Towards the end of WW1 Robert Blyth – who was Bill Shankly’s cousin (his father Bob’s sister, Barbara was Shankly’s mother) – was with the Hampshire Regiment (June 1918-May 1920) and he then chose to sign on for Portsmouth of the Third Division South. He made 10 consecutive right-wing appearances for his father’s old team before signing for Southampton who were on their way to winning the division he had just left.

With Charlie Brown established as the Saints’ No.7, Blyth had to wait almost a year for a short run of games when Brown was injured. He was released at the end of that 1922-23 season and promptly set sail for Boston where his immediate destination was Fall River, Massachusetts. It seems that he may have played for the Fall River Marksmen, a leading force in the American Soccer League, while reliable records show him turning out briefly for the newly-formed Wonder Workers, a Boston side packed with Scots.

Returning home, he signed on for Bournemouth before joining the RAF as a carpenter/rigger for six years based at Calshot. He had originally been a pattern maker but he later became involved in the family hotel business and, when his father died in 1941, Bob was managing the Pompey Hotel, close to Fratton Park. Another cousin, Jimmy Shankly  (Bill’s brother) played eight games for Southampton Reserves late in the 1922-23 season but never made the first team although he later became a prolific goal scorer for Southend United.