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Robert
Barker |
Hertfordshire Rangers
FC & Wanderers FC
1 cap, 0 goals,
0 goals against
P 1 W 0 D 1 L 0 F 0:
A 0
50% successful
1872
disciplined: none
captaincies: none
minutes played: 90
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 |
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Profile |
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Full name |
Robert Barker
Despite Alcock's Annuals, and newspaper reports calling this one RC
Barker... there is no other male in the Hertfordshire area in 1871, of
playable age. |
|
Born |
19 June 1847
in Wouldham, Kent
[registered in Malling, September 1847]. |
|
Census Notes |
According to the 1851 census,
Robert was the middle child of five, to parents Alleyne Higgs and Marianne (née
Burminister).
His father was the Rector of Wouldham, so they all lived at The Rectory in
Wouldham. They had five servants. |
|
According to the 1861 census,
Robert's family were now in Watford, his father now the Vicar of
Rickmansworth. All living in Church Street, Rickmansworth.
Robert was not with them in the census. |
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According to the 1871 census,
Robert was now living with the rest of his family in Church Street,
Rickmansworth. His occupation is stated as a Civil Engineer |
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According to the 1881 census,
Robert was still in Church Street, and still a Civil Engineer. His
mother had died in the previous ten years. |
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According to the 1891 census,
Robert, still a Civil Engineer, was living with two of his older sisters,
Fanny and Augusta, at Brierly Close, in Croxley Green, Rickmansworth. |
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According to the 1901 census,
Robert was boarding with the Quick's at 100 Warwick Street, in St George
Hanover Square, London. |
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According to the 1911 census,
Robert was still boarding at 100 Warwick Street, although he was here on
his own.... Still a Civil Engineer for the South Eastern & Chatham
Railway. |
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Died |
11 November
1915, at Briery Close, Croxley Green, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, aged 68 years 149 days [registered
in Watford, December 1915]. Left £19011 8s. 8d. |
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Height/Weight |
not known |
|
Source |
Douglas Lammings' An
English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] & FindMyPast.com |
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Club Career |
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Club(s) |
After leaving
school he joined Hertfordshire Rangers to concentrate on "soccer". He
represented both Middlesex and Kent during his career, as well as making
occasional appearances for Westminster School and Wanderers. |
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Club honours |
None |
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Individual honours |
None |
|
Source |
Douglas Lammings' An
English Football Internationalist Who's Who [1990] |
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England Career |
|
Player number |
One of
eleven who became the first players (one) to appear
for England. Generally regarded as the first player to play for
England, as his is the first name on the teamsheet. First goalkeeper to
appear. |
|
Position(s) |
Goalkeeper/Forward;
described by Douglas Lamming as a utility player. |
|
Only match |
No. 1, 30
November 1872,
Scotland 0 England 0, friendly match at The West of Scotland Cricket
Ground, Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, aged 25 years, 165 days. |
|
Major tournaments |
None |
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Team honours |
None |
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Individual honours |
Barker was one of the umpire's in the third unofficial international match
between England and Scotland in February 1871. |
|
Distinctions |
"Barker
was chosen (to play in goal) because he was the biggest and slowest player
in the England team and because his rugby experience and handling of the
ball would come in useful" |
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Beyond England |
|
Barker went on to pursue a career as
a civil engineer, later becoming Chief Assistant Engineer to the London,
Chatham and Dover Railway and then the South Eastern Railway. -
An English Football Internationalists' Who's Who.
Douglas Lamming (1990). Hatton Press, p.24. |
England
Football Online