Tom Farrage (footballer)

Tom Farrage

Personal information
Full name	Thomas Oysten Farrage[1]
Date of birth	(1917-11-03)3 November 1917[2]
Place of birth	Chopwell, County Durham, England
Date of death	23 September 1944(1944-09-23) (aged 26)
Place of death	Arnhem, German-occupied Netherlands
Position(s)	Outside left
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
	Walker Celtic
1937–1944	Birmingham[a]	10	(3)
Military career Allegiance  United Kingdom Service / branch  British Army Years of service –1944 Rank Private Service number 138613[1] Unit 10th Battalion, Parachute Regiment Battles / wars Second World War Operation Market Garden Battle of Arnhem  †
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Thomas Oysten Farrage (3 November 1917 – 23 September 1944) was an English professional footballer who played in the Football League for Birmingham.^[3] He was killed in action during the Second World War.

Farrage was born in Chopwell, near Rowlands Gill, which was then in County Durham,^[5] to Robert and Isabella Farrage.^[1] He began his football career with Walker Celtic in the North Eastern League, and joined First Division club Birmingham in November 1937. Described as a "promising young player with an eye for goal",^[5] Farrage made his debut on 7 September 1938 in a 2–1 win at home to Leicester City, and kept his place for five of the next six games, in which he scored twice. He played once more that season,^[4] and in the opening three games of the 1939–40 season which was abandoned because of the Second World War.^[6]

He made guest appearances for Leeds United, Luton Town and Middlesbrough in the wartime leagues, though he did not play again for Birmingham.^[7]

Farrage was a member of the Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) (his last station was at Dover) until May 1943, when he commenced training with the Parachute Regiment.^[8] He was killed in action on 23 September 1944 by German machine-gun fire in Arnhem (see the Battle of Arnhem), serving as a private in the 10th Battalion, Parachute Regiment during Operation Market Garden, and is commemorated on the Groesbeek Memorial.^[1][9]

• Thomas Farrage's details at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission