Playing most of his career at Left-Half, Doug started his career with Chelmsford City before a move to Southend United in 1936 where he would stay for only the one season, making 31 league appearances and scoring twice.

A move to the Magpies quickly followed and he would stay at St James Park for a total of eight years.

During that time he would play 74 times for the club in the league. Whilst that doesn't seem to add up in terms of games over that period, and certainly when you consider he was seen by staff and fans alike as a mainstay of the side and a truly gifted player, it all adds up when you consider that World War II was smack bang in the middle of his time at the club.

Indeed, like many footballers of his generation, war became part of his life. And war almost claimed his. In the Battle of Dunkirk a severe leg injury almost did for him. A fighter through and through he returned to his homeland and eventually football with Lincoln City, where we would make a staggering further 233 league appearances.

Doug earned one cap for his national team with in a 4-0 win against Norway in 1938. He died in 1992 aged 75.