He then moved to Birmingham, joined the police,[9] and was reinstated as an amateur.[2] He returned to football with Birmingham in 1911, for which he played 49 Second Division games, most of which came in a spell from October 1912 to New Year's Day 1914.[10][11] He later signed for Stoke, before retiring from the game in around 1915.[12]
After retiring as a player, he became a referee, and officiated in matches up to Football League level.[13] He was also a competent sprinter, despite being a heavy man,[14] and was for many years actively involved with the charity sports meetings organised by the Birmingham police.[2][13]
Personal life
Herbert Crossthwaite was born on 4 April 1887 in Preston, Lancashire,[12] to Thomas Crossthwaite, a general labourer, and his wife Esther, a cotton operative.[15] The 1901 United Kingdom Census records him as a postal telegraph messenger.[16] He married Agnes Carter in 1909, and the couple had two children, Ann and Herbert.[17]
Crossthwaite joined the Birmingham City Police in September 1910, giving his previous occupation as that of postman.[17] His police file describes him as 5 ft 9+3⁄4 in (1.77 m) tall, of dark complexion with dark brown hair and eyes.[17] He was promoted to sergeant in 1917 and to inspector in 1925,[17] spending much of his career serving in the Chief Constable's office, specialising in entertainment tax enforcement before such work was taken over by the Inland Revenue.[17] He was a recipient of the King's Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935,[2] and retired from the police later that year having completed his 25 years' service.[17]
The 1939 Register finds him living with his family in the Erdington district of Birmingham and working part-time as a nightwatchman.[18] On 20 May 1944, at the age of 57, he collapsed and died in Erdington.[9][19]
