Charles (Charlie) Buchan was born in Plumstead on 22nd September 1891. His father, who originally came from Aberdeen, was a sergeant in the Highland regiment but had moved to London to become a blacksmith. Buchan took a keen interest in football and was a fan of local side, Woolwich Arsenal. He watched the players train but could not afford to pay the entrance fee to see games. Buchan points out in his autobiography, A Lifetime in Football: "As my pocket-money was the princely sum of 1d, I could not pay the 3d admission into the ground. I waited outside, listening to the roars and cheers of the crowd, until about ten minutes before the end when the big, wide gates were thrown open to allow the crowd to trek out." His favourite players at the time were Jimmy Ashcroft, Bobby Templeton, Tim Coleman, Percy Sands, Jimmy Sharp, Charlie Satterthwaite and Roderick McEachrane. As Buchan later pointed out: "They were the stars upon whom I tried to model my style." When he was aged 17 years old Buchan was approached by Arsenal and asked to play for the reserves against Croydon Common. Arsenal won 3-1 and Buchan scored one of the goals. Buchan played in three more games and trained twice a week with the team. However, when he provided a bill of 11 shillings for his travel costs, the club refused to reimburse him. As a result, Buchan refused to play anymore games for the club. On the outbreak of the First World War Buchan joined the Grenadier Guards. In 1916 he was sent to the Western Front and saw action at the Somme, Cambrai and Passchendaele. Buchan was quickly promoted to the rank of sergeant and in 1918 he attended the Officers' Cadet School at Catterick. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/ARSENALbuchan.htm Charlie Buchan died on 25th June 1960 while on holiday in Monte Carlo.
