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| Wattie Aitkenhead |
 Walter Allison Campbell Aitkenhead was born on Saturday, 21st May, 1887, in Possilpark, Glasgow. The 5' 9 (11st 8lbs) forward first appeared as a guest for Thistle in May, 1906, having most recently been with Maryhill. Aged 18, he made his debut appearance on Saturday, 12th May, 1906, in a 2-0 win away to Clyde in the Glasgow League. That day, Wattie became a member of our scoring debutant's club with his only goal for Thistle. He played his last game for the club on Saturday, 1st September, 1906, in a 3-1 defeat away to Kilmarnock in the SFL First Division, having appeared as a Jag on 6 occasions. His club-list included Maryhill, Partick Thistle, Blackburn Rovers and Preston North End. Wattie died on Tuesday, 19th July, 1966, in Cheadle, Cheshire, aged 79. |
| Wattie Aitkenhead's Summary Totals |
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| League | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Competitive | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| All Games | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
 Wattie Aitkenhead was a guest forward who played 6 matches for the Jags in 1906.The former Maryhill FC player’s first match was a Glasgow League tie away to Clyde, with Wattie scoring the 2nd goal in the 2nd half to give Thistle victory in front of a crowd of 800 at Shawfield. The following season the Jags played in the SFL 1st Division, with Wattie appearing in 4 fixtures. Sandwiched in the middle of these league matches was a 2-2 friendly against Renton away at Tontine Park. Wattie moved to Blackburn Rovers in September 1906. He was part of the Rovers team that won English Football League 1st Division titles in 1912 and 1914. He played for Rovers from 1906 to 1918 making around 210 1st team appearances. In March 1912 Wattie was awarded a Scotland international cap when he played against Ireland, with him scoring 2 goals in 23 minutes. Scotland won 4-1. This was his only international cap. When Walter was transferred to Blackburn Rovers in 1906 the club chairman found him a job as a clerk in the mill he owned as part of the deal. He subsequently married the chairman’s daughter, Ethel, and rose to be the mill manager. Wattie served during World War 1 in 9th (Reserve) Battery Royal Field Artillery. During wartime service he played several matches for Preston North End as a guest player. He retired as a player at the end of the war, as he didn’t fully recover from his wartime experiences. After the war Wattie went back to Blackburn, and continued working in the cloth mill owned by his father-in-law, the Blackburn chairman, Mr. Cotton! He was left £13,000 (roughly £450,000 today) in his father-in-law’s will. A tidy sum. He served as manager for some considerable time, and passed away in July 1966 aged 79. On account of his service during WWI, Wattie is included in our feature piece, The Partick Thistle returned →. |
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