100 Years Ago - Orient in 1919

[Redcard]

Max, why are you always so confrontational. I suggest you take your Marxist views elsewhere.

[Kent]

Absolutely fascinating. Keep up the good work

If people are sufficiently interested I shall endeavour to continue this thread throughout the season.

---------------

In the Summer of 1919, Clapton Orient was preparing for the start of the new Football League season, the first in four years. The rebuilding job required was every bit as profound as the one required in 2017, the difference being that every club was to some extent in the same predicament.
The Treaty of Versailles, signed in June, at last gave the government confidence that war was not about to break out again on the Western Front. The pace of demobilisation could therefore be stepped up, but nevertheless there were soldiers who were still unable to come home. Some were needed as an insurance policy in case war broke out with the new Bolshevik government in Russia. Others were still recovering in hospital, not least from the effects of influenza, of which there was a raging epidemic. Politicians were also reluctant to release men too quickly into the job market at home. The fear of unemployment added to concerns about political unrest. Would the Socialist revolution in Russia spread its contagion to other European countries, including Britain? In July, Peace Day- a national holiday intended as a set-piece celebration of victory – ended in riots in several towns and cities. In Luton, the town hall was burned down. In the end, the problem of worklessness was not as bad as some feared . This was helped by the sacking of most of the women workers who had been keeping industry going during the war to free up their jobs for returning men. There was also a brief economic boom as domestic consumption, which had been depressed by the uncertainty of the war, rapidly rose. When it came down to it, football was more popular than Bolshevism.

Clapton Orient had ended the war years in poor shape, finishing bottom of the London Combination by a large margin and only three wins out of 36- although they had beaten champions Brentford in their final game. The club had played a huge price for being in the vanguard of the war effort. Three stalwarts of the pre-war team, the two top-scorers from 1914/15, Dickie McFadden and William Jonas, and midfielder George Scott had all made the ultimate sacrifice. Tragic as this loss was, they were also among the very worst players to have lost – the main forward power of the squad plus the man who had made the key centre-half position his own. In the 2-3-5 formation that had been the basis of the game for the previous thirty years, the centre-half was the lynchpin of any team - the main play-maker as well as the man who dropped deep between the full backs when the opposition attacked. Other players had returned from the war with injuries and everyone must have been battle scarred. It is estimated that a quarter of all men returning had been physically injured in some way and nearly all who had been under fire, it is now believed, would have had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder – neurasthenia or ‘shell shock’ as it was then known. At a time when most work was physically hard, you have to assume that men expected to perform as professional athletes would have found things particularly difficult.

The decision had been made that the new season would begin on 30th August 1919, so time was pressing, Both Division 1 and Division 2 of the Football League – the latter where the Orient competed- had been extended to 22 clubs, meaning 42 league games to complete before the following May. Coventry City, South Shields (later renamed Gateshead), Rotherham, Stoke and West Ham United had been elected to Division 2 and Glossop North End had dropped out. Controversially, Arsenal had been allowed to join Division 1 despite finishing only sixth in Division 2 in 1914/15, while Tottenham Hotspur had been relegated. This apparent injustice cemented Spurs’ grievance that Arsenal had been allowed to encroach onto its North London territory when it moved from Woolwich to Highbury in 1913. Leeds City was a club in crisis; it had been accused of paying players during the war and was now in conflict with the League over its failure to cooperate with the ensuing investigation. All of which would add spice to the new season. In the meantime there was the small matter of how to find a team.

[Max B Gold]

Max, why are you always so confrontational. I suggest you take your Marxist views elsewhere.

Thats a bit confrontational.

[Simple Man]

Great read. Shame someone has to spoil it for others though. Please ignore him and carry on as a greater majority would like you to.

[Disoriented]

Thanks Max. I'm using accounts written by historians as background material. The idea is to write it as it would have been seen in Britain at the time, to try and put the season on context and as it's a few hundred words it's going to be over-simplified.

If by "over simplified" you mean factually incorrect then I suggest you revise that approach.

