After failing to get a start at Bolton, inside-forward Norman Higham eventually made it into the First Division, initially with Everton and then with Middlesbrough, although he had but one season – 1936-37 – when he made a respectable number of appearances: 26 for two goals. Southampton’s principal buy in the 1939 close-season – thanks to the Supporters Club coming up with most of the £1,000-odd fee – he impressed the Echo in the “Stripes” v “Whites” practice-match, with the way in which “he demonstrated clever ball control and made many astute moves.” When the season opened, two weeks later, Norman scored in each of the first two games (see scrapbook section). He missed the next match, but war was declared the following day and his first-class football career was over. He remained in the area for the next three years, playing in a dozen war-time games. He also guested in Salisbury, coached a little in Belgium before returning to his native Lancashire after the War he saw out his playing days back where it all started.