[2] A year later, Ephgrave signed a professional contract with recently relegated Second Division side Aston Villa,[2] although he failed to make a single appearance in his three seasons at the club.
[3] In March 1939, at the end of the last full season before the Second World War, the goalkeeper signed for Swindon Town,[2] where he made his first appearance in the Football League.
[3] During the conflict, Ephgrave served his country in the Royal Marines, resulting in him being captured on Crete and held as a prisoner of war in Odessa, Ukraine for four years.
[2] In the 1946–47 season he played in 29 of the 42 Second Division league games,[5] as well as in both of the FA Cup games the Saints played,[6] although in the following season he was second choice to Len Stansbridge and, later, Ian Black, making only seven league appearances in the first half of the campaign.
[7] In July 1948 Ephgrave moved to Norwich City for a transfer fee of £500,[2] where he made just five appearances in three seasons.