Arthur Thomas was born in Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

 and signed for Linfield F.C.

Linfield F.C.

Linfield F.C. , is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club, whose home ground is Windsor Park in Belfast, which is also the home of the Northern Ireland international team....

 from Ballymena United F.C.

Ballymena United F.C.

Ballymena United, is a semi-professional, Northern Irish football club playing in the IFA Premiership. The club hails from the town of Ballymena, County Antrim and plays its home matches at Ballymena Showgrounds. Club colours are sky blue and white. Away Colours are Red and BlackThe club was...

 in November 1965. He made his Linfield debut in a 2-0 defeat by Glentoran

Glentoran F.C.

Glentoran F.C. is a semi-professional, football club in Northern Ireland. The club was founded in 1882 and plays its home games at the Oval in east Belfast. Club colours are green, red, and black.Glentoran's biggest rivals are Linfield...

 on 6 November 1965. In that 1965-66 season he won a Co. Antrim Shield winners medal against Ballymena United and it was a season in which he scored 16 goals in his 31 Linfield appearances.

He was one of the stars of the Linfield team in the 1966-67 season when the club reached the Quarter Final of the European Cup

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

, before losing narrowly on aggregate to CSKA Sofia of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

. Arthur scored three goals in the European tie against Aris

FC Aris Bonnevoie

FC Aris Bonnevoie was a football club, based in Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It is now a part of Racing FC Union Luxembourg.-History:...

 of Luxembourg

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

 that season and his final tally of five European goals is still a club record held jointly with Phil Scott and current star striker, Glenn Ferguson

Glenn Ferguson

Glenn 'Spike' Ferguson is a former Northern Irish footballer. He played for Ards and Glenavon before joining Linfield in January 1998 for an Irish League record transfer fee of £55,000...

.

A former schoolteacher from Birkenhead

Birkenhead

Birkenhead is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite the city of Liverpool...

 in Merseyside

Merseyside

Merseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...

, Arthur joined New Brighton

New Brighton A.F.C.

-Revived club:New Brighton A.F.C. were reborn in 1993, and joined the Birkenhead and Wirral League, which they won in their first season. In 1995 the club switched to the South Wirral League. After upgrading their new ground, the club were admitted to the Second Division of the West Cheshire League...

 on the Wirral

Wirral Peninsula

Wirral or the Wirral is a peninsula in North West England. It is bounded by three bodies of water: to the west by the River Dee, forming a boundary with Wales, to the east by the River Mersey and to the north by the Irish Sea. Both terms "Wirral" and "the Wirral" are used locally , although the...

 from Linfield in September 1967 and around 30 years ago he emigrated to Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

Arthur died in Sydney on 8 November 2007.

The above information can be verified by Linfield Football Club and is endorsed by Arthur Thomas's family;