So factually incorrect means whatever doesn’t fit your narrow-minded Marxist narrative?

Give the fella a break - he is trying to be helpful here which is more than can said for your negative mumblings.

[Thor]

Carry on rambling man ignore comrade max.

[Rambling Man]

Thanks for all the encouragement. Actually I've no problem with Max. Just a misunderstanding.

[Lucky7]

Carry on Rambling

Was that ever a movie?

[Max B Gold]

Thanks for all the encouragement. Actually I've no problem with Max. Just a misunderstanding.

Keep up the good work.

[Rambling Man]

Latest episode. This one has been a bit of a slog I must admit. I swear the Summer of 1919 was even longer than the 2019 close season.

https://claptonorient100.blogspot.com/2 ... e-and.html

[Disoriented]

Good read again.

[Rambling Man]

Saturday August 30th 1919

LEAGUE DIVISION TWO
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 2 CLAPTON ORIENT 1

For the first game of the season, Orient name their side in the day or two leading up to the match, as is customary. In the 2-3-5 formation which has been ubiquitous for the last thirty years, the O’s line up as follows;

Goalkeeper; Jimmy Hugall
Full backs; Jimmy Nicholls and Sam Tonner
Half backs; Jack Forrest, Alf Worboys, Billy Hind
Forwards; Fred Parker, Bob Dalrymple, Harry Smith, Tommy Bowyer, Ben Ives

No fewer than five of these players were with the O’s before the war; Hugall, Forrest, Hind, Parker and Dalrymple. Striker Harry Smith is only 17 years old. Dalrymple at 39 is the veteran while Hind and captain ‘Spider’ Parker are 34 and 33 respectively. You could say it is a blend of youth and experience. Worboys, Smith and Bowyer take the places of the three players who made the supreme sacrifice.

The team is practically at full strength though David Calderhead, son of the Chelsea manager, who was signed in the close season as a first team half back has been ‘indisposed’ and requires extra training. Forrest gets his chance.

Huddersfield and Orient were both solid mid table sides before the war, but four years is a long time so how the teams will perform is a bit of a mystery. On paper Huddersfield look strong but the club is heavily in debt from the cost of developing the ground. In view of the extension of the league from twenty teams to twenty-two, this is the first time the season has kicked off in August. Bumper gates are expected and the Daily Herald hails, “Cricket is dead; long live football!”.

The game kicks off in brilliant sunshine in front of a gate of about 5,000 at Leeds Road. The O’s start in good style but Huddersfield threaten first when Richardson hits the Clapton crossbar. Town get more into the game and hit a free kick over the bar, but Orient stick to their task. Rain starts to fall after 25 minutes and it’s a good omen for the O’s when BOWYER scores after 35. After neat interplay, a good ball from the left wing, presumably from Ives, finds Bowyer unmarked ten yards out and he finishes easily. But Orient are pegged back when star striker Jack COCK heads in from a corner. The whistle immediately blows for half time.

In the second half Orient have a free kick tipped over the bar and then Baker shoots into the arms of Hugall, sound as always. From here on in it is sustained attack from Huddersfield, with the O’s defending well but towards the end BAKER scores for the Town from a centre by Richardson.

Elsewhere West Ham achieve a 1-1 home draw with Lincoln in their first ever Football League match, while fellow newcomers Coventry City are clobbered 5-0 at home by newly relegated Tottenham Hotspur. Fulham beat South Shields 1-0 at Craven Cottage.

In Division One, champions Everton lose 2-3 at home to Chelsea while cup holders Sheffield United draw 3-3 at Manchester City. Since they both won these trophies more than four years ago their status is not much more than honorary. The Arsenal lose 1-0 at home to Newcastle.

In the newspaper this morning, fans will have read of plans for a post-war reduction in civil servants in Whitehall with women and girls to be let go first. The women are felt to have performed admirably in their work during the war and some in the press feel their treatment is unfair, but jobs are needed for returning servicemen, of whom, latest figures show, more than 3,000,000 have now been demobilised. A Thames barge has sunk off Beckton gas works and although a dog has been rescued it is believed three or four crew men have perished. In today’s by election, there is a gain for Labour as former party leader Arthur Henderson, who lost his seat in last year’s general election, is returned with 52% of the vote.

