Clamp Arthur Image 2 Notts County 1910

Description

Sneinton, Nottingham born centre half Arthur Clamp began his football career with Sneinton before joining First Division club Notts County, for whom he made his Football League debut at Bolton Wanderers towards the end of December 1906. During his first season he scored the first of three career goals in a win over Woolwich Arsenal in April 1907. Clamp soon established himself as a mainstay in Notts County’s first eleven and in the five seasons between 1908-09 and 1912-13 he missed only three fixtures and was ever present in three of them. After The Magpies’ relegation in 1913 he helped the club to win the Second Division Championship at the first time of asking in 1914, He made his last appearance of 289 for Notts County against Chelsea at the end of April 1915 before the onset of the First World War forced the suspension of peacetime football at the season end.

In April 1918, during the final year of the War, Clamp was called up to serve as a private in the British Army. After a period with The Sherwood Foresters, he was transferred to the 7th Battalion, Queen’s Royal Regiment (West Surrey) after his arrival in France. Within three days of his arrival in the trenches, he was seriously wounded at Trônes Wood during the Second Battle of the Somme. Clamp was evacuated to Britain, where he died aged 34 in Stoke-on-Trent Military Hospital on 19th September 1918. He was buried with military honours in Church Cemetery, Nottingham. He was the only current Notts County footballer identified as being killed in the War although former Magpies Andrew Mosley and Jimmy Chalmers were also killed.

Extract from the ‘Nottingham Evening Post’, dated 20th September 1918. NOTTS. FOOTBALLER’S DEATH. “ARTHUR CLAMP SUCCUMBS TO WOUNDS IN HOSPITAL. “A week or two ago it was reported that the condition of Private Arthur Clamp, the Notts. F.C. centre-half, who was lying seriously wounded in a hospital in England, gave cause for grave anxiety, and to-day [20th September 1918] it is announced that his death took place from wounds on September 19th. His home at Sedgeley Avenue, Sneinton-dale, and leaves a widow and children. “Joining the forces last April Clamp only went overseas a few weeks ago and had been the in the front-line trenches three days when he received severe wounds. He was brought over to “Blighty” and died as the result of his hurts in an English hospital. “Clamp, from 1906 to 1914-15 season was one the best defenders Notts. had. A sturdy centre-half, he possessed remarkable stamina and above all excelled as a breaker-up of combination. No game was too long for him, and no opposition too hard for him to tackle. “He joined Notts. from Sneinton F.C., jumping straight from junior to first-class football. He made his debut at centre-half in the cup-tie against Port Vale at Cobridge, on Feburary 21st, 1907.” Above extract is courtesy of Jim Grundy and Facebook page Small Town Great War Hucknall 1914-1918. The newspaper report suggests that a week or two prior they had reported his wounding, suggesting this was around 6th/7th Sept. although the article has not been found in the Evening Post. The closest action to this in the War Diary where casualties were reported occurred on 27th August 1918 when ‘D’ Company acting with 10th Battalion Essex Regiment attacked the eastern end of Trones Wood ‘from light railway to South extremity’ suffering casualties of one officer and eighty nine O.R Prior to this, the nearest action occurred on 23rd August 1918 when the Battalion attacked from map co-ordinates V.27.c. to D.3.b near Warloy ‘with tanks and barrage’ and ‘Objectives gained and consolidated’. The following day, two companies attacked again and ‘Objectives gained and consolidated’. Casualties over the two days amounted to eight officers and one hundred and forty two O.R