William James Minter

1888 - 1940  (52 years)

• Name	William James Minter
  Birth	16 Apr 1888	Woolwich, London   [1]
  Christening	17 Jun 1888	St Mary Magdalene, Woolwich, London   [2]
  Gender	Male
  _UID	DB172C83932A4A6483D9430AB64CB758C67F
  Death	21 May 1940	Bruce Grove, Tottenham, London   [3]
  Notes	1911 census: at 91 Bruce Castle Road, Tottenham, London (5 rooms), William (head, 23, married, professional footballer, worker, born Woolwich, Kent), Elizabeth (wife, 22, married 3 year, 2 children both living, born Woolwich, Kent), William (son, 2, born Tottenham, Middlesex), Edith (2, daughter, born Tottenham, Middlesex) and Edith WHYBROW (sister in law, 20, single, tennis ball sewer, worker, at home, born Woolwich, Kent). William enlisted in the Royal Engineers on 3 May 1915, aged 27 years 17 days, a whellwright of 91 Bruce Castle Rd, Tottenham, London. Next of kin wife Elizabeth Minter, same address, whom he married on 2 May 1908 at St Thomas Church, Woolwich. Three children listed, William John Thomas born 30 Aug 1908, Elizabeth Edith born 30 Aug 1908 and Dorothy May born 14 Jul 1914, all at East Tottenham. He was promoted to Sergeant on 11 June 1915, served in France from 17 November 1915 and was wounded in 1917. Some of his service records are mostly difficult to read. Service no. 96001. He received the Meritorious Service Medal. Assessed to be a very good wheelwright. One document indicates that William had earlier service with the Royal Garrison Artillery from which he bought himself out for £18 on 22 February 1907. As a result of re-enlisting William got half of this back. William James, as Billy Minter, played for and managed Tottenham Hotspur between 1908 and 1929. 1939 Register: at 91 Bruce Castle Road, Tottenham M.B., Middlesex Minter, William J born 16 Apr 1888, married, asst secretary, football club Minter, Elizabeth E born 1 Nov 1888, married, unpaid domestic duties -- 1 closed record --- PAGE, Frederick W born 15 Sep 1913, married, Met Police constable PAGE, Dorothy M born 14 Jul 1914, married, unpaid domestic duties. The following appeared in August 2007 on the website at http://archive.mehstg.com/fact_minter.htm Born on 16th April 1888 in Woolwich, London Began his career as an amateur for Norwich City and Woolwich Arsenal, while a soldier in World War I. (see above) Impressed as a forward for Arsenal Reserves in a London League game at Tottenham on 8th September 1906, but when he left the armed services, he joined Reading as a professional. Spent 18 months at Elm Park before coming to White Hart Lane with Ernie Coquet for a total cost of £500 for the pair of players in February 1908. Minter was a serving sergeant in the Tottenham Royal Engineers during World War I and he won the Meritorious Service medal for his work in the army. A determined goalscorer, Billy made an immediate impact on the side with his strike-rate. In his time at Tottenham, he scored 95 goals in 243 League appearances, which was a club record which stood until 1930 and is tenth in the all-time goalscoring charts for the club now (mid 2007). His goals helped Tottenham to the 1910 London FA Challenge Cup and the 1920 Second Division title, before he moved into training at the end of that season. He was still a player then, as he was when he eventually took over as manager in February 1927. Performed trainer duties for England when they played Wales in Wrexham in March 1926 and then eight days later, he played for Tottenham in place of Frank Osborne, who was ill ahead of the match and he turned out as a forward against Hull City in a friendly. His last match as a player came on 29th April 1926 for the "A" Team at our Cheshunt training ground against Waltham Comrades. His tenure as manager ended when he gave way to Percy Smith in November 1929. This was not the end of his time at Spurs though, as he stayed on the staff at the club for another four years as a reserve team trainer, assistant manager, part-time first team trainer and club scout. Minter was assistant secretary from 1933 until his death on May 21st 1940 at his home in Bruce Grove, Tottenham. Cliff Minter has contributed two more pieces about Billy Minter: April 1919. Crystal Palace versus Tottenham Hotspur. The Spurs were the first to settle down and the forwards led by Elliott displayed a better mastery. Minter scored for them after twenty five minutes. Spurs: Joacques, Clay and Barton, Fraser, Grimsdell and Tomkins, Darnell, Minter, Elliott, Bank and Dockray. 1929-30. In the November Billy Minter resigned his post as manager and a few weeks later he was succeeded by Percy Smith who until that time was manager of Bury. Mr Minter who had previously served Spurs as player and later trainer remained with us in an administrative capacity until his death during the war. James Earley found that the "Death of "Billie" Minter, of the Surs" was reported in the Daily Mail of 20 May 1940.
  Person ID	I39	Woolwich, London
  Last Modified	14 Aug 2019

