Albert Mullard
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Albert Thomas Mullard | ||
| Date of birth | 22 November 1920 | ||
| Place of birth | Tamworth, England | ||
| Date of death | 27 May 1984 (aged 63) | ||
| Place of death | Bilston, England | ||
| Playing position | Right-half / Inside forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Hinckley United | ? | (?) | |
| 1946–1949 | Walsall | 61 | (13) |
| 1949–1950 | Crewe Alexandra | 44 | (14) |
| 1950–1951 | Stoke City | 21 | (3) |
| 1951–1956 | Port Vale | 163 | (22) |
| Northwich Victoria | ? | (?) | |
| Total | 289+ | (52+) | |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. | |||
Albert Thomas Mullard (22 November 1920 – 27 May 1984) was an English footballer who played at right-half and inside forward.
After spending most of World War II in a Prisoner-of-war camp he turned to professional football. He plied his trade in the Midlands with Walsall, Crewe Alexandra, and Stoke City, though his most successful time was with Port Vale, with whom he won the Third Division North title and reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 1953–54. He also turned out for non-league sides Hinckley United and Northwich Victoria.
Mullard worked as a labourer at a brickworks, but enlisted in the Royal Marines on 24 September 1940. He was posted to North Africa and was eventually sent to Crete as part of MNDBO1 (Marine Naval Base Defence Organisation). He participated in the Battle of Crete in May 1941 and was captured by German Mountain Troops on 31 May 1941 while fighting in the rearguard action to defend the British evacuation at Sfakia.
He was moved to mainland Europe after his capture, spending time at Stalag III-D at Steglitz (suburb of Berlin) then transferred to Stalag IV-D at Torgau, before being liberated by US troops in April 1945. During his captivity in Germany he regularly corresponded via letter with his future wife, née Mary Rickuss who he had met briefly at a family function prior to his enlistment. Whilst a POW he played football for a Royal Marine side after his mother sent him his football boots in a Red Cross parcel. On his return to the United Kingdom he contemplated staying in the Marines, but married Mary Rickuss and embarked on a career as a professional footballer.
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