*Indicates unconfirmed information. Figures in brackets after English team names indicate all appearances made and goals scored in competitive matches for Football League clubs from 1888 onwards. For Scottish League clubs the figures show details of all competitive appearances and goals scored from 1946/47 onwards.
Peter Vandepeer
Appearances: 106 Goals: 119
Date / Year of birth: 12th November 1927
Position: Striker
Season of first appearance: 1953/54
Season of last appearance: 1956/57
Also played for: Bowaters Lloyd, Leicester City (0), Reading (0), Whitwick Colliery, Sittingbourne, Faversham Town, Snowdown Colliery Welfare and Brett Sports
Incredibly prolific 6' 0" tall, pacy striker born in Sittingbourne who was known as "The Flying Dutchman" despite not actually being Dutch. Peter's parents were English although the fact that he married a Dutch girl often caused confusion.
He started his career as a centre-half with Kent League side Bowaters Lloyd aged 16 before gaining a scholarship to Loughborough College in 1944.
Peter spent two years there and represented both the College and Northern Universities. It was at that time that he moved out of the half back line and became a striker, initially an inside-forward. The Loughborough centre-half was captain of English Universities, the left-half was a tutor and the right-half was captain of the side. Because of that Peter said he was an inside-forward as he felt it was the only way he'd get a game.
The ploy obviously worked as Peter was soon signed by Leicester and played mainly for their reserves until being called up into the army in 1946. He played regimental football whilst in the Army Physical Training Corps and also played for the British Army basketball team.
Following his military service Peter returned to Loughborough and spent the period from 1949-1951 back there. He played for Whitwick Colliery in the Birmingham League during that time and also turned out for his old club Lloyds in the Kent League from time to time during the 1949/50 and 1950/51 seasons. At that time Peter rode a BSA 350 motorbike.
As Peter continued his studies - he was training to become a P.E. teacher - he also kept up his other sporting activities and he was part of the Loughborough basketball team who became University champions. The side even played a game on the same bill as The Harlem Globetrotters.
Peter was also playing for Reading's reserves at that time but he decided not to take up their offer of becoming a full-time professional when he completed his studies and in August 1951 he returned home to join Sittingbourne. He also took up a job as Head of Physical Education at Canterbury Technical High School (later known as The Geoffrey Chaucer School).
After scoring 75 goals in just two seasons for Sittingbourne (including four in a 6-0 win over Margate in February 1952) Peter signed for Margate in June 1953 and continued his prolific run.
He scored twice on his debut - a 4-1 win at Ashford on 26.8.53 - and ended up with 34 goals during 1953/54 at a rate of almost one a game. Peter's tally included five hat-tricks and one of them was in the Kent League Cup Final Replay - a 5-0 win over Canterbury at Hartsdown Park on 6.5.54. He'd also scored twice in the first match - a 3-3 draw at Canterbury on 1.5.54.
Peter did endure one barren spell that saw him dropped to the reserves in February 1954 but after scoring four goals in a 5-1 win over Bexleyheath & Welling he was quickly restored to the first team. He put his return to goalscoring form down to buying some new boots.
Amazingly the 1954/55 season was an even better one for Peter. He scored 46 times in just 40 appearances and managed three hat-tricks plus a four goal haul in a 5-2 win at Betteshanger in September 1954. He also scored Margate's goal as they went down 2-1 to Tunbridge Wells in the Final of the Kent Senior Shield on 14.5.55.
During the summer of 1955 Peter suffered a slipped disc and the injury meant that he missed the first part of the 1955/56 season. However when he regained fitness in November 1955 Peter predictably made up for lost time.
He scored four goals in his first comeback match in the reserves followed by a hat-trick in his second and when Peter returned to first team duty he scored four in only his second appearance - an 8-1 win at Whitstable. He hit a second consecutive hat-trick the following week as Margate beat Whitstable 3-2 in the return match and on 10.3.56 Peter scored a remarkable five goals in an 8-0 win at Sheppey. His fifth was his 100th for Margate making him the first player in the club's history to reach that milestone. He ended the season with an amazing tally of 30 goals from only 21 appearances.
It seemed as if 1956/57 was going to be 'business as usual' for Peter as he scored nine goals in eight appearances during August and early September. His tally included yet another hat-trick, this time in an 8-1 win over Sheppey in the FA Cup. However on 24.9.56 Peter left the club to become player-coach (player-manager) of Faversham having kept up his remarkable goal average of more than one per game played for Margate.
Peter scored a hat-trick on his Faversham debut and went on to score 30 goals for them during the remainder of the 1956/57 campaign, making him the Kent League's second highest scorer for the third time in his career with 39 in total for the season. He'd previously finished second in the league's scoring charts for both 1952/53 (32 goals for Sittingbourne) and 1953/54 (34 for Margate) as well as being joint top scorer for 1951/52 (42 goals for Sittingbourne). Peter ended up spending three years with Faversham and under his guidance the club won the Kent Amateur Cup twice.
However he had a few injuries and after a second cartilage operation Peter moved on to Snowdown Colliery where he again tasted success - the club winning the Aetolian League in its first year of formation and then the Aetolian League Cup in its second. He stayed with the club until 1965 and scored a total of 38 goals.
By that time Peter was 38 and decided that he'd had enough of playing but then he was approached to run Canterbury-based Brett Sports' teams. Peter accepted the offer and changed his mind about retiring. He eventually gave up playing in 1969 aged 42 by which time Brett had become a senior club and won various leagues and cups.
After his football career ended Peter extended his service at Canterbury Technical High School / The Geoffrey Chaucer School to almost 30 years before two heart attacks in 1980 led him to retire.
In 1982 Peter took up bowls as he recovered his health and in 1991 aged 64 he won the Kent County Singles, a competition entered by over 1000 players. He also became involved in coaching the game. In 2002 he was still playing bowls regularly.
Peter scored in a trial game for the England amateur side played at Eastbourne during the early part of his football career and his two sons Julian and Jonathan both played a few games for Whitstable during the 1982/83 season.
In 2013 Peter was living in Kingston near Canterbury and he died on 19.9.14 aged 86.
He completed a questionnaire for this site which you can see here.
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
|
FAC |
KSC |
KLC |
KSS |
|
|
1953/54 (MFC) |
37 (40) |
N/A |
34 |
KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (2ND OF 16) |
2QR |
1R |
W |
1R |
|
Played and
scored twice in Kent League Cup Final (01.05.54 - drew 3-3 with
Canterbury City). Played and scored hat-trick in Kent League Cup Final replay (06.05.54 - beat Canterbury City 5-0). | |||||||||
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
|
FAC |
KSC |
KLC |
KSS |
|
|
1954/55 (MFC) |
40 (46) |
N/A |
46 |
KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (5TH OF 17) |
2QR |
2R |
RU |
RU |
|
Played in Kent
League Cup Final (30.04.55 - lost 3-2 to Tunbridge
Wells). Played and scored in Kent Senior Shield Final (14.05.55 - lost 2-1 to Tunbridge Wells). | |||||||||
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
|
FAC |
KSC |
KLC |
KSS |
|
|
1955/56 (MFC) |
21 (45) |
N/A |
30 |
KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (2ND OF 17) |
1R |
1R |
RU |
1R |
|
Played in Kent
League Cup Final (10.05.56 - lost 2-1 to Gillingham Reserves). | |||||||||
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
|
FAC |
KSC |
KLC |
KSS |
|
|
1956/57 (MFC) |
8 (47) |
N/A |
9 |
KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (8TH OF 17) |
2R |
1R |
SF |
SF |
|