  edric thornton "ted" bates mbe (3 may 1918 â 28 november 2003) was a former southampton f.c. player, manager, director and president which earned him the sobriquet mr. southampton. ==playing career== bates was born in thetford and joined saints on his 19th birthday in 1937, transferring from norwich city. he soon forced his way into the first team as a centre forward. his career was interrupted by the second world war, during which league football was suspended in england. he initially joined the war reserve police force, spending his time on guard duty at the shell-mex oil depot at hamble or the pirelli-general cable works at woolston. in the early part of the war, bates still managed regular appearances for saints in the wartime cups and leagues. on 8 june 1940, bates married mary smith at st. james's church in shirley, and that evening watched saints play charlton athletic at the dell. shortly afterwards the bates' home was bombed and they moved to west wellow, where mary found work with the naafi. bates resigned from the war reserve and went to work at the folland aircraft factory at hamble, who also had a very good works football team, folland aircraft f.c. which, as well as bates, included other professional players such as bill dodgin (southampton), harold pond (carlisle united), bert tann (charlton), dick foss (chelsea), bill bushby, cliff parker and bill rochford (all portsmouth).{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/mobile/football/teams/p/portsmouth/7388446.stm |title=pompe
1918_births 2003_deaths Members_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire Norwich_City_F.C._players People_from_Thetford Southampton_F.C._directors_and_chairmen Southampton_F.C._managers Southampton_F.C._players The_Football_League_managers