As a player he spent time with Clapton FC and Romford before ending his official playing days with Charlton Athletic in 1939, although he did go on to make a number of guest appearances for other clubs after this date in unofficial wartime friendlies.
After the hostilities ended he returned to football firstly as a coach and later as manager of Erith & Belvedere, then after a brief spell in Norway where he spent a season at the helm of Fredrikstad he took over as Bristol Rovers' boss in 1950.
He joined his first professional club, Charlton Athletic, in 1933 and he would spend just six years among the pro ranks before League football was put on hiatus in 1939 due to the outbreak of World War II.
[5] After the end of the Second World War Tann opted not to take up an opportunity to return to painting and decorating in the family business, but instead decided to try to forge a career in football coaching.
Eighteen months later, in January 1950, he was promoted to the job of first team manager, replacing Brough Fletcher who had held the position for the previous twelve years.
[citation needed] The fact that they could now earn market value for their services meant that smaller clubs, like Rovers, could no longer afford to hold on to their best players as they looked for bigger pay packets elsewhere.