Arriving from Stoke in March 1894, “Lachie” Thomson was the advance party of what would become known as the “Stoke invasion” (explained in Jack Farrell’s profile). He was in time to play at left-back in the three games needed to win the Cricket Charity Cup, but was at centre-half, come October, when St Mary’s played their first game in the Southern League. He turned out all across the half-back line in that 1894-95 season, but ended the next at left-back.

He had the crowd-pleasing quality of being “strong and with plenty of pluck,”

as the Echo put it, although he played “with judgment as well as energy.” Unfortunately, Lachie “could not exactly hit it off with the powers to be” and left the club in May 1896. Whereupon, he signed for two Hampshire League sides: Eastleigh Athletic and then Cowes. He was suspended for a month and the latter contract was cancelled. He managed to join Cowes legitimately a year later and worked on the Island as a marine-engine fitter. He later played for the Royal Naval College at Cowes, before retiring to Southampton, where he was killed in an air-raid in November 1940.