During the 1915–16 English football season, Brentford competed in the London Combination. In the first season of non-competitive wartime football during the First World War, the Bees finished in mid-table in each of the leagues run by the London Combination.

Season summary

Future Cardiff City captain Fred Keenor guested for Brentford in each wartime season.

Having ended the 1914–15 Southern League Second Division season £7,000 in debt (equivalent to £596,800 in 2023), the suspension of competitive football due to the ongoing First World War proved to be a blessing for Brentford, who were given the chance to face Football League clubs Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Clapton Orient and Fulham in the wartime London Combination.^[1] Professionalism had also been abolished, meaning that the club needed only to pay its players expenses and in addition, the clubs of the London Combination were predominantly London-based, meaning those expenses would be lower than that of previous seasons.^[1] The squad had been decimated by the entry of players into the Army or munitions work,^[1] which meant that only goalkeeper Ted Price, full backs Dusty Rhodes and Bertie Rosier, half back Alf Amos and forwards Patsy Hendren and Henry White would play in the majority of Brentford's matches during the season.^[2] White would top-score with 13 goals.^[2]

Brentford began the London Combination's Principle Tournament strongly, losing just one of the first 10 matches, but the departure of the locally based Football Battalion to the Western Front robbed the club of a source of quality guest players.^[1] Local amateurs, guests and soldiers were brought in to plug gaps in the team,^[1] though a few guests did make notable contributions during the season – Swindon Town's Bertie Denyer (9 goals in 9 appearances) and Middlesbrough's Dick Wynn (8 goals in 20 appearances).^[2] Middlesbrough proved to be a ready source of players, with former Brentford full back Joe Hisbent, half backs Henry Cook, George Malcolm and forward Harry Chapelhow also guesting.^[2] Brentford finished the London Combination's two league competitions in mid-table, with the highlights being two West London derby wins versus Queens Park Rangers and wins over Football League clubs Clapton Orient, Arsenal and neighbours Fulham.^[2]

Two former Brentford players died during the season:

• Forward John Bayne, an occasional player at the turn of the century, was serving as a private in the Black Watch when he was killed by a rifle grenade at Richebourg-Saint-Vaast on 21 July 1915.^[3]
• Former Brentford inside right Alex Walker was serving as a private in the Royal Scots when he died of tuberculosis in Scotland on 12 May 1916.^[4]

League tables

Results

Brentford's goal tally listed first.

Playing squad

Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1915–16 season.

