Traverse George

A native of Newtown, Birmingham , Traverse began playing football at the local clubs, Bilton United and Rowley United. In 1906 he moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers . He did not hold official matches for the “wolves”, and a year later he moved to the Birmingham club. He played for Birmingham for 18 months, but in the main squad he played only 2 matches. In November 1908, he moved to the neighboring Birmingham club Aston Villa in exchange for . He made his debut for the club in December 1908, making a hat-trick in that match. In total, he played 4 matches for Villa and scored 4 goals in the championship; in May 1909 he was sold to the Queens Park Rangers club in London ^[3] .

He played 34 games at Queens Park Rangers and scored 7 goals in the Southern League ^[4] . Then he moved to the Leicester Foss club, for which he spent 12 matches and scored 5 goals in the 1910/11 season. In January 1911 he became a player in the Barnsley Second Division club ^[5] . Traverse

In the 1911/12 season, Traverse helped Barnsley make it to the Cup final , in which his team played against West Bromwich Albion . The match at Crystal Palace Stadium ended in a 0-0 draw. In the replay that took place at the Bramall Lane Stadium, Barnsley won thanks to a single goal scored in extra time ^[6] . In a Manchester Guardian 's newspaper report, a reporter praised Traverse for his “shots on target." ^[7]

In February 1914, Traverse moved to Manchester United ^[8] . He made his debut for the club on February 7, 1914 in a match against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane ^[9] . On March 5 of that year, he scored his first goal for United in a match against Preston North End at Deepdale ^[10] . In total, in the 1913/14 season he spent 13 matches for the team and scored 4 goals. The following season he played 8 matches, but after the outbreak of war he joined the ranks of the British Army and left the club’s location. In total, he spent 21 matches for Manchester United and scored 4 goals ^[11] . During the war he played for Tottenham Hotspur as a guest in military tournaments ^[12] .

Private service Traverse (number M2 / 120111) was in the rear support service ( English Royal Army Service Corps ) - first in Preston, then in London. In February 1917 he sailed to France - first to Le Havre, then to Marseille. On March 10, 1917, on board the SS Megantic ship sailed from Marseille to Thessaloniki, seven days later reached its destination, where he joined the 4th warehouse depot of the logistics service in Kalamaria. The remaining time until the end of the war served in Thessaloniki. March 29, 1919 left Greece, after which he was included in the reservists and demobilized ^[12] .

After the war he was released from Manchester United and became a player in the Swindon Town club in 1919. He played 34 matches for the club and scored 14 goals in the 1919/20 season in the Southern League, becoming the club's top scorer that season ^[13] . In June 1920, he became a player in the London club Millwall , who played in the Third Northern Division of the Football League , but spent only 2 matches for the team. During the season he moved to Norwich City , having played 29 matches for the Canaries and scoring 14 goals in the 1920/21 season. In the 1921/22 season, he played for Gillingham (10 matches and 1 goal). Then he played for the lower league clubs Nuneaton Town , and Bilston United. In May 1931 he hung boots on a nail at the age of 42 years ^[5] .

He died in Smetik , Staffordshire , on August 31, 1946 at the age of 57.

• Article on Football and the First World War
• Profile at Aston Villa Player Database
• Profile at MUFCInfo (English)