Orient now look forward to Thursday’s first home game of the season against Fulham.

[BIGRON]

[Lucky7]

Keep Rambling Man!!
Great read
Thanks

[Real Al]

The sooner Ross gets back to a traditional 2-3-5 formation the better.

[Article_50]

This link may be of interest.

http://blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk/archives/5215

[Rambling Man]

This link may be of interest.

http://blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk/archives/5215

Fascinating. So why do Spurs not like Arsenal?

[Rambling Man]

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 4TH 1919

LEAGUE DIVISION TWO
CLAPTON ORIENT 0 FULHAM 1

It’s not clear why Orient waited until Thursday evening to kick off their season at Millfields Road; all the other Division 2 games took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. And there are two changes in the Orient team already. Veteran forward Bob Dalrymple is injured, so Arthur Layton starts at inside right and goalkeeper Jimmy Hugall, who kept the team in the match at Huddersfield, is also unavailable so local boy George Carrington fills in between the posts for his Orient debut. Aged 31, Carrington has never played professional football before, having recently signed from Ford Sports. Otherwise, the O’s are unchanged.

Goalkeeper; George Carrington
Full backs; Jimmy Nicholls and Sam Tonner
Half backs; Jack Forrest, Alf Worboys, Billy Hind
Forwards; Fred Parker, Arthur Layton, Harry Smith, Tommy Bowyer, Ben Ives

The match kicks off at six o clock – as late as possible to maximise the size of the crowd from those who have left work or are able to slope off early and to get the game finished before it becomes too dark. The Homerton ground, like other top stadiums in England, has no floodlights. In the end a crowd of about 9,000 is achieved according to the newspapers at the time.

The match is played in overcast conditions but that’s not all that the contributes to the gloom. Orient launches wave after wave of attacks but cannot break down a dogged and well organised Fulham side: the Sportsman estimates that the O’s spend about three-quarters of the match camped in the Fulham half. Both sets of full-backs play excellently, Worboys distinguishes himself at centre-half for Orient while wingers Ives and Parker are the pick of the forwards, but Bowyers and Layton are hesitant in front of goal and can’t score while young Harry Smith, who is a deft dribbler with the ball at his feet also cannot find the net.

Four minutes from the end Carrington comes rushing too far out of his goal and is beaten and Nicholls handles to stop a certain goal. Jimmy TORRANCE scores the resulting penalty for Fulham.

So two wins for Fulham - and two defeats for the O’s leaves Orient 18th in the table on goal average, one of five clubs with no points. Goal average is calculated by dividing the number of goals scored by the number conceded, which has two disadvantages; firstly, it’s hard to calculate in your head (and gets harder as the season goals on and it becomes more important) and secondly it favours teams who concede fewer goals. Nevertheless it helps Orient out on this occasion. Tottenham’s 4-0 win against Leicester puts them top – they have now scored nine goals without reply with Fulham second. There is good cheer from Barnsley where West Ham are beaten 7-0. In Division 1, West Brom and Chelsea are the only teams with 4 points from two games. Chelsea win 2-0 against Sunderland at Stamford Bridge while fellow Londoners Arsenal win 3-2 at Liverpool.

If fans buy fish and chips on the way home they will read in the newspaper they are wrapped in that the dispute over future ownership of the coal mines drags on with the trade unions now rejecting a further proposal from government to implement mining trusts. The miners are holding out for full nationalisation. In Egypt a student is arrested for throwing a bomb at the car of the Prime Minister Mohammed Said Pasha. The student had smuggled the bomb hidden in a bunch of grapes.

