William Jonas facts for kids
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | William Jonas | ||
| Date of birth | September 1890 | ||
| Place of birth | Cambois, England | ||
| Date of death | 27 July 1916 (aged 25) | ||
| Place of death | Delville Wood, Longueval, France | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) | ||
| Playing position | Half back, forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| –1910 | Jarrow Croft | ||
| 1910–1912 | Havanna Rovers | (68) | |
| 1912–1915 | Clapton Orient | 70 | (21) |
|
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William Jonas (born September 1890 – died 27 July 1916) was an English footballer. People often called him Billy or Willie. He played for Clapton Orient in the Football League.
Contents
Billy Jonas: A Football Star
Billy Jonas was a talented footballer. He was known for being very fast. He also had great passing skills on the field.
His Early Football Journey
Billy started his career at Jarrow Croft. He once scored two goals in a big charity cup final. He even turned down an offer from Barnsley!
In 1910, Billy moved to Havanna Rovers. He was an amazing goal scorer there. He scored 68 goals in just two seasons! In June 1912, his friend Richard McFadden told him about Clapton Orient. Billy decided to join them.
Playing for Clapton Orient
At Orient, Billy was very flexible. He could play in many different positions. He even played as a goalkeeper a few times! Once, he filled in for an injured teammate, Jimmy Hugall, during a game against Nottingham Forest.
In January 1915, during a match at Millwall, Billy was sent off the field. This happened after an incident with the other team's goalkeeper, Joseph Orme. The crowd of 16,900 people became very excited. Police on horseback had to help calm things down.
Billy was very popular with the fans. He received a lot of mail from them each week. It got to the point where he had to ask fans to stop sending letters. He put a message in the Orient programme. He explained that he was "very happily married to his dear wife Mary Jane."
Life Beyond the Pitch
Before moving to London in 1912, Billy worked at the Cambois Colliery. This was a coal mine.
Serving His Country
When World War I began, professional football stopped. Billy decided to join the army. He became part of the 17th Middlesex Regiment. This group was known as the "Footballers' Battalion". It was made up of many footballers.
During a major battle called the Battle of the Somme, Billy was fighting at Delville Wood. He became stuck in a trench with his Orient teammate, McFadden. There was a lot of heavy gunfire. Billy said goodbye to McFadden. He bravely jumped out of the trench and was killed right away.
After the war, Billy Jonas had no known grave. But he is remembered on the Commonwealth Thiepval Memorial. This memorial honors soldiers who died in World War I and have no known grave.
