[Lord Snooty]

September 27:

Charles Randall was an inside forward who was born in a village called Bearpark, in County Durham in 1884. He had three seasons playing in the First Division with Newcastle United, but came on loan to us in his third season there. We were in our first ever season and playing in the North Eastern League and Charles made his Town debut in an away game at Wallsend Park Villa.

He made nine appearances that season, scoring four goals. His first two goals were against Seaham White Star in a 3-2 win at Leeds Road. He also scored against Middlesbrough and West Stanley.

Manager Fred Walker must've liked what he saw with Charles and so signed him on for another season long loan, in time for our new venture into the Midland League. Charles only played seven times though, with his last Town match being a 1-1 draw at home to Doncaster.

He then had a loan with Castleford Town before joining Woolwich Arsenal in the First Division, where his playing career got going with some regular games. He played there for three seasons, two in the First Division and then in the Second Division after they were relegated. Whilst he was there in 1913, the stand at their Plumstead stadium was burnt down in an arson attack by some suffragettes, leading to the club relocating to Highbury. Charles only played one game that season and whether it was at Plumstead or Higbury, I don't know.

His next move took him back up to the north-east, signing for North Shields Athletic, but then the war broke out. Charles was married and he and his wife had had one son, who tragically died in infancy. He signed up for the war effort in 1915, becoming a Private in the Coldstream Guards.

In November 1915 he arrived in the trenches of the Western Front and by September of the next year he was at the Somme. You know where this one's going, don't you.

On this date in 1916, Charles was killed in action, aged 32. He is buried in the Dantzig Alley British Cemetery.

During the First World War, Leeds City committed a series of serious offences which led to their expulsion from the Football League shortly after football got back underway when the war was finished. A new club called Leeds United was formed and they tried to take over Huddersfield Town and move the whole lot across to their Beeston base on Bellend Road. Long story, short version, they failed.

So on this date in 1924 after the BellEnders had been promoted to Division One, we met for the first time. Against Leeds City, we'd had a 4 win, 5 loss and 1 draw record and it was a draw in this first match with United.

Jack Swann, who had joined Leeds in the previous season from us, was their top scorer in their promotion season and it was he who scored against his old club in this match at Bellend Road. But it was the brilliant Billy Smith who scored for the Town as a crowd of 41,800 turned out to see Herbert Chapman and his Champions of England.

A few years later, we met again on this date. This time it was 1930, again at Leeds and we won this time by a score of 2-1. Jimmy Smailes got both of the Town goals.

On this date in 1971, Huddersfield Town traveled to Scotland to play Morton at Cappielow Park in the second leg of the first round of the Texaco Cup.

Town had won the 1st leg at Leeds Road a fortnight earlier by a Bobby Hoy goal to nil and we won the 2nd leg as well. Manager Ian Greaves made just one change from that game, bringing in Steve Smith for Mick Barry in midfield. But it was the same starting XI who had just had the magnificent win two days before (this one was on a Monday night) at home to Leeds when we beat them 2-1 in a First Division match.

Frank Worthington scored both goals in a 2-1 win to give us a 3-1 aggregate victory.

Next up for the Texaco Cup? It's Airdrieonians, who will come down to Huddersfield on October the 19th.