Colin Hampton


Colin Hampton MM was a Scottish professional football goalkeeper who played in the Football League for Chelsea and Crystal Palace. He also played in the Scottish League for Motherwell and hometown club Brechin City. He made one appearance for the Scottish League XI in 1912.

Personal life

Hampton's second cousin Harry was also a footballer and the pair played together at Brechin City. In August 1915, one year into the First World War, Hampton enlisted in the Royal Field Artillery, but by December he had become a gunner in the Motor Machine Gun Service. Three months later he was promoted to corporal while serving with the 28th Battery. By 1918 he had risen to the rank of sergeant and was serving as a machine gunner in the Machine Gun Corps in Mesopotamia. Hampton was taken prisoner by the Ottoman Army later that year when his armoured car was wrecked by shellfire. During the march to Constantinople, he and his fellow prisoners were released after the armistice was declared and he was awarded the Military Medal in 1919. He was demobilised in May 1919. After the war, Hampton ran a confectionery shop in Brechin and worked in a factory in Coventry and as a special constable during the Second World War. He died of emphysema at Stracathro Hospital in January 1968.

Career statistics

Honours

Motherwell
Chelsea