| Jimmy Campbell |
 James Campbell was born on Monday, 25th November, 1918, in Bridgeton, Glasgow. The forward appeared as a guest for Donald Turner's Thistle in December, 1942. Aged 24, he made his only appearance on Saturday, 5th December, 1942, in a 4-1 defeat away to Dumbarton in the Southern League. There were no goals for Jimmy in his one-off appearance for Thistle. His club-list included St Mungo Juniors, Celtic, Airdrieonians, Aldershot, Folkestone Town, Clapton Orient, Chelsea, Partick Thistle, St Anthony's, Leicester City, Aston Villa, Walsall and Nuneaton Borough. Jimmy died on Wednesday, 12th January, 2011, in Glasgow, aged 92. |
 Bridegton-born Jimmy was following in a bit of a family tradition, his father having played professional football for Reading. Jimmy was a skilful winger who mainly played on the left side and, indeed, in his guest appearance for the Jags (5th December 1942) he played at inside left. 2,500 were at Boghead to see Dumbarton v. Thistle in the Southern League. First half missed chances cost Thistle on the day, but 4-1 flattered the home side. He started life as a dental mechanic, and joined Celtic on the cusp of World War 2. His registration was held by Celtic from 1938 to 1943, but there is no record of Jimmy having played first team football for the club. His Licentiate dental studies delayed his call up until 1940, with him joining the Royal Army Dental Corps. He played for the Dental Corps football team, plus a host of guest appearances with Aldershot, Folkestone Town, Clapton Orient and Chelsea, as well as Thistle. In 1942, he moved to the Army Physical Training Corps (APTC), becoming a sergeant instructor. He also acted as a trainer for the Special Operations Executive (SOE), where he was also a bodyguard to Hardy Aimes, the fashion designer who managed Belgian resistance networks and subsequently rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Executive. After the war, he moved to Leicester City while studying as a dental surgeon at the University of Birmingham. On graduating, he moved back to the West of Scotland, eventually purchasing his Glasgow dental practices in Bothwell Street and then Douglas Street. He became an Associate Specialist in the Glasgow Dental Hospital in 1975. As well as football, Jimmy always had an interest in athletics and was a Grade 1 Official, coaching running to Olympic standard. He was a coach at Maryhill Harriers and Maryhill Ladies Athletic Club. He also subsequently worked with Motherwell and St Johnstone FCs. On account of his service during WWII, Jimmy is included in our feature piece, The Partick Thistle Returned →. |
| (DMAC) |
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