A soldier serving with the Medical Staff Corps at Netley Hospital (see above), Corporal Duff was playing for the hospital side, Geneva Cross, when he joined St Mary’s in a move that sparked an acrimonious debate in the local press and jealousy elsewhere.  All that for just a couple of appearances in the Hants Junior Cup, the latter of which – a 2-0 win over Lymington in the Final – was reported to be “the game of his life”. He remained at the club until October 1890, when he was posted away from the district. He later returned to the town, working as a shipyard labourer at Thornycrofts throughout WW1.