A Great War survivor, Len Hill had cheated death a couple of times before being medically discharged in 1919 with a double fracture of the skull. He quickly earned a reputation at Queens Park Rangers as one of the best goalkeepers in the Third Division. When Tommy Allen refused Southampton’s terms in the summer of 1925, Hill was signed as a replacement and started the season in the Saints’ goal. When Allen eventually agreed terms in October, Len became his under-study, stepping in, for a second spell, after Tom had been injured in the FA Cup Third Round. He left at the end of the season, but never settled elsewhere. In 1930, he became a cricket coach at Watford Grammar School, after which he had a spell with a multi-sports club in the Netherlands. In 1939 he was working in a Westminster-based Horticultural Hall as a “keeper and staff superintendant”.