Pos.	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Signed from	Signed in	Notes
Goalkeepers
GK	Ted Price		(1883-06-13)13 June 1883 (aged 32)	Croydon Common	1912
Defenders
DF	Dusty Rhodes (c)		(1882-08-16)16 August 1882 (aged 33)	Sunderland	1908	Trainer
DF	Bertie Rosier		(1893-03-21)21 March 1893 (aged 22)	Southall	1913
Midfielders
HB	Charles Allwright		(1888-06-11)11 June 1888 (aged 27)	Kingston-on-Thames	1914
HB	Alf Amos		(1893-02-09)9 February 1893 (aged 22)	Old Kingstonians	1913
HB	George Curtis		(1888-10-22)22 October 1888 (aged 26)	Kingston-on-Thames	1914
HB	Mick O'Brien		(1893-08-10)10 August 1893 (aged 22)	Celtic	1915
Forwards
FW	Herbert Allwright		(1892-03-04)4 March 1892 (aged 23)	Unattached	1915
FW	Walter Chalk		(1885-07-10)10 July 1885 (aged 30)	Old Kingstonians	1915	Amateur
FW	Patsy Hendren		(1889-02-05)5 February 1889 (aged 26)	Queens Park Rangers	1911	Played when his cricket commitments allowed
FW	Charles Hibbert		(1894-01-25)25 January 1894 (aged 21)	Uxbridge	1914	Amateur
FW	Frank Price		(1885-02-28)28 February 1885 (aged 30)	Shepherds Bush	1914
FW	Alfred Rosier		(1888-09-06)6 September 1888 (aged 26)	Unattached	1915	Amateur
FW	Richard Sloley		(1891-08-20)20 August 1891 (aged 24)	Cambridge University	1914	Amateur
FW	Henry White		(1895-08-08)8 August 1895 (aged 20)	Whamcliffe Athletic	1913	Amateur
Guest players
GK	W. Griffiths	n/a	n/a	West Ham United	1916	Guest from West Ham United
DF	Joe Hisbent		(1881-12-29)29 December 1881 (aged 33)	Middlesbrough	1915	Guest from Middlesbrough
DF	Fred Keenor		(1894-07-31)31 July 1894 (aged 21)	Cardiff City	1915	Guest from Cardiff City
HB	Henry Cook		(1893-10-23)23 October 1893 (aged 21)	Middlesbrough	1915	Guest from Middlesbrough
HB	Walter Hatherall		(1894-04-22)22 April 1894 (aged 21)	n/a	1916	Guest
HB	Fred Jepson		(1889-12-20)20 December 1889 (aged 25)	Spennymoor United	1915	Guest from Spennymoor United
HB	John Lamb		(1889-07-25)25 July 1889 (aged 26)	The Wednesday	1915	Guest from The Wednesday
HB	George Malcolm		(1889-06-20)20 June 1889 (aged 26)	Middlesbrough	1915	Guest from Middlesbrough
HB	Billy Matthews		1881 (aged 33–34)	Chester	1915	Guest from Chester
HB	Archie Mitchell		(1885-12-15)15 December 1885 (aged 29)	Queens Park Rangers	1916	Guest from Queens Park Rangers
HB	F. Stuckey	n/a	n/a	Old Kingstonians	1916	Amateur, guest from Old Kingstonians
HB	Billy Wake		(1886-01-05)5 January 1886 (aged 29)	Queens Park Rangers	1916	Guest from Queens Park Rangers
FW	George Bowler		(1890-01-23)23 January 1890 (aged 25)	Tottenham Hotspur	1915	Guest from Tottenham Hotspur
FW	J. Champion	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
FW	Harry Chapelhow		(1885-03-06)6 March 1885 (aged 30)	Penrith	1916	Guest from Penrith
FW	Billy Clarkson		(1891-09-22)22 September 1891 (aged 23)	Burnley	1915	Guest from Burnley
FW	Jack Curtis		(1888-12-13)13 December 1888 (aged 26)	Stockport County	1915	Guest from Stockport County
FW	Bertie Denyer		(1893-04-09)9 April 1893 (aged 22)	Swindon Town	1915	Guest from Swindon Town
FW	Arthur Featherstone		n/a	n/a	1915	Guest
FW	Charlie Freeman		(1887-08-22)22 August 1887 (aged 28)	Chelsea	1915	Guest from Chelsea
FW	T. Gordon	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
FW	Alf Gregson		(1889-03-02)2 March 1889 (aged 26)	Grimsby Town	1915	Guest from Grimsby Town
FW	Bill Hooper		(1884-02-20)20 February 1884 (aged 31)	Southport Central	1915	Guest from Southport Central
FW	William Knight		(1877-02-10)10 February 1877 (aged 38)	Steel Barrel Works	1916	Guest from Steel Barrel Works
FW	J. Newman	n/a	n/a	n/a	1916	Guest
FW	Bert Powell		(1886-11-23)23 November 1886 (aged 28)	Boscombe	1915	Guest from Boscombe
FW	William Steer		(1888-10-10)10 October 1888 (aged 26)	Chelsea	1915	Guest from Chelsea
FW	Henry Trumper		(1889-11-23)23 November 1889 (aged 25)	Unattached	1916	Guest
FW	Dick Wynn		1892 (aged 22–23)	Middlesbrough	1915	Guest from Middlesbrough

• Sources: 100 Years of Brentford,^[2] Timeless Bees,^[5] Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939^[6]

Coaching staff

Name	Role
Fred Halliday	Secretary-Manager
Dusty Rhodes	Trainer

Statistics

Appearances and goals

Price

Rhodes (c)

B. Rosier

Cook

Malcolm

Amos

Sloley

Wynn

Curtis

Hendren

White

Brentford's highest appearance-makers in each position during the London Combination season.

Pos	Nat	Name	League (Principle)		League (Suppl.)		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
GK		Ted Price	22	0	13	0	35	0
DF		Dusty Rhodes	21	0	13	0	34	0
DF		Bertie Rosier	19	0	10	0	29	0
HB		Charles Allwright	7	0	1	0	8	0
HB		Alf Amos	13	0	10	1	23	1
HB		George Curtis	6	1	5	0	11	1
HB		Mick O'Brien	3	0	0	0	3	0
FW		Herbert Allwright	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW		Walter Chalk	1	0	0	0	1	0
FW		Patsy Hendren	8	2	14	2	22	4
FW		Charles Hibbert	3	0	0	0	3	0
FW		Frank Price	4	2	0	0	4	2
FW		Alfred Rosier	3	0	4	0	7	0
FW		Richard Sloley	9	7	6	4	15	11
FW		Henry White	17	5	13	8	30	13
Players guested during the season
GK	n/a	W. Griffiths	—		1	0	1	0
DF		Joe Hisbent	12	0	6	0	18	0
DF		Fred Keenor	5	1	—		5	1
HB		Henry Cook	10	0	9	0	19	0
HB		Walter Hatherall	—		2	0	2	0
HB		Fred Jepson	2	0	1	0	3	0
HB		John Lamb	6	0	—		6	0
HB		George Malcolm	11	1	7	0	18	1
HB		Billy Matthews	1	0	—		1	0
HB		Archie Mitchell	—		1	0	1	0
HB	n/a	F. Stuckey	—		1	0	1	0
HB		Billy Wake	—		1	0	1	0
FW		George Bowler	2	0	—		2	0
FW	n/a	J. Champion	—		1	0	1	0
FW		Harry Chapelhow	2	1	10	0	12	1
FW		Billy Clarkson	7	0	—		7	0
FW		Jack Curtis	13	0	—		13	0
FW		Bertie Denyer	5	5	4	4	9	9
FW		Arthur Featherstone	1	0	—		1	0
FW		Charlie Freeman	1	0	—		1	0
FW	n/a	T. Gordon	—		1	1	1	1
FW		Alf Gregson	4	2	—		4	2
FW		Bill Hooper	5	1	6	3	11	4
FW		William Knight	—		2	2	2	2
FW	n/a	Newman	—		1	0	1	0
FW		Bert Powell	2	1	0	0	2	1
FW		William Steer	4	0	—		4	0
FW		Henry Trumper	—		3	1	3	1
FW		Dick Wynn	12	5	8	3	20	8

