Bernard Joy

Bernard Joy was the son of a policeman. He was educated at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School and studied at the University of London already playing in the midfield of the University team. Later he joined Casuals FC London to become club captain, leading them to victory in the 1936 FA Amateur Cup final. Parallel to his time with Casuals he had guest appearances for various other teams like Southend United (1931-33), Fulham FC (1933-34) and FC Arsenal (since May 1935). He played 10 games for England’s Amateur Team and captained the British team at the 1936 Olympic football tournament. There, he played both games against China and Poland as Centre half, scoring two goals against Poland even though he never scored a goal in his games for Arsenal’s first eleven. In 1936 he earned a full international cap for England playing Belgium. Joy went on the England amateur tour of New Zealand, Australia and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1937. Disregarding the unofficial wartime games, he was the last amateur player to officially represent England. He was still registered as a Casuals player and is recorded in the England history books as playing for them at the time, not Arsenal. He won an unofficial cap for England when he played in their 1944 victory over Scotland.

Joy played for Arsenal mainly as a reserve. However, he replaced Herbie Roberts, the regular player on his position, when Roberts suffered a broken leg for part of their 1937-38 championship season as well as in the following season. During the war he joined the Royal Air Force as physical education instructor but kept on playing for Arsenal until December 1946, including over 200 wartime matches. He was one of the Arsenal players making guest appearances for Southampton (in 1940) and West Ham United. For the last two years of his career he returned to the merged Corinthian-Casuals, where he ended his career in 1948. In total, he played 952 regular Premier League and Cup matches. Prior to the war he worked as a teacher at Hounslow. Later he became a sports journalist for the Evening Standard and the Sunday Express until retirement in 1976 and a writer, publishing several football books including the first history of the FC Arsenal called Forward, Arsenal! in 1952. A father of three, he lived in Osterley, Hounslow, Greater London, until he died from cancer in 1984.