Blue plaque unveiled at Leamington house which was the last home of England and Arsenal football legend Eddie Hapgood

England and Arsenal football legend Eddie Hapgood's connection to Leamington has been marked by the unveiling of a blue plaque at the house in the town where lived in the final years of his life.

The plaque was unveiled by Leamington Mayor Cllr Susan Rasmussen and Eddie's son Michael at 44 Heath Terrace yesterday.

Several members of Eddie's family, representatives from Arsenal FC and Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western, an Arsenal fan, were among the crowd who came for the unveiling, for which the wheels had been set in motion by Leamington town councillor Bill Gifford back in 2019.

Eddie's daughter Dr Lynne Hapgood, who has lived in Leamington for most of her life since the mid-1960s, said the event has been 'very emotional and absolutely fantastic'.

"I am so proud of what my dad did," she added

Before these days of modern multi-millionaire footballing megastars, Eddie was a sporting hero in his own right.

Born in Bristol in 1908 as the ninth of ten children, he worked as a milkman from the age of 14 , which was school leaving age at the time, playing football in the junior leagues.

At 18 he started playing for Kettering Town FC at a level just below the Football League.

A year later he signed for Arsenal under the management of 'star manager' Herbert Chapman.

It was Herbert's counter-attacking tactics which helped Eddie, a fast and skillful defender with an eye for a creative pass, to flourish as a player and he was admired by his most illustrious opponent the great Stanley Matthews.

At the age of just 22, Eddie became the captain of Arsenal and, within a year of playing his first international match he was made the captain of the England national team.

He played almost 400 games for Arsenal between 1927 and 1944 and was capped 30 times for England between 1933 and 1939, appearing in internationally historic games such as an away match in Munich against Germany in 1938 where he and his teammates were made to give the Nazi salute by The Foreign Office as a gesture of goodwill.

He also had his nose broken in the infamous and notoriously dirty 'Battle of Highbury' match between England and the then world champions Italy in 1934.

Neither Germany nor Italy came out on top in either game.

Eddie's playing career was sadly cut short when he was just 30 due to the outbreak of the Second World War but he went in to management at Blackburn Rovers, Watford and Bath City with varied success between 1944 and 1956.

At Arsenal, Eddie was paid a maximum wage of £12 a week with a bonus of £2 for a win or £1 for a draw.

And, like the stars of today, he also topped up his income through advertising endorsements and modelling.

Lynne said: "He was incredibly famous as a player but back in those days footballers were not paid anywhere near as much as they are now.

"When war broke out he was told he could pick up his wages for the next six days and then that was it.

"It was hard for him but people always respected him as a man with great footballing principles and he was the most affectionate and caring father."

Lynne moved to Leamington as a student at the University of Warwick when it first opened in 1965.

Her older sister Margot later bought 44 Heath Terrace and moved to the town bringing Eddie and their mother - his wife - Margaret with her.

Lynne, who also moved in to the house and lived there for a while, said: "Dad absolutely loved the town.

"He gained his tennis coaching certificate, he joined the library and read many books.

"He would go to watch Coventry and Aston Villa matches.

"He was delighted because I was here because we hadn't been able to see much of one another.

"I had had a baby and he helped by taking Sam out in a pram.- he was happy and it was the first time he had been secure for a very long time after going through various managerial roles."

With his health having started to deteriorate before he came to live in Leamington, Eddie died in April 1973, aged 64.

He left four children, also including Tony who played for Burnley and Watford in the 1950s, and his wife Margaret who died in the 1980s.

Speaking at the unveiling of the plaque, his son Michael said St Mark's church near Heath Terrace was full to the brim for his father's funeral.

And Hugh and Vikki Bickerton, the current owners of 44 Heath Terrace, said: “We’re very honoured to be living in a house with such an illustrious predecessor as Eddie Hapgood who achieved so much in his chosen profession.

"It was fascinating learning about Eddie’s pioneering influence on the game.”