Background
After working in a paper mill, Ditchburn, a son of a professional boxer joined the ground staff of Tottenham Hotspur in 1937.
After working in a paper mill, Ditchburn, a son of a professional boxer joined the ground staff of Tottenham Hotspur in 1937.
He signed professional forms for the White Hart Lane club in 1939 after a spell with the club"s "nursery" team Northfleet United. During World World War II Ditchburn served with the Royal Air Force as a physical education instructor. He made his senior debut for the Spurs in a wartime league match against Chelsea on 25 May 1940.
At this time he represented both the Royal Air Force and the Combined Services and guested at Aberdeen.
At the end of the war the brave, muscular keeper returned to Tottenham and made his Football League debut in a 2–1 reverse against Birmingham City on 31 August 1946. He went on to play in an unbroken run of 247 matches between April 1948 and March 1954.
A broken finger against Chelsea ended his career with Spurs in August 1958 after making 452 appearances in all competitions for the Lilywhites. In the following year he became player/manager of non-league Romford.
Ditchburn gave up his manager role in 1962, but kept playing for the club till 1965 and featured in 147 matches for the Essex based club
He went on to join Brentwood Town where he ended his senior career. Ditchburn played his first international in an unofficial war time match in 1944. He earned six caps between 1948–1956, a time when the popular Frank Swift and other consistent keepers dominated between the posts.
His first match was against Switzerland in 1948 and in the following year versus Sweden.
In 1953 he was selected for a tour of America as the reserve keeper and played in the 6–3 victory over the home side. Following outstanding form with at the age of 35 he was recalled to the national team and played in a further three internationals in 1956.
In addition, Ditchburn gained two England B caps in matches against Holland in May 1949 and Switzerland in January 1950. After his football career ended he established a sports outfitters and was involved in an office equipment venture.
A keen cricketer and tennis player.
He retired and settled in Wickham Market and died on 26 December 2005.
Ditchburn was a member of the 1950 World Cup squad but did not play. He was a regular member of the Football League XI and the Football Combination XI.