THE WWI M.M. GROUP OF MEDALS, TRIBUTE MEDAL, FOOTBALL MEDALS & GOLD POCKET WATCH OF HUDDERSFIELD TOWN LEGEND, TOM WILSON

Military Medal London Gazette No.65 dated 23 July 1919:

“His Majesty The King has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Military Medal for bravery in the field to the undermentioned Warrant Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and Men.”

Tom Wilson was born in Seaham, County Durham on 16 Apr 1896 and began his football career with Seaham Albion in 1912. Signing for First Division club Sunderland in Oct 1913, Wilson became close friends with future Tottenham legend, Jimmy Seed, playing with him in Sunderland Reserves during the 1914 season, culminating in them lifting the Durham Senior Cup. After this, competitive league football was suspended. Jimmy Seed recalled: "Football had ceased to be the important thing in life for me. Britain and Germany were at war and playing football was no longer such a thrill. Tommy Thompson, Tom Wilson and myself joined the Cyclist Corps at Sunderland. Later we were drafted to France, with Tom Wilson going to the 5th Battalion West Yorks, while I went to the 8th Battalion. We still kept in close touch. In fact, we were frequent rivals on the soccer field because Tommy Wilson was the captain off his battalion and I skippered mine."

Tom Wilson served with the 1/5th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales' Own), given a regimental number of 5918 and renumbered 202817 with the same battalion and promoted to the rank of Warrant Officer Class II. Following his disembodiment on 30 Jan 1919, Wilson was awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field, Gazetted 23 July 1919. Bill Seed concludes: "When the war broke out, four of us, all footballers, joined the Army Cyclist Corps and were transferred to the West Yorks Regiment. The fourth was Bill Dykes who was seriously wounded and lost his sight. I went to see him at St. Mary's hospital and I've never met anyone so happy and cheerful. Bill was eager to know all about the other two pals. They were Tommy Thompson, who played for Sunderland, and Tommy Wilson, who captained Huddersfield."

Tom Wilson had joined Huddersfield Town in 1919 and over the next 12 seasons would be an ever-present Captain, lifting the club’s first major trophy of the F.A. Cup on 29 Apr 1922. Managed by the legendary Herbert Chapman, Huddersfield Town had knocked out Burnley, Brighton & Hove Albion, Blackburn Rovers, Millwall and Notts County to reach the final against Preston North End, victors over Wolves, Newcastle, Barnsley, Arsenal and Tottenham. This was the last final to take place at Stamford Bridge in front of 53,000 spectators and was won by a single Huddersfield goal; a penalty scored by Billy Smith in the 67^th minute. Tom Wilson lifted the cup as captain and was gifted this pocket watch to commemorate the club’s first, and only, F.A. Cup triumph.

Just eleven days later, Tom Wilson scored the only goal to win the Charity Shield against Liverpool at Old Trafford on 10 May 1922. Wilson then famously led his side to winning the Football League Championship over the next three consecutive years; the first English club to do so. Captain and centre-half, Wilson’s first league goal had been against Manchester Utd. on 26 Mar 1921, which he followed up with a goal against Newcastle Utd. at St. James’ Park on 3 Sep 1921. Scoring his third at home against Birmingham City on 26 Dec 1922. He would go on to score one more time, but his leadership and defending ability underscored Huddersfield Town’s success of the 1920s.

Wilson had played in the F.A. Cup Final loss to Aston Villa in 1920 and captained Huddersfield in the Wembley F.A. Cup finals of 1928 and 1930, losing to Blackburn Rovers and Arsenal, respectively. He played his final match for Huddersfield in Nov 1931, having played exactly 500 times for the club. He was known as the “Gentleman of football” and “The Dauntless Tommy Wilson”, coined during the F.A. Cup Final defeat to Arsenal in 1931. Madame Tussauds made a waxwork figure of Tom Wilson in that year.

Wilson was also capped for England, playing Scotland at Wembley on 31 Mar 1928, playing alongside fellow Huddersfield Town treble winner, Billy Smith, and Joe Hulme and Dixie Dean, amongst others. However, the match was to be a disaster for the home side, with Scotland running out 5-1 winners with a hat-trick from Wilson’s fellow Town teammate, Alex Jackson. This Scotland team were dubbed the ‘Wembley Wizards’. Wilson played against The Ireland League for the England League as a reserve at Anfield Road on 7 Oct 1925 when they won 5-1 and in the starting XI against Ireland at Windsor Park, Belfast on 22 Sep 1928, with David Jack and Dixie Dean leading the line, England running out as 5-0 winners.

Finally, Wilson joined Blackpool and played 20 matches to help them survive in the top division, before retiring at the end of the season. Wilson would return to Huddersfield Town as a trainer, latterly the trainer of Barnsley until his death in 1948, aged 51.