Charlie Sillett Charles Thomas " Charlie " Sillett ( 29 October 1906 – 27 February 1945 ) was an English professional footballer who played as a full back for Southampton in the 1930s . He was the father of John Sillett and Peter Sillett , both of whom became professional footballers . Charlie Sillett was killed in a U - boat attack on an allied convoy while serving with the Royal Navy in 1945 . Football career . Army . Sillett was born in Plumstead in the Royal Borough of Greenwich , the son of Sidney and Mary Sillett . He joined the Army in 1926 and was enlisted in the 60th King ' s Royal Rifle Corps , based at Tidworth on Salisbury Plain , where he rose to the rank of Sergeant , becoming a physical training instructor . His skills on the football field won him a variety of Army representative honours . In 1931 , his Army career came to an end , and after a short period playing with Barking Town in the Athenian League he joined Second Division Southampton in October 1931 . Southampton . He played two matches with Southampton ' s reserves , before being drafted into the first team as an emergency centre forward , where the " Saints " were suffering with an injury crisis with Bill Fraser , Arthur Haddleton and Johnny McIlwaine all unavailable . Sillett scored twice on his debut , in a 3 – 1 victory at Burnley on 2 January 1932 , and retained his place in the first team , playing up front until Ted Drake was promoted from the reserves in March . Sillett was recalled , this time at left - back , replacing Reg Thomas for the final three matches of the season . During the following season , manager George Kay settled on a defensive line - up of Bill Adams and Michael Keeping at fullbacks , with Stan Woodhouse , Frank Campbell , Arthur Bradford or Bill Luckett as the three half backs – as a result , Sillett managed only six games all season . In 1933 – 34 , he was again kept out of his favoured role as full back , this time by Arthur Roberts , but had a run of four games taking over from Tommy Brewis at inside right , during which he scored twice in a 5 – 0 victory over Bradford at The Dell on 16 December . In August 1934 , after three seasons with the Saints , Sillett became an established member of the first team and in 1934 – 35 he only missed three games , playing at either left - or right - back . He soon became " " very popular with fans and colleagues alike " " and his versatility meant that he was equally at home on either side of the pitch . In the following season , he was ever - present often playing further forward in midfield and occasionally standing in as centre forward when Vic Watson was unavailable . During this season , he was a member of the team that suffered an 8 – 0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane on 28 March 1936 ( still the highest margin of defeat ) ; two days later , he played at The Dell against Port Vale in front of only 1 , 875 spectators ( losing 1 – 0 ) . This was the lowest - ever crowd for a first - team match at The Dell . He only missed one league match in 1936 – 37 as the Saints struggled to avoid relegation , finishing in 19th place , four points above the relegation zone . In January , the Saints played Football League champions Sunderland in a Third Round FA Cup match in front of a record crowd of 30 , 380 . Sunderland won 3 – 2 and went on to take the cup in the Final the following May . In his final season at The Dell , Sillett was appointed team captain , " leading the side with distinction " , but began to suffer regularly from injuries causing him to miss a third of the season , at the end of which he decided to retire . During his seven years with Southampton , Sillett made a total of 183 appearances in League and Cup matches for the first team , scoring 10 goals . Throughout his entire Southampton career , the club was struggling both financially and on the pitch , regularly finishing in the lower half of the table . Later career and death . He had a brief career in non - league football with Guildford City , before becoming a publican at " The Lamb " at Nomansland in the New Forest . During World War II , he enlisted in the Royal Navy , serving as a gunner . On 27 February 1945 , he was a member of a DEMS gun crew on the Norwegian freighter SS " Corvus " , which was part of convoy BTC 81 , when the convoy was attacked by two German U - boat s about seven miles from Lizard Point , Cornwall . " Corvus " was hit by a torpedo launched by " U - 1018 " and sank within a few minutes , resulting in the death of five of the freighter ' s Norwegian crew , a 16 - year old British cabin boy , Thomas Boniface , and two of the three British gunners , Sillett and Dennis Baker . Both U - boats were sunk two hours later with depth charge s from HMS " Loch Fada " . He is commemorated on the Chatham Naval Memorial . Family . Sillett was married to Anne and their children included Peter ( born in Southampton on 1 February 1933 ) and John ( born in Southampton on 20 July 1936 ) . The two sons were trainees at Southampton after the war , both subsequently joining Chelsea . Peter played 64 games for Southampton , before moving to Chelsea in 1953 , where he had a long career playing 260 league matches and going on to make three appearances for England in 1955 . He was also a ( non - playing ) member of England ' s squad for the 1958 FIFA World Cup . John never appeared in Southampton ' s first team , but joined his brother at Chelsea in 1954 , making 93 appearances in the league . He subsequently played for Coventry City and Plymouth Argyle , before becoming a manager at Hereford United and then at Coventry City , where he won the 1987 FA Cup Final .