A Barnet footballer since 1936, Denis Kelleher served as a Lieutenant with the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during World War Two and was captured at Tobruk, He then served in a German prisoner of war camp but, in 1944 escaped with a an RAF pilot and fellow captive. They walked for 22 days across Germany before catching a boat to Sweden and then back to England, before walking into their respective homes exhausted. Remarkably, three days after arriving home Kelleher played for Barnet and scored both goals in a 2-1 win over Grays Athletic. He was awarded the MBE for his wartime heroics. He scored a remarkable 286 goals in 358 games for Barnet in a career that lasted 16 years up to 1952 when injury cut short his playing days. He scored the crucial third goal in a 3-2 win over Bishop Auckland in the 1946 FA Amateur Cup as Barnet won the trophy for the first time. He won eight Irish amateur international caps and after the war was appointed captain. He played in Great Britain’s first three matches at the 1948 Olympic Games, scoring one goal in the 4-3 win over Netherlands. After his playing days he became a highly respected medical practitioner and retired in 1988.
Great Britain