The tourists from Hong Kong on the way to play the first match of the tour against Dulwich Hamlet
In August 1947 the players of the Sing Tao Sports Club of Hong Kong arrived in London for a groundbreaking tour of southern England. League and cup double winners in their own land, the team had embarked on a very successful world tour at the start of the summer.
Success was swift for the oriental club. It was still in its infancy, having only been founded in 1939 by Mr A.W. Hoe, then Hong Kong’s leading newspaper magnate.
The first ports of call were Manilla in the Philippines, Singapore in Malaya and Rangoon in Burmah. Of the 24 matches already played they had won 21. The amateur side were the first Chinese club to visit Britain, and their first match was to be against Dulwich Hamlet. There was much media interest leading up to the opening game, indeed a film crew turned up at Champion Hill to make a newsreel. The Chinese ambassador was also present with the team at Dulwich.
Photographer William Vanderson spent the day with the tourists taking a number of pictures. The shots included: the players enjoying a game of handball at the Stamford Bridge training session on the morning of the opening match with Dulwich; the Sing Tao manager sitting by the goalpost watching his team train; the players in the bath at Chelsea; the party on their way to Dulwich; Chinese naval cadets at Champion Hill; and action shots of the match.
As far back as 19th April 1947 Dulwich Hamlet Football Club stated in its matchday programme “It is probable that a team from China will visit this country in the Autumn, and if so we have been invited to entertain them. We believe the standard of football is very high in China, they beat England [sic] in the last Olympic Games, so we shall have a good attraction early in the new season, which incidentally will commence one week earlier this year.”
According to my records Great Britain actually beat China in the Berlin Olympics of 1936, and not the other way round. But there had been a world war since then so we won’t quibble with the Hamlet press secretary.
The squad of eighteen players was captained by the 41 year-old, Fung King. The veteran of the side had commenced his career twenty years earlier, and had even represented his country in Germany, in the Chinese Olympic team of 1936. He had witnessed major changes in the game including the total restructuring of the Hong Kong Football Association after the Second World War.
Chinese naval cadets from Chatham, complete with handbells and rattles, cheering their team on at Champion Hill.
Following the Hamlet match, Sing Tao completed fixtures against two representative sides: the Athenian League and the Isthmian League. Representing the Isthmian League in their match against the tourists was Dulwich Hamlet’s Pat Connett, a late replacement [for George Bunce] in the Isthmian side. He scored the third ‘home’ goal in a 3-2 victory. Nine matches in all were played on the month long tour against the south’s top amateur sides, including Walton & Hersham (champions of the Corinthian League), Walthamstow Avenue, Oxford City, Ilford, Bromley and Barnet.
I would hazard a guess that Sing Tao - sporting their yellow and black hooped jerseys, black shorts and yellow and black hooped stockings - were nicknamed either the Hornets or the Wasps. The following report in the South London Press headed “CHINESE HAD EVERYTHING BUT ABILITY TO SHOOT WELL”appeared a few days after the Hamlet match.
“Though the Chinese footballers who met Dulwich on Saturday were beaten 5-2 the score was very far from being a true indication of the strength of the two teams.
On most occasions the Hong Kong boys did things with the ball that had Hamlet all at sea. Time and again their uncanny anticipation and short passing split the home team’s defence wide open, but not one Chinamen had much in the way of shooting power.
The scoring was opened within two minutes of the start when Tommy Jover, ran the ball past the adbvancing Chinese keeper. Within 20 minutes Beglan and Davies had added two more for the Hamlet. In that first half the visitors had eight good chances of scoring, but only Che Win Keung could score. The other forwards passed and fiddled until the opportunity had gone.
The second half went pretty much the same way, with the Chinese boys well on top in midfield, but very poor (they even missed a penalty) in front of goal.
Second half goals were scored for Hamlet by Connett and Jones, while Tsao Chiu Ting reduced the deficit.
If you did any of your schooling at Alleyn's School and happened to be in Tyson House then you may be in for a surprise. Jack McInroy delves into the past to find out a bit more about one of the great Hamlet heroes, C.F. Tyson.
Introduction In this generation, no matter how a footballer behaves - on or off the pitch - as long as he's "good enough out there" he'll do. It is his ability alone that counts, some say, and what a player does in his own time should have no bearing on his (semi) professional life. But it wasn't always the case.
For many years, particularly in the early days of the Dulwich Hamlet Football Club, the type of player the club was pleased to attract was one with purely amateur ideals and an exemplary conduct. Several names spring to mind - Kail, Morrish, Smith, Knight, Hegazi, Shipway, Clegg, Thompson and Tyson, to name but a few.
Looking back, from our money orientated perspective, these men characterised much of what was good about a bygone age. And one of the finest gentlemen to grace the pink and blue was the last named among that small list of greats - C.F. Tyson. He only played for Dulwich for four seasons but in that time he achieved great success. It was a shame that Dulwich Hamlet were unable to get a couple of more years service out of him, but an affected lung put an end to his football career. His retirement from the game allowed him to continue wholeheartedly in his 'proper job' - a teaching position at Alleyn's School in Dulwich.
From Liverpool to London Charles Francis Tyson was born in Liverpool in the spring of 1885. A fellow Lancastrian with Pa Wilson, one can well imagine how this would have endeared the older man to the youngster. 'Tyke', as he was known to his friends, was over six feet in height, but a gentle giant. He had a genuine smile on his face and always found time to speak to those who approached him. His north country accent, we are told, was spoken with clarity and beautiful diction.