  
  

  Father	Thomas Minter,   b. Abt 1845, Winstone, Gloucestershire d. Bef 19 Feb 1916, Woolwich RD (Age ~ 71 years)
  Mother	Ann TOGWELL,   b. 31 Aug 1845, Steeple Ashton, Wiltshire d. Mar 1932, Edmonton RD (Age 86 years)
  Marriage	9 Oct 1865	Parish Church, Woolwich   [4]
  	Married by banns. Thomas Minter, of age, bachelor, driver Royal Artillery, of Artillery Barracks, father William Minter, farmer. Ann Togwell, minor, spinster of Artillery Place, father William Togwell, waterman. Thomas signed, Ann marked. Witnesses James Wakefield and Hannah Sparrow both signed. Thomas's army service record also notes his marriage details as taking place on 9 October 1865 at Woolwich, Kent. However, the witnesses' names are shown as Pte. William Minter and Pte William Togwell. The latter was probably Ann's brother, who would have been about 22 at the time of the marriage. Pte. William Minter's identity has yet to be established: it's unlikely to have been Thomas's father but if was Thomas's brother it may be a clue to Thomas's ancestry.
  Family ID	F3	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Elizabeth Eliza WHYBROW,   b. 1 Nov 1888, Woolwich RD d. 21 Feb 1958, Tottenham, London (Age 69 years)
  Marriage	2 May 1908	St Thomas Church, Woolwich, London   [5]
  Children	1. Elizabeth Edith Minter,   b. 30 Aug 1908, East Tottenham, London d. Jan 1999, West Surrey RD (Age 90 years)   2. William John Thomas Minter,   b. 30 Aug 1908, East Tottenham, London d. Mar 1996, N Tyneside RD (Age 87 years)   3. Dorthy May Minter,   b. 14 Jul 1914, East Tottenham, London d. Jan 1997, Chichester RD (Age 82 years)   4. Marjorie Vera Minter,   b. 2 Dec 1919, Edmonton RD d. Oct 1999, Southampton RD (Age 79 years)
  Family ID	F19	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	8 Sep 2009

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 16 Apr 1888 - Woolwich, London Death - 21 May 1940 - Bruce Grove, Tottenham, London  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Photos		William (Billy) Minter 1888 - 1940 Billy with the Tottenham Hotspur FC team of 1911-12
  		William James (Billy) Minter 1888 - 1940 Billy in his Spurs kit, date unknown

  
  

  Documents

  Billy Minter, manager of Tottenham Hotspur 1927 - 29 The article is part of ‘Norman Giller’s Spurs Odyssey Blog No. 130, 27 June 2016’, by the eponymous Norman Giller. It is reproduced with Norman's agreement; he comments "That was the only photo I could find of Billy, apart from a foggy one of him playing that could, frankly, be anybody."

  
  

• Sources

  [S3] BMD index (Reliability: 3). Q2 1888 Woolwich 1d/1178. [S16] London Metropolitan Archive at Ancestry.co.uk, Nov 2010. [S3] BMD index (Reliability: 3). aged 52, Q2 1940 Edmonton 3a/1099. Date and place from http://archive.mehstg.com/fact_minter.htm [S7] Marriage certificate (copy) (Reliability: 3). Q4 1865 Greenwich 1d/1253. [S3] BMD index (Reliability: 3). Q2 1908 Woolwich 1d/2070. Date & place from WW1 service record.