Tadman George Image 3 Charlton Athletic 1938

Description

Rainham, Kent born winger George Tadman began his football career with Rainham in 1931 and spent 1932-33 on the books of Gillingham without making a first team appearance. He joined Division Three (South) Bristol Rovers the following season making his Football League debut against Newport County in April 1934 and scored twice in 6 appearances before re-joining Gillingham in June 1935.

He scored 19 goals in 44 appearances in his single season at Priestfield and was the club’s leading goalscorer, attracting the attention of First Division Charlton Athletic, who signed Tadman in July 1936. In his first top flight season he was the club’s top scorer with 11 goals as Charlton finished League runners up. In the summer of 1937 Charlton Athletic toured Canada and the United States. Tadman scored 12 goals on the tour, including 7 against Saskatchewan All-Stars on 17th June 1937.

He followed his debut season for The Addicks by scoring 15 goals in 1937-38, again the club’s leading goalscorer, as Charlton achieved a 4th place League finish. In 1938-39, as Charlton finished third in the League, Tadman again top scored with 24 goals, including 4 in a 7-1 thrashing of Manchester United in February 1939 and a hat-trick in a 3-1 win against Blackpool the next month. However the Second World War then forced the abandonment of peacetime football in September 1939 by when Tadman had scored 52 goals in 96 appearances for Charlton. Had peacetime football continued he would surely have come into the England selectors’ sights but like many players he lost the best of his career to the War.

Tadman guested during the War years for Aberaman Athletic, where he scored 4 goals in 1944-45, and Bath City, where he scored 6 in the same season, as well as Swansea Town, Bristol City and Ipswich Town, where he made one appearance in 1945-46. He ended his career with a move to non league Cheltenham Town in 1946, retiring some time thereafter.

His younger brother Maurice Tadman played for Charlton Athletic and Plymouth Argyle immediately after the Second World War.

NB In the photograph taken at The Valley on 22nd January 1938, in an FA Cup tie between Charlton Athletic and Leeds United, Tadman scores watched by Leeds’ full back Bert Sproston. Tadman scored twice in a 2-1 victory in front of a crowd of 50,516.