A local product, Arthur Diaper joined Southampton from Woolston for a transfer fee of five shillings.

A well-built half-back, adroit passer and a steady head,

Arthur, who was known to his friends as “Joey”, looked set for a promising future before the outbreak of war put his career on hold. He managed to make eight appearances in the South Hants War League in 1918-19, but when “official” football resumed in 1919, Arthur found himself on the transfer list at £50. Even allowing for the hyper-inflation of 1914-19, this was quite a mark-up and there were no League takers. But in settling for Hampshire League football with Thornycroft’s, Arthur got to play in their 1919-20 FA Cup side that famously took Burnley to a replay (see Jim Angell profile to see alternative image to the one below).

He then had a season with Boscombe, newly admitted into the Southern League. After the war he worked on most of the J class yachts as a yachtsman. In 1920 he participated in the Americas Cup, crewing the J Class “Shamrock” on behalf of Sir Thomas Lipton as it crossed the Atlantic (see scrapbook section). He remained crewing yachts all his working life and ended up a yacht captain.