Locally, Whitechapel and Stepney Labour Party is holding open-air protests to try and stop the demolition of houses in Brick Lane to make way for a cinema. Meanwhile an inquest hears of the case of a young painter Alfred Bonney from Bethnal Green who is killed by a bus in Dalston when it swerves onto the pavement to avoid a cyclist, pinning him against a wall. Recording a verdict of accidental death the coroner exonerates the bus driver and the cyclist, telling the driver he ‘did the wise thing’.

[Rambling Man]

LEAGUE DIVISION TWO
CLAPTON ORIENT 0 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 1

On the front pages. a large number of Germans have attacked occupying British forces in Cologne; it is announced that the ringleader will be shot. Meanwhile a strike by the Entertainment Directors Union has closed down theatres, cinemas, music halls and concert halls throughout the city, but since the city is Paris, no Orient supporters are likely to be affected.

The practice at this time is to play teams back to back over the course of the season, so the first Saturday fixture at Millfields is the reverse of last Saturday’s away tie at Huddersfield. Again there are two changes. Keeper Hugall is still not fit, and Carrington pays for his mistake against Fulham, so Orient play their third different goalkeeper in three matches. This time it is Tommy Gray, a 28 year old signing from Southern League Portsmouth, nicknamed ‘Dolly’, no doubt after the popular music hall song, ‘Goodbye Dolly Gray’. Worboys sustained a bad injury against Fulham, so with David Calderhead still not available, local boy George Francis steps in for his league debut. The Orient side started the season just about at full strength but is already in danger of looking threadbare, but the good news is that Bob Dalrymple is back at inside-right in place of Layton.

Goalkeeper; Tommy Gray
Full backs; Jimmy Nicholls and Sam Tonner
Half backs; Jack Forrest, George Francis, Billy Hind
Forwards; Fred Parker, Bob Dalrymple, Harry Smith, Tommy Bowyer, Ben Ives

A crowd of 12,000 is in attendance on a fine late Summer afternoon. Huddersfield start the match kicking South to North with the blazing sun behind them, which the Star Green ‘Un newspaper says is an advantage, although it doesn’t explain exactly why. The Terriers attack strongly from the start but are let down by poor shooting, until the 18th minute when Buck passes to TAYLOR whose shot goes in off the post.

Five minutes later, Orient are awarded a penalty when Rodgers handles in front of goal, but Bowyer shoots straight at the goalkeeper from the spot.

Huddersfield also have the better the opening exchanges in the second half, winning three corners in quick succession but egged on by the supporters, the O’s gradually get more into it. As against Fulham, though, they are looking flustered in front of goal. Nevertheless Huddersfield are left hanging on towards the end when Terriers keeper Sandy Mutch saves splendidly after a goalmouth scramble. Of the replacements Francis gives a good account of himself while Gray in goal could not have been bettered.

The result leaves Orient in 21st place, second from bottom with no points, only kept off the bottom by Coventry who continue to struggle at their new level. They lose 4-1 at White Hart Lane. Spurs are top with six points, level with Bristol City who beat Bury 1-0 at Gigg Lane. West Ham have recorded their first football league victory, winning 4-1 at Lincoln while Fulham are down to a bump after two wins, losing 2-0 at South Shields.

In Division 1, Middlesbrough lead the way after beating The Wednesday 3-0 but no team in the top division has maximum points. Chelsea lose 1-0 at home to Everton while Arsenal are beaten 3-1 at Newcastle. Two famous old names, Preston and Aston Villa, each of them former champions, prop up the table.

[Rambling Man]

9TH-10TH SEPTEMBER 1919

Midweek matches go ahead without the O's. For some reason the return match with Fulham at Craven Cottage is scheduled for next Monday evening, the 15th. Coventry lose again - 4-0 at home to Leeds City - so the O's are still 21st. Spurs are now alone at the top with four wins out of four after winning 4-2 at Leicester. Next up for the O's: home against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

But in the absence of a match it is reported that three brass plates have been placed in the Clapton Orient boardroom in honour of the three players killed in the war, McFadden, Jones and Scott. Meanwhile veterans of the Footballers' Battalion has provided the grave of McFadden in France with a memorial on which a football is carved. It is noted that McFadden's grave is side by side with that of the well-known musical theatre star Basil Hallam, who also died in the Somme.

