Charlie Purves

DOB: 17th February 1921

Position: Striker

Season of first appearance: 1956/57

Season of last appearance: 1956/57

Full Appearances: 12

Substitute: 0

Goals: 4

Also played for:

Newcastle United (0), Shildon, Walker Celtic, Spennymoor United, Charlton Athletic (48,4), Southampton (36,4), Sittingbourne, Chatham Town, Basingstoke Town, Dorchester Town.

Player Profile:

5' 6" tall skilful Newcastle-born player who started his career with his hometown club but didn't make a first-team appearance and dropped into non-league football, having spells with Shildon, Walker Celtic and Spennymoor.

In October 1946, Charlie was signed by Charlton for £1,150 and he went on to make 48 first-team appearances for them before joining Southampton for £3,000 in June 1951.

After three years at the Dell, Charlie joined Sittingbourne for the 1954/55 season and he also spent the 1955/56 campaign with them. In the summer of 1956, he signed for Margate.

Charlie's first game for Margate was against Whitstable in the Kent League at Hartsdown Park on 18.8.56 and it was a memorable debut. He scored with a 30-yard shot in a 4-1 win but later broke an ankle bone and missed the next two months of the 1956/57 campaign. When he regained fitness, Charlie found himself demoted to the reserves initially but, in late November 1956, he returned to first-team action and, on 8.12.56, he played in a 4-0 defeat at Millwall in the FA Cup 2nd Round. Charlie then enjoyed a good run in the side before being dropped back into the second string. He spent the early part of 1957 in the reserves before making two more first-team appearances in March 1957. They took Charlie's tally for the season to 12 games and he scored four times in total. However, at the end of the season he left the club and joined Chatham for the start of the 1957/58 campaign.

Charlie later had spells with Basingstoke, where he was player-manager in 1964 aged 43, and Dorchester.