Ralph Shields WW2
Northumberland-born Ralph Shields joined Exeter City from Huddersfield Town in December 1920 in part-exchange for William Wright. Moving to Brentford in 1921, he later emigrated to Australia in 1927.Having previously served as a bombardier in the Royal Field Artillery in the First World War, he enlisted at an advanced age in the Australian war effort during the Second World War. Posted to Malaya with the Australian Army Service Corps he was captured by the Japanese army and transferred to the Sandakan Prisoner of War Camp in North Borneo. He died as a captive on 21 November 1944 and is buried at the Labuan War Cemetery in Malaysia.A plaque was unveiled in his memory at St James' Park in 2017.
For more about his playing career see his entry in the A to Z of first-team players section of this archive.
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