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford^[2]

Goalscorers

Pos.	Nat	Player	LCP	LCS	Total
FW		Henry White	5	8	13
FW		Richard Sloley	7	4	11
FW		Bertie Denyer	5	4	9
FW		Dick Wynn	5	3	8
FW		Bill Hooper	1	3	5
FW		Patsy Hendren	2	2	4
FW		Alf Gregson	2	—	2
FW		Frank Price	2	—	2
FW		William Knight	—	2	2
HB		Fred Keenor	1	—	1
FW		Bert Powell	1	—	1
FW		Harry Chapelhow	1	0	1
HB		George Curtis	1	0	1
HB		George Malcolm	1	0	1
FW	n/a	T. Gordon	—	1	1
FW		Henry Trumper	—	1	1
HB		Alf Amos	0	1	1
Opponents			2	0	2
Total			36	29	65

• Players listed in italics left the club mid-season.
• Source: 100 Years of Brentford^[2]

Management

Name	Nat	From	To	Record All Comps					Record League (Principle)					Record League (Suppl.)
				P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %	P	W	D	L	W %
Fred Halliday		4 September 1915	6 May 1916	36	11	10	15	030.56|	14	5	2	7	035.71|	22	6	8	8	027.27

Transfers & loans

Guest players' arrival and departure dates correspond to their first and last appearances of the season.

Players transferred in
Date	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Fee	Ref.
4 December 1915	FW	Alfred Rosier	Unattached	Amateur	[2]
n/a	HB	Jimmy Kennedy	Watford	n/a	[7]
Guest players in
Date from	Pos.	Name	Previous Club	Date to	Ref.
4 September 1915	FW	Jack Curtis	Stockport County	1 January 1916	[2]
4 September 1915	HB	Fred Keenor	Cardiff City	9 October 1915	[2]
4 September 1915	FW	Bert Powell	Boscombe	11 September 1915	[2]
11 September 1915	FW	Billy Clarkson	Burnley	30 October 1915	[2]
11 September 1915	HB	John Lamb	The Wednesday	30 October 1915	[2]
25 September 1915	FW	Alf Gregson	Grimsby Town	23 October 1915	[2]
16 October 1915	FW	William Steer	Chelsea	8 January 1916	[2]
23 October 1915	DF	Joe Hisbent	Middlesbrough	21 April 1916	[2]
23 October 1915	HB	George Malcolm	Middlesbrough	21 April 1916	[2]
23 October 1915	FW	Dick Wynn	Middlesbrough	21 April 1916	[2]
30 October 1915	FW	Arthur Featherstone	n/a	30 October 1915	[2]
6 November 1915	HB	Henry Cook	Middlesbrough	30 October 1915	[2]
13 November 1915	FW	Bill Hooper	Southport Central	15 April 1916	[2]
20 November 1915	HB	Billy Matthews	Chester	20 November 1915	[2]
11 December 1915	FW	Bertie Denyer	Swindon Town	1 April 1916	[2]
11 December 1915	FW	Charlie Freeman	Chelsea	11 December 1915	[2]
25 December 1915	FW	George Bowler	Tottenham Hotspur	27 December 1915	[2]
27 December 1915	HB	Fred Jepson	Spennymoor United	5 February 1916	[2]
15 January 1916	FW	Harry Chapelhow	Penrith	29 April 1916	[2]
19 February 1919	FW	Newman	n/a	19 February 1919	[2]
11 March 1916	FW	T. Gordon	n/a	11 March 1916	[2]
1 April 1916	GK	W. Griffiths	West Ham United	1 April 1916	[2]
1 April 1916	HB	Walter Hatherall	n/a	End of season	[2]
15 April 1916	FW	Henry Trumper	Unattached	End of season	[2]
24 April 1916	FW	J. Champion	n/a	24 April 1916	[2]
24 April 1916	FW	William Knight	Steel Barrel Works	End of season	[2]
24 April 1916	HB	F. Stuckey	Old Kingstonians	24 April 1916	[2]
6 May 1916	HB	Archie Mitchell	Queens Park Rangers	End of season	[2]
6 May 1916	HB	Billy Wake	Queens Park Rangers	End of season	[2]

References