# Billy Bevis
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{{short description|English footballer}}
{{use British English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{infobox football biography
| name = Billy Bevis
| image =
| fullname = William Ernest Bevis
| birth_date = {{birth date|1918|9|29|df=y}}
| birth_place = [Warsash](/source/Warsash), England
| death_date = {{death date and age|1994|8|22|1918|9|29|df=y}}
| death_place = [Warsash](/source/Warsash), England
| height = {{height|ft=5|in=5}}
| position = [Outside forward](/source/Outside_forward)
| youthyears1 =
| youthclubs1 = [Gosport Borough](/source/Gosport_Borough_F.C.)
| youthyears2 = 1934–1936
| youthclubs2 = [Portsmouth](/source/Portsmouth_F.C.)
| years1 = 1936–1937
| clubs1 = [Portsmouth](/source/Portsmouth_F.C.)
| caps1 = 0 | goals1 = 0
| years2 = 1937–1947
| clubs2 = [Southampton](/source/Southampton_F.C.)
| caps2 = 82 | goals2 = 17
| years3 = 1947–1949
| clubs3 = [Winchester City](/source/Winchester_City_F.C.)
| caps3 = | goals3 =
| years4 = 1949–1951
| clubs4 = [Cowes Sports](/source/Cowes_Sports_F.C.)
| caps4 = | goals4 =
| years5 = 1951–1952
| clubs5 = [Winchester City](/source/Winchester_City_F.C.)
| caps5 = | goals5 =
| years6 = 1952–1953
| clubs6 = [Warsash](/source/Warsash_F.C.)
| caps6 = | goals6 =
| nationalyears1 =
| nationalteam1 =
| nationalcaps1 = | nationalgoals1 =
| manageryears1 =
| managerclubs1 =
}}
'''William Ernest Bevis''' [DSM](/source/Distinguished_Service_Medal_(United_Kingdom)) (29 September 1918 – 22 August 1994) was an English [footballer](/source/association_football) who played for [Southampton](/source/Southampton_F.C.) as an [outside right](/source/outside_right) in the years either side of the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War).
==Football career==
===Portsmouth===
Bevis was born in [Warsash](/source/Warsash), Hampshire and played football as a youth with [Gosport Borough](/source/Gosport_Borough_F.C.) before joining [Portsmouth](/source/Portsmouth_F.C.) as a trainee in February 1934. He signed a professional contract with Portsmouth in July 1936, but failed to break through into the first team at [Fratton Park](/source/Fratton_Park).[{{cite book |first=Dave|last= Juson |title=Saints v Pompey – A history of unrelenting rivalry|publisher=Hagiology Publishing |year=2004|isbn=0-9534474-5-6|page=232}}]
===Southampton===
In July 1937, he was one of several players recruited by [Southampton](/source/Southampton_F.C.)'s newly appointed manager [Tom Parker](/source/Tom_Parker_(footballer%2C_born_1897)), who was trying to build a side to push for promotion from [Division Two](/source/Football_League_Division_Two).[{{cite book | title=Saints – A complete record|last= Chalk|first= Gary|author2=Holley, Duncan | publisher= Breedon Books| year=1987| isbn= 0-907969-22-4|pages=98–99}}] Bevis was immediately drafted into the first team as an 18-year-old, replacing the injured [John Summers](/source/John_Summers_(footballer)), for his debut in a 0–0 draw with [Aston Villa](/source/Aston_Villa_F.C.) on 4 September 1937.
Bevis soon gained a reputation as a speedy right-winger and made 31 appearances in [the 1937–38 season](/source/1937%E2%80%9338_in_English_football), scoring five goals. In [the following season](/source/1938%E2%80%9339_in_English_football) he only missed five matches, making 37 appearances and scoring six goals, including a "spectacular"[{{cite book | title=Saints – A complete record |pages=100–101}}] At the end of the season, [Newcastle United](/source/Newcastle_United_F.C.) made an enquiry about Bevis's availability.[{{cite book| title=In That Number – A post-war chronicle of Southampton FC |last= Holley |first= Duncan |author2=Chalk, Gary | publisher=Hagiology Publishing | year=2003 | isbn=0-9534474-3-X|page=483}}]
Bevis's football career was then interrupted by the outbreak of the [Second World War](/source/Second_World_War), although he continued to appear for the Saints in the wartime leagues in the early months of the war.[{{cite book | title=Saints – A complete record |page=103}}] He then joined the [Merchant navy](/source/Merchant_navy) as a [petty officer](/source/petty_officer) [gunner](/source/infantry_support_weapon) and during the war the ships on which he was serving were [torpedo](/source/torpedo)ed three times and [mined](/source/Naval_mine) once. After one of these attacks, he spent seven days adrift in the [Atlantic](/source/Atlantic) before being rescued. One of the crew who rescued him was a former colleague from [Southampton](/source/Southampton_F.C.), reserve team goalkeeper Alec Warnock. Bevis was later presented with the [Distinguished Service Medal](/source/Distinguished_Service_Medal_(United_Kingdom)) by King [George VI](/source/George_VI) at [Buckingham Palace](/source/Buckingham_Palace).[{{cite book | title=The Alphabet of the Saints|last= Holley |first= Duncan |author2=Chalk, Gary| publisher= ACL & Polar Publishing | year=1992| isbn=0-9514862-3-3|pages=30–31}}]
After being [demobbed](/source/Demobilization) in November 1945, Bevis returned to [The Dell](/source/The_Dell_(Southampton)). He made 14 appearances, scoring five goals, in [the 1946–47 season](/source/1946%E2%80%9347_in_English_football) before losing his place on the right wing to [Wilf Grant](/source/Wilf_Grant).[{{cite book | title=Saints – A complete record |pages=110–111}}] At the end of the season, despite receiving an offer from [Plymouth Argyle](/source/Plymouth_Argyle_F.C.), he decided to retire.