassed at Arras in June 1917. He had theatrical connections and in 1924 he joined Fred Karno's Troup, a popular vaudeville act. One method of publicising the company was to arrange a charity football match between the cast of the show and some local organization. - An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who. Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.129/30.

George Hilsdon - Match History
Club: Chelsea F.C. - 8 full appearances F.A. International Select Committee - 8 full capsx
Age 25
1	89	16 February 1907 - England 1 Ireland 0, Goodison Park, Liverpool	BC	HW	Start	ir
Age 26
2	92	15 February 1908 - Ireland 1 England 3, Solitude Ground, Belfast	BC	AW	Start 7, 83	ir
3	93	16 March 1908 - Wales 1 England 7, Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff		AW	Start 40, 63	ir
4	94	4 April 1908 - Scotland 1 England 1, Hampden Park, Glasgow		AD	Start	ir
5	95	6 June 1908 - Austria 1 England 6, Cricketer Platz, Wien	tour	AW	Start 57, 70	ir
-	96	8 June 1908 - Austria 1 England 11, Hohe Warte Stadion, Wien		AW	reserve
6	97	10 June 1908 - Hungary 0 England 7, Millenáris Sportpálya, Buda-Pesth		AW	Start 28,48,71,88	ir
7	98	13 June 1908 - Bohemia 0 England 4, Stadión Letná, Praha		AW	Start 24, 50	ir
Age 27
8	99	13 February 1909 - England 4 Ireland 0, Horton Park Avenue, Bradford	BC	HW	Start 50, 87	ir

Notes

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