Reg Swinfen

Reginald Swinfen (4 May 1915 – October 1996) was an English footballer who played as a forward or full back in the Football League for Queens Park Rangers either side of the Second World War.

Reg Swinfen
Personal information
Full name Reginald Swinfen [1]
Date of birth (1915-05-04)4 May 1915[1]
Place of birth Battersea, England
Date of death October 1996 (1996-11) (aged 81)
Place of death Crawley, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Playing position(s) Outside right
Youth career
– Coventry City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
19??–1936 Civil Service
1936–1947 Queens Park Rangers 26 (5)
1947–1949 Yeovil Town (18)
1949–195? Tonbridge
– Crawley Town
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Life and career

Swinfen was born in Battersea, London, in 1915.[1] He worked as a postman,[3] and by 1933 was playing football for the Civil Service club.[4] From there he joined Queens Park Rangers (QPR) of the Third Division South, initially as an amateur centre forward with considerable pace.[1][3] He turned professional in March 1936,[1] and made his first-team debut the following September, playing at inside right in a 2–1 win at home to Clapton Orient. He first scored during his fifth of seven appearances that season; playing at centre forward, he contributed a hat-trick in a 7–0 defeat of Newport County[5] Swinfen played three first-team matches in 1937–38, all at right half,[6] before making 18 appearances at right back in the first half of the 1938–39 season.[7]

During the war, Swinfen served in the Royal Air Force[8] and in the British Army of the Rhine.[9] When available, he played wartime football for QPR.[10] He made his final appearance in the Football League playing at left back in a 2–0 defeat at home to Bristol Rovers.[11]

In June 1947, Swinfen became Yeovil Town's record signing, for a fee reported as "in the region of £500"; the Western Morning News described him as "well-known as an amateur sprinter."[2] He was the club's top scorer in the 1947–48 season, with 18 goals in Southern League competition,[12] and moved in to another Southern League club, Tonbridge, in January 1949.[13] He remained a Tonbridge player until at least 1951,[14] and went on to play for other non-league clubs including Crawley Town.[15]

Swinfen died in Crawley in October 1996 at the age of 81.[1]

References
  1. "Reg Swinfen". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  2. "Yeovil Town. Swinfen signed from Q.P. Rangers". Western Morning News. 4 June 1947. p. 5.
  3. The Clubman (22 February 1936). "'Postman's knock' means goals to this player!". Daily Mirror. London. p. 27. Not least among his qualifications is that he can do a hundred yards in just over evens.
  4. "Civil Service 5 R.A.F. (Henlow) 1". Biggleswade Chronicle. 22 December 1933. p. 6.
  5. Westerberg, Kenneth. "1936–37" (XLS). QPRnet.com. Ron Norris. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  6. Westerberg, Kenneth. "1937–38" (XLS). QPRnet.com. Ron Norris. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  7. Westerberg, Kenneth. "1938–39" (XLS). QPRnet.com. Ron Norris. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  8. "R's help local heroes". Queens Park Rangers F.C. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  9. Milne, Armour (17 November 1945). "Dynamo 'miners' get set for test no. 2". Daily Mirror. London. p. 4.
  10. Rollin, Jack (2005). Soccer at War 1939–45. London: Headline. pp. 396–97. ISBN 978-0-7553-1431-7.
  11. Westerberg, Kenneth. "1946–47" (XLS). QPRnet.com. Ron Norris. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  12. "Season 1947–48: First Team Goalscorers". Ciderspace. 7 January 2017. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  13. "Angels. There is promise of a revival". Kent & Sussex Courier. 14 January 1949. p. 6.
  14. "It was merry holiday for Angels". Kent & Sussex Courier. 29 December 1950. p. 6.
  15. Joyce, Michael (2004). Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939. Nottingham: SoccerData. p. 253. ISBN 978-1-899468-67-6.
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