Albert Quantrill – the man from the photo!
Caroline Gerard sent in this photo last October as she had wondered about it for years. She found the numberplate (GE1667) was registered at Glasgow between 1928 and 1930. The photograph was taken and printed postcard-style by a professional photographer at Pitlochry, Perthshire. He was in business for a very long time, so that was no help. But, thanks to being inquisitive, having a little spare time and a clever computer, another CBG reader, David Dolphin, has put the gentleman’s face into Google’s image search and come up with a very similar result. It is not perfect, but many facts add up.
Albert (Alf) Quantrill was born in India on January 22, 1897. He played non-league football with Boston Swifts until he was seen by a scout working for Derby County. He signed for the Second Division side in 1914. A very fast outside right, Quantrill helped Derby gain promotion in his first season at the club. Quantrill’s career was interrupted by the First World War. He served in Derbyshire Yeomanry but was sent home after developing malaria in Salonika.
Quantrill retained his good form in the first season after the war and in March 1920 was selected to play for England against Wales. Despite the surprise 2-1 defeat,
Quantrill retained his place in the game against Scotland. Over the next couple of years, Quantrill won four international caps.
In 1921, Quantrill as transferred to Preston North End. He joined a forward line made up of Tommy Roberts, Rowland Woodhouse and Archie Rawlings. Woodhouse, Rawlings and Quantrill provided the service for Roberts, who was the club’s top scorer. Quantrill played in 64 games for Preston before leaving the club in 1923. He also played for Bradford Park Avenue, where he scored 58 goals in 191 games between 1924 and 1929. Quantrill finished his career at Nottingham Forest (1930/31).
Albert Quantrill died on April 19, 1968. Thanks to John Simkin, who wrote this piece.
David Dolphin
Just amazing, thank you. I have forwarded this to Caroline – Matt