Background
Titmuss, who was born in Pirton, Hertfordshire, turned out for his local side, Pirton United, in the Luton Alliance before joining Hitchin Town.
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Fred Titmuss
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Career
Southampton
During World War I he served with the Lancashire Fusiliers, where he played for the Army team, meeting Bert Lee who was instrumental in bringing Titmuss to The Dell. He joined Southampton as soon as hostilities were over and made a handful of appearances in friendly matches before the resumption of league football. Although Titmuss considered himself to be a left-winger, he was soon converted into an outstanding left-back.
In 1920, Southampton joined the Football League, along with the other Southern League clubs.
Titmuss missed only one match in the 1920-1921 season, as Southampton finished second, missing out on the only promotion position. This was the first time that two players from Division Three had appeared in the same England side, and the only occasion on which two players from the same Third Division club had played together for England.
He was to make one further England appearance, also against Wales on 5 March 1923. Southampton were champions of Division Three (South) in 1922 conceding only 21 goals, with Titmuss an ever-present.
Titmuss continued to be a virtual ever-present throughout the next few seasons as Southampton consolidated their place in Division Two, although his career almost came to an abrupt end in February 1924 when he nearly lost the sight in one eye after being struck in the face by the lace of a football.
By February 1926, he had lost his regular place in the starting line-up to Mike Keeping and he was sold to Plymouth Argyle for £1750. Plymouth Argyle
When Titmuss joined Plymouth, they were two-thirds of the way through a run of six consecutive finishes (between 1921-1922 and 1926-1927) in runners-up spot in the Third Division South, when only the champions were promoted. Each season they pushed hard for promotion but missed out narrowly.
After finishing third and fourth in 1928 and 1929 respectively, Plymouth eventually secured the elusive championship in 1930 by a margin of seven points.
After six years of good service to the Devon club, Titmuss retired in 1932. He then settled in the Plymouth area to become a licensee, although he later assisted Street Austell in neighbouring Cornwall.
As player
Southampton
Football League Third Division South Champions: 1921-1922
Plymouth Argyle
Football League Third Division South Champions: 1929-1930.
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According to Holley & Chalk"s "Alphabet of the Saints", "his speciality was the slide tackle although his perfect positional play often meant that such "last ditch" defending was hardly ever needed.".
