Gerald Kirk

Gerald Kirk

Personal information
Full name	Gerald Kirk[1]
Date of birth	(1883-07-14)14 July 1883
Place of birth	Bramley, England[2]
Date of death	24 April 1915(1915-04-24) (aged 31)[3]
Place of death	Poperinge, Belgium
Position(s)	Centre half
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1900–1905	Ingleton
1905–1906	Bradford City	40	(2)
1906–1907	Leeds City	7	(1)
1907–1908	Bradford City	3	(0)
	Ingleton
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gerald Kirk (14 July 1883 – 24 April 1915) was an English amateur footballer who played as a centre half in the Football League for Bradford City and Leeds City.[1] He spent the majority of his career in non-League football with Ingleton, whom he captained.[4][5]

Personal life

Kirk was born into a wealthy land-owning family.[6] He attended Pocklington School and later married.[6] On 1 September 1914, a month after Britain's entry into the First World War, Kirk enlisted as a private in the King's Own (Royal Lancaster Regiment).[6] In October he was promoted to lance corporal and by 31 January 1915, he had been commissioned as a second lieutenant.[5][6] In March 1915, Kirk's battalion was posted to the Western Front and entered the trenches near Bailleul.[6] On 23 April 1915, he was shot through the chest while leading his platoon in an attack and died the following day at Number 3 Casualty Clearing Station, Poperinghe.[6] Kirk was buried in Poperinghe Old Military Cemetery.[3]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bradford City	1905–06[6]	Second Division	24	1	3	0	27	1
	1906–07[6]		16	1	0	0	16	1
	Total		40	2	3	0	43	2
Leeds City	1907–08[6]	Second Division	8	1	1	0	9	1
Bradford City	1907–08[6]	Second Division	3	0	—		3	0
	Total		43	2	3	0	45	2
Career total			51	3	4	0	55	3

Honours

Ingleton

• Lancaster & District League: 1902–03[5]

References

1. Joyce, Michael (16 October 2012). Football League Players' Records 1888–1939 (3rd Revised ed.). Tony Brown. p. 165. ISBN 9781905891610.
2. "Gerald Kirk | Soldier Record". Craven's Part in The Great War. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
3. "Casualty Details". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
4. Country Life, Volume 38. 1915. p. 560.
5. McCrery, Nigel (18 June 2015). The Final Season: The Footballers Who Fought and Died in the Great War. Penguin Random House. pp. 50–53. ISBN 978-0-09-959466-6.
6. "Gerald Kirk – Bradford City, Leeds City and the First World War". Football and the First World War. Retrieved 10 December 2018.

External links

• Player profile at BantamsPast.co.uk