Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Wilfred Bratton | ||
Date of birth | 19 December 1896 | ||
Place of birth | Sheffield, England | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1921–1928 | Mapleton | ||
International career | |||
1922 | Australia | 1 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Wilfred Bratton was an English-born Australian soccer player who also played as a forward for the inaugural Australia national soccer team in 1922.[1]
Wilfred Bratton was born in Sheffield, England.[2][3][4] At the age of 15, Bratton migrated to Australia and settled at Flaxton or Palmwoods where he was employed as a farmhand. He enlisted for World War 1 in May 1915 as a Private and was wounded in service, a victim of gassing and severe trench fever. He returned to Australia in March 1919.[5]
In October 1921 Bratton married Ellen Elizabeth Champion at St Andrew's Church of England, South Brisbane.[6]
In 1928 Bratton wrote to the newspapers about a game of football played between his 3rd Australian Division and the Royal Air Force at Ballieul (Somme on the Western Front) in the winter of 1917.[7]
Bratton played for Palmwoods in August 1920 in their friendly games against Buderim before the formation of the North Coast Football Association (NCFA) in 1921.[8] In the first season of the NCFA in 1921 Bratton played for Mapleton.[9] Bratton continued to play for Mapleton until 1928 and was even club president.[10][11]
Bratton played for the Australia national soccer team and was capped only once, as a replacement for Dave Ward[12] with a goal on 24 June 1922 against New Zealand.[13][14]
Bratton is designated Socceroo cap number 12.[15]
National team | Year | Competitive | Friendly | Total | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Australia | 1922 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 June 1922 | Athletic Park, Wellington, New Zealand | New Zealand | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly | [16] |