Amateur George Hardie signed for Southampton as a dual registrant towards the end of the 1912-13 season, so he could continue playing for Leytonstone’s Isthmian League side in their run-in. While at Leytonstone he had represented Essex and London and a contemporary newspaper described him as “clever in his control of the ball, he is a most resourceful player and possessed of remarkable dash and unbounded enthusiasm”. Holding duel registrations George, despite being only five foot five inches tall, provided flexible cover and was called into the Saints’ side when Percy Prince was injured. He failed to impress in his only appearance which came in the last game of Saints season, a 3-3 draw with Gillingham, but was able to help Leytonstone become league runners-up at the season’s end. In the 1939 mini census he was busy helping to organise the Daily Mail Home Exhibition as an “outside representative” which would have given the authorities something to think about as they tried to integrate the civilian population into the war effort.