Harry Beadles

George Harold "Harry" Beadles (28 September 1897 – 29 August 1958) was a Welsh professional footballer and Wales international.

Early life
One of seven children, Beadles was born in Llanllwchaiarn, on the outskirts of Newtown, Powys, to Thomas, a quarryman, and Sarah Ann Beadles. As a child he attended a local board school but was forced to leave at the age of 12 in order to help support his family and he instead took up employment at a local warehouse, owned by Pryce Pryce-Jones, as a furrier. His brother Albert had also previously worked at the warehouse but had been killed after being hit by one of the carts used by the warehouse which was taking part in a parade.

World War I
On the outbreak of World War I in 1914 Beadles, along with two of his older brothers, Ewart and Ernie, enlisted in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, even though he was only 16 years old at the time. While his regiment were stationed in Britain on training exercises, Beadles was a bugle boy but, in 1915, his unit took part in the landing at Suvla Bay where, despite still being under the minimum age, he served on the frontline as a rifleman. During this time, Beadles performed an action that would later see him awarded the Serbian Gold medal for gallantry. He was awarded the medal after saving the life of a Serbian observer officer, while under heavy artillery fire, who had been wounded in no man's land.

He remained on the frontline until December 1915, when the area was evacuated due to the heavy fighting. Due to the extreme cold, Beadles was suffering from frostbite and was found floating and unconscious in the water at the time of the evacuation and was subsequently sent to a military hospital in Malta. After recovering he was sent to re-join his regiment, who were now stationed in Palestine. He took part in all three attempts to capture Gaza and the eventual push to take Jerusalem under the command of Edmund Allenby. During the second battle of Gaza, his brother Ewart was awarded the Military Medal and promoted to the rank of Sergeant.

After the conclusion of the war, his unit remained in Palestine until mid 1919. It was here that he met former Wales international George Latham and the pair would go on to be lifelong friends.

Football career
On his return to Wales, Beadles played for his local side Newtown before moving to Merseyside, where he turned out for amateur team Graysons, a local side that represented a local shipping company, whilst working for the company. In June 1921 he signed for Liverpool, along with teammate Danny Shone. He made his debut in September in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea but he was never a regular in the side, making just 18 appearances in all competitions during his three years at the club before moving to Cardiff City in 1924 where George Latham was working on the training staff.

Signed as a replacement for Joe Clennell who had joined Stoke City, Beadles made his debut in a 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur. A consistent scorer at the club, including scoring in the quarter-final of the FA Cup against Leicester City, he was part of the side that reached the 1925 FA Cup Final before losing 1-0 to Sheffield United. During his time at the club Beadles won two caps for Wales, playing in consecutive matches on 14 and 28 February 1925 against Scotland and England, before being sold to Sheffield Wednesday in order to raise money.

Beadles never played in the first team at Sheffield Wednesday, only ever making appearances in the reserve team, and was allowed to join Southport in 1926 where he spent three seasons as captain, finishing as the clubs top scorer in all three seasons before leaving the club in April 1929 due to a persistent knee injury. He spent a short time as a player-coach at Dundalk but soon retired from football.

Later life
After returning to Merseyside, Beadles spent a short time as a prison officer at Walton jail whilst also working at a local sports equipment retailer. After leaving the jobs he joined Bents Brewery, who at the time were recruiting former professional footballers to front their business. After managing a number of the company's pubs and hotels, he was handed control of the company's main hotel in Liverpool in 1939. In the late 1940s, his health declined and he was unable to continue running the hotel and, after running a smaller pub, he was forced into early retirement in the 1950s. After a long illness he died on 29 August 1958 at the age of 60.

Honours

 * Cardiff City
 * FA Cup finalist - 1925