The Football League was suspended at the outbreak of the First World War, during which Sandy Turnbull was killed in France. On 28 December 1914, Jack Robson was appointed as the club's first official manager; previously, the club secretary had been responsible for the majority of matters relating to the playing of the game. Mangnall's position as secretary was first filled by T.J. Wallworth, then by Bentley, under whom Robson worked. No football was played during the war, which meant that the club was not generating any revenue, but the club had to continue to pay for the running of Old Trafford, and as such the financial situation worsened. Bentley died in September 1918, two months before the end of the war and a year before the resumption of league football.