[Ska'dForLife-WBA]

In memory of Sergeant Reginald Stephen Anderson, RAF 106 Squadron, service number 1280773, forward for Dulwich Hamlet and Cardiff City.  Sergeant Anderson played for England at amateur level, scoring a hat-trick on his debut in 1938 in an 8-2 victory over Wales.  He joined the Royal Air Force Reserve during the war and was assigned to 106 Squadron.  On the night of 23rd February 1942, the Handley Page Hampden bomber on which Anderson served was one of twenty-three involved in minelaying over the Heligoland approaches, his fifth mission on active duty.  The Handley was downed over Heligoland Bight by flak from the anti-aircraft batteries of Wittun and Puan Klent, and all four crew members were killed when the plane crashed into dunes on the Danish island of Sylt at 6:12am.  He was 25.  His remains are buried in Kiel War Cemetery.

In memory of Private Matthew Armstrong, Royal Army Medical Corps, service number 7362023, wing-half for Darlington and Aston Villa.  Private Armstrong joined Villa as a teenager in 1939 and was described by the Daily Express as a promising young defender who looked to have "that certain soccer something", but the outbreak of war prevented him from making an appearance in the first team.  He was killed in North Africa on the 12th of July 1941 while serving in 149 Field Ambulance, aged 22.

In memory of Able Seaman Norman John Catlin, Royal Navy HMS Gloucester, service number D/JX 165644, outside-right for Arsenal and Southampton.  Catlin was a prolific goalscorer as a teenager and was capped by England Schoolboys.  His professional career proved short-lived due to a slight physical build, and he had effectively retired from football by 1937, taking a job as a clerk with the Cunard-White Star Company.  On the outbreak of war he enlisted in the Royal Navy, and was serving aboard HMS Gloucester during the German invasion of Crete when on the afternoon of 22nd May 1941, the Gloucester - perilously low on anti-aircraft ammunition - was attacked by approximately two hundred Junkers Ju-87 "Stuka" dive bombers in the Kythira Strait.  The captain of HMS Fiji, in the vicinity, described the sky above the Gloucester as "black with planes".  Struck numerous times, the cruiser began sinking at around 4.50pm and was gone within an hour.  Of the 807 men aboard, only 85 survived, and all were captured.  Norman Catlin was among those killed, aged 23.  "The Fighting G", as the ship was known, is commemorated by a stained-glass window in Gloucester Cathedral.

In memory of Private Albert Clarke, 12th (Airborne) Battalion Devonshire Regiment, service number 5626557, forward for Mexborough Town, Frickley Colliery, Torquay United, Birmingham City and Blackburn Rovers.  With 21 goals in 41 games, Private Clarke fired Blackburn to the Second Division title before the outbreak of war, and continued to make appearances in the war leagues before enlisting in the Devonshires.  In 1943 his battalion was converted to an airborne role, and formed part of the 6th Airlanding Brigade, 6th Airborne Division, that participated in the Normandy landings.  A shortage of aircraft meant that only one company could be inserted by glider, while the remainder travelled by sea; the two elements formed up near Ranville, northeast of Caen, on the 7th of June 1944, and proceeded to assume a defensive position to repulse German attacks.  Moving to new positions a week later, the battalion was a subjected to a heavy concentration of shell and rocket fire on the 16th of June prior to a German attack from Escoville.  The ensuing battle lasted for three hours, and Albert Clarke was among the casualties, aged 27.  He is buried in Ranville War Cemetery.

In memory of Flight Sergeant David Johnston Robertson Clyne, RAF, service number 1550542, right-back for Queen's Park.  Twice capped for Scotland at amateur level, Sergeant Clyne joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve on the outbreak of war and trained as a pilot to fly the American-built seaplanes that patrolled Britain's west coast and the northern Atlantic for U-boats.  On the 12th of May 1944, he took off from RAF Oban in a Catalina patrol plane to conduct a training exercise over Barra Head.  Over the island of Vatersay, Clyne grew disoriented, and attempting to gain altitude, the plane instead crashed near the summit of Heisheaval Beag, killing three members of the nine-man crew, including 27-year-old Clyne.  He is buried in Riddrie Park Cemetery in Glasgow, and his name is included in a memorial at Hampden Stadium.  The wreckage of the Catalina's fuselage remains on the hillside on Vatersay to this day.

More to follow.