Percy Thesiger
Percy Thesiger
A. Player

born in England

Percy Blackland Stuart Thesiger was born sometime in 1869, in England. *

The goalkeeper appeared for Thistle in June, 1894, having most recently been with Chatham Town.

Aged 24 or 25, he made his only known appearance on Wednesday, 13th June, 1894, in a 5-4 defeat at home to Govan Select in a benefit match.

His club-list included Maidstone United, Chatham Town and Partick Thistle.

Percy died on Saturday, 23rd January, 1926, in the Gorbals, Glasgow, aged 57.

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Bio Extra

The first traces of this goalkeeper that I've been able to find are from the 1892-93 season when he kept goal for Maidstone. Most of his reported appearances are for the reserve team - the regular first team goalkeeper, E. J. Waterman was the club captain and seems to have been something of a local football celebrity - but Thesiger did make at least one first team appearance, against Guy's Hospital in December. No match records of him have been found in the 1893-94 season, but presumably he was a reserve for Chatham Town for whom T. Jones kept goal in all their FA Cup and Amateur Cup ties during that campaign. By the summer of 1894 he was to be found in Glasgow. The Scottish Referee (15th June) reported that “the Partick Thistle had a new goalkeeper in the person of P. Thesinger [sic], late of Chatham.”

His move to Scotland was permanent, perhaps for work. Other than his single outing for Thistle, I haven't found any record of him playing football, but a P. Thesiger was appearing regularly for Ferguslie Cricket Club in 1895. Then on 17th June 1896, Percy Blackland Stuart Thesiger marries local woman Margaret Hamilton at Castlehead, Paisley (which is very close to Ferguslie CC's Meikleriggs ground). Both are aged 28 and Percy is a frame conductor (?) living at 802 Govan Road, Govan. He seems to have hung up his gloves / bat after getting married, although a P. Thesiger did umpire a couple of Western Union cricket matches in 1905.

Percy appears in the 1901 and 1911 censuses living at Margaret Street, just off Eglinton Street in Laurieston. In 1901 he is at number 7, age 32, with Margaret, their young son Percy junior and two boarders, Robert and James Hamilton - Margaret's brothers. By 1911 they have moved to number 6 - Percy is 42 and they now have three children, Percy junior, Robert and Janet, while Robert Hamilton is still boarding with them. In both years, Percy gives his occupation as mercantile clerk. He died in Glasgow on 23rd January 1926 and is buried in Hawkhead Cemetery, Paisley, along with Margaret and several of her family.

Frustratingly, it hasn't been possible to find any trace of Percy prior to his appearances for Maidstone. He lists his birthplace in the above censuses as nothing more specific than 'England'. His marriage record gives his parents names as Russell Thesiger and Sarah (nÊe Toft), but I can't find their birth or marriage records, nor any mention of the family in censuses up to 1891.

(AML)



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