[Real Al]

9TH-10TH SEPTEMBER 1919

Midweek matches go ahead without the O's. For some reason the return match with Fulham at Craven Cottage is scheduled for next Monday evening, the 15th. Coventry lose again - 4-0 at home to Leeds City - so the O's are still 21st. Spurs are now alone at the top with four wins out of four after winning 4-2 at Leicester. Next up for the O's: home against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

But in the absence of a match it is reported that three brass plates have been placed in the Clapton Orient boardroom in honour of the three players killed in the war, McFadden, Jones and Scott. Meanwhile veterans of the Footballers' Battalion has provided the grave of McFadden in France with a memorial on which a football is carved. It is noted that McFadden's grave is side by side with that of the well-known musical theatre star Basil Hallam, who also died in the Somme.

Keep up the good work Rambler.

Anyone know if those plaques made it to Brisbane Rd.?

[tuffers#1]

This link may be of interest.

http://blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk/archives/5215

Fascinating. So why do Spurs not like Arsenal?

We finished 2 points behind Arsenal
WTF did we not apply ?
Shakes head in disbelief

[Throoou The Netting!]

9TH-10TH SEPTEMBER 1919

Midweek matches go ahead without the O's. For some reason the return match with Fulham at Craven Cottage is scheduled for next Monday evening, the 15th. Coventry lose again - 4-0 at home to Leeds City - so the O's are still 21st. Spurs are now alone at the top with four wins out of four after winning 4-2 at Leicester. Next up for the O's: home against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

But in the absence of a match it is reported that three brass plates have been placed in the Clapton Orient boardroom in honour of the three players killed in the war, McFadden, Jones and Scott. Meanwhile veterans of the Footballers' Battalion has provided the grave of McFadden in France with a memorial on which a football is carved. It is noted that McFadden's grave is side by side with that of the well-known musical theatre star Basil Hallam, who also died in the Somme.

Keep up the good work Rambler.

Anyone know if those plaques made it to Brisbane Rd.? ....................................... The three brass plaques are mounted on the large wooden plaque which the Supporters' Club had framed and put on display at the O's in Reception. The memorial on Richard McFadden's grave is no longer in the cemetery. Basil Hallam' s grave is several rows from McFadden's, as is that of Grimsby Capt L/Cpl Sid Wheelhouse, who guested for the Orient whilst waiting to come over to France with 17th Middlesex - The Footballers ' Battalion

[Real Al]

9TH-10TH SEPTEMBER 1919

Midweek matches go ahead without the O's. For some reason the return match with Fulham at Craven Cottage is scheduled for next Monday evening, the 15th. Coventry lose again - 4-0 at home to Leeds City - so the O's are still 21st. Spurs are now alone at the top with four wins out of four after winning 4-2 at Leicester. Next up for the O's: home against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

But in the absence of a match it is reported that three brass plates have been placed in the Clapton Orient boardroom in honour of the three players killed in the war, McFadden, Jones and Scott. Meanwhile veterans of the Footballers' Battalion has provided the grave of McFadden in France with a memorial on which a football is carved. It is noted that McFadden's grave is side by side with that of the well-known musical theatre star Basil Hallam, who also died in the Somme.

Keep up the good work Rambler.

Anyone know if those plaques made it to Brisbane Rd.? ....................................... The three brass plaques are mounted on the large wooden plaque which the Supporters' Club had framed and put on display at the O's in Reception. The memorial on Richard McFadden's grave is no longer in the cemetery. Basil Hallam' s grave is several rows from McFadden's, as is that of Grimsby Capt L/Cpl Sid Wheelhouse, who guested for the Orient whilst waiting to come over to France with 17th Middlesex - The Footballers ' Battalion

Thank you.

[Rambling Man]

I assume the Commonwealth War Graves Commission replaced a lot of non-standard memorials.... I believe there are strict rules. Or perhaps the newspaper report I found was simply wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.