Marine W. H. Ranner or "Sticks" to so many, joined the Corps in 1934 and first came into prominence as a footballer when, in his first ship, HMS Enterprise, in 1938 he played in goal for the squadron, the youngster of the team, and also for the Combined Services (Ceylon).

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Later in that year he took over from Marine Renouf at Portsmouth where Renouf had set a very high standard indeed. At the out break of the war Ranner was serving with the 2nd Battalion. He played for both the Battalion and the 101 Brigade, which included quite a few professionals. He then went to sea in H.M.S. Manchester and played regularly for the ship until he had to swim for it.

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For the 1942-43 season he was back at Eastney, where he played for the Division and the Command and was invited to play as guest player for Portsmouth Football Club in the London League.

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He next appeared in Iceland, where, together with Marine Heighton, another Navy player, he turned out for the Combined Services (Iceland).

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After the war he was again in Eastney colours and reached the peak of his career, being capped for the Navy (1947-48) against the Army, the R.A.F. and London Leagues. He played for the Corps in 1947, 1948 and 1949, and it was while he was defending for Eastney in the 1947 season that the brought off the coveted double by winning both the Navy cup beating Royal Marines Chatham Division in an all Royal Marines final and the U.S. Charity Cup beating R.A.F.  Thornley. He also won the 1950 USMC Challenge Trophy when RMB Eastney beat RM Deal 3-2 (Played after a replay on 1st March 1951, this after losing the 1946 final when RM Portsmouth were beaten 3-0 by RM Chatham.

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