Nathaniel Lofthouse OBE (1925 - 2011)

Born 27 Aug 1925 in Bolton, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Alma (Foster) Lofthouse — married 6 Dec 1947 in Astley Bridge, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Died 15 Jan 2011 at age 85 in Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom

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Biography

Nat Lofthouse OBE is Notable.

Nat Lofthouse OBE was born in Lancashire, England.

Nat was born in Bolton, Lancashire, on 27^th August 1925^[1], son of Richard Lofthouse and Sarah Powell.

He started playing football with Bolton Wanderers as an amateur on 4^th September 1939, a mere day after the declaration of war with Germany. As a result of the interruption of play it was not until 1946 that he finally made his professional debut at the legendary Burnden Park ground. Nats wartime was spent in the coal mines around Bolton as one of the many members of the Bevin Boys.

After surviving the war in the darkness of the mines, the return to the surface to play his beloved game must have been a great relief. It was not long before he witnessed a tragedy though: during the FA Cup sixth round second leg tie at Burnden Park between Bolton and Stoke City on 9^th March 1946 when thirty three Bolton fans were killed and hundreds injured when an overloaded stand resulted in crushing and collapsing of the terrace barriers.^[2].

On 6^th December 1947 Nat married Alma Foster^[3] at St Paul's Church, Astley Bridge in Bolton^[4]. They had two children, Jeff and Vivien^[5].

Nat was eventually picked up to be part of the national (England) team during the period 1946 to 1958.

After retirement from playing in 1960 he went on to take up the mantle of team manager in 1968 until 1971 and had a further stint as caretaker manager in 1985.

Nat was honoured with an OBE in the New Year Honours for 1984.

He died at the age of 85 on 15^th January 2011^[6][7].

A statue of Nat was erected outside Bolton Wanderers stadium, at the time named The Reebok Stadium, and was unveiled on 24^th August 2013.

Research Notes

Birth

Marriage

Death

External biography

• Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (pay site)^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV3F-N9SF : 2 October 2014), null in entry for Nathaniel Lofthouse, 1925; from "England & Wales Births, 1837-2006," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing Birth Registration, Bolton, Lancashire, England, citing General Register Office, Southport, England.
2. ↑ Wikipedia contributors, "Burnden Park disaster," Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Burnden_Park_disaster&oldid=910133160 (accessed August 27, 2019).
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVDQ-KGL9 : 8 October 2014), Nathaniel Lofthouse and null, 1947; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1947, quarter 4, vol. 10B, p. 1044, Bolton, Lancashire, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} FindMyPast, Newspaper transcript from Manchester Evening News dated 6th Decemeber 1947; Page 5 column 4; headline, The Match before The Match, photo and caption, Before playing for Bolton against Wolverhampton to-day, Nathaniel Lofthouse, the Wanderers' centre-forward, was married at St Paul's Astley Bridge, to Miss Alma Foster. Here they are being snapped by a friend after leaving the church. URL: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/transcript?id=BL_0000272_19471206_064_2097 (retrieved 3rd September 2019)
5. ↑ Mentioned in article: "A Message From The Lofthouse Family". www.bwfc.co.uk. 18 January 2011. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Accessed August 27, 2019.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Ancestry.com. UK and Ireland, Obituary Index, 2004-Current [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2006. Telegraph News; Publication Date: 16/ Jan/ 2011; Publication Place: London, Eng, United Kingdom; URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/sport-obituaries/8262916/Nat-Lofthouse.html Ancestry uk Record 8960 #23874728
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1} "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q291-15W3 : 15 March 2016), Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 03 September 2019), memorial page for Nat Lofthouse (27 Aug 1925–15 Jan 2011), Find A Grave: Memorial #154744759, citing St Peter Churchyard, Bolton, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England ; Maintained by julia&keld (contributor 46812479).
8. ↑ Mason, Tony. "Lofthouse, Nathaniel [Nat] (1925–2011), footballer." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 8 Jan. 2015; Accessed 27 Aug. 2019. https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-103522.

See also

• Wikidata: Item Q351978