A former Kent county player, Leslie Stratton joined Walthamstow Avenue from Dartford in 1951 and the following year he won the first of his five England amateur caps against Wales, and helped Walthamsow win the Amateur Cup for the first time after a 2-1 victory in their replayed final against Leyton. To round off a memorable year, he gained selection for the Great Britain squad to go to the Helsinki Olympics. A left-back, he played in Britain’s disastrous defeat by Luxembourg and they were out of the competition before the Games’ opening ceremony. The following year, 1953, also started off brightly. Although his international career had begun and ended in 1952, Stratton was in the Walthamstow Avenue side that held the mighty Manchester United ti a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford in what was the greatest match in the club’s history. Sadly, the replay at Arsenal’s Highbury Stadium saw United, who were lying seventh in the first division at the time, win 5-2. Two days after the replay, Stratton broke his leg in the second half of a second round Amateur Cup replay against Wealdstone. He recovered and returned to the Walthamstow side and continued playing for a couple more seasons.
Great Britain