Coupled with this, he possessed a fine singing voice that he put to good use at many pre-war (School) Smoking Concerts. These performances usually took place at the end of year, or season, or some other anniversary. I suppose the Edwardian equivalent to the end of season disco fashionable with today's non-league clubs. In those days, however, it was generally the rule that several club members or their wives did 'turns' at such events - the recital of a poem, a piano piece, a comic song or such like. Here, Tyson the popular baritone obliged. I don't know if it is recorded that he ever performed in this way at the Dulwich Hamlet annual Smoker, but he clearly did elsewhere.
Cup Success With Dulwich Hamlet Two months into the 1908-09 season Charlie Tyson joined Dulwich Hamlet from the Crystal Palace reserves. The tall centre half had a baptism of fire, making his Hamlet debut against professionals West Ham United on bonfire night November the 5th. It was the replay of a London Challenge Cup tie, and Dulwich, down to ten men for half of the game, were soundly beaten 6-0. Two days later in another high scoring match (5-0) Tyson claimed his first goal for the club against Woodford, and the Champion Hill faithful had a new hero. Within a few months, and still only in his early twenties, Tyson tasted his first success with Dulwich. He went on to enjoy a spell at the club which took him to five Cup Finals plus two replays. Tyson was invaluable to his fellow clubmates, and it was once said that "His personality is such as to inspire confidence in the team."
In his first season at Dulwich, Charlie Tyson appeared in the victorious 1909 Surrey Senior Cup Final versus Metrogas, at The Track - Herne Hill, before an 8,000 crowd. The holders again featured in the following year's drawn Final versus Woking. This time Tyson not only played, but was reported as "The best man on the field." In the replay he picked up another winner's medal as Dulwich won the match 2-1.
His next final was the 1911 London Charity Cup Final against Nunhead, that ended in a 1-1 draw. It was Tyson's 'assist' that produced the Dulwich goal. In the replay he went one better and scored himself, in a match that was also drawn. The two clubs became joint holders for the next twelve months.
I am yet to discover whether Tyson took part in the Hamlet's disappointment in the 1912 Surrey Senior Cup Final versus Summerstown, but we do know he wore the 'Captain's armband' in the semi-final with Redhill (Arthur Knight being absent), scoring the goal fifteen minutes from time, that booked Dulwich's place in the final.
The team also appeared in that year's London Charity Cup Final against Nunhead. Tyson scored the Hamlet's second goal in the 3-2 defeat.
1909 Surrey Senior Cup Winner's Medal
1910 Surrey Senior Cup Winner's Medal
1911 London Charity Cup Finalist's Medal (Trophy jointly held)
1912 Surrey Senior Cup Runner's-up Medal
1912 London Charity Cup Runner's-up Medal
Other Honours
A reserve for the England v Belgium international match at Crystal Palace on the 4th March 1911, Tyson must have impressed in training, as he was again picked for the squad that travelled to Paris for the international with France three weeks later. This time he managed to find a place in the team. In so doing Charlie Tyson gained his one and only England cap, and had the great honour of being Dulwich Hamlet's first ever amateur international player.
Around this time Tyson commanded the utmost respect, and was sought after by various representative bodies. He toured Russia (three matches were played in Moscow) and Scandinavia with the English Wanderers, in the company of R.G. Brebner, Herbert Smith, Scothern, Olley, Rev. Hunt, V.J. Woodward, Stapley, Steer, etc.
His county caps included:- Surrey County F.A. 1910 v Paris, v London; 1911 v London, v Hampshire, v Dorset, v Berks.& Bucks., v Household Brigade, v Middlesex. (3 games for a Badge, 5 games for a Cap.)
London F.A. 1910 v Essex, v Spurs, v South Germany. 1912 v Essex, v Birmingham. (Cap & Badge 1911, Cap 1912.)
Saint Tyson It is recorded that Charles Tyson dropped out of the Dulwich Hamlet team because of scholastic reasons. The impression is given that the big centre half sacrificed his football career with his local amateur eleven for a teaching position. Well, this may be true in part, but it is not the whole truth. Our historians who compiled the 75 Year Book in the 1960s are slightly out. What actually happened at the beginning of the 1912-13 season is that Tyson embarked on a short career with Southampton Football Club!
In fact, he had been on Southampton's books since May 1911, but did not make his debut until the 28th September 1912, against Portsmouth at the Dell. Playing in 14 Southern League games and 2 FA Cup ties in the 1912-13 season, he was described as being "more robust than the average amateur, and was trusted to keep a tight grip on opposing forwards." During his spell with The Saints he still remained a registered player with the Hamlet. [And maybe this is where the confusion lies.]
Incidentally, Charles Tyson's brother Tom, had a slightly more distinguished career, playing for Bolton Wanderers, Chester and Exeter City.
Boldness In War Tyson was posted in France during the First World War as Quartermaster and Captain with the 105th Field Ambulance Corp. Just after the war finished, on the 13th December 1918, Captain Tyson received a Croix de Guerre - a French gallantry award equivalent to a military cross or medal. It is highly likely that as a stretcher bearer he showed great bravery, putting his life at risk rescuing wounded Ally soldiers. He was Mentioned in Dispatches.
Croix de Guerre
Alleyn's School Whilst on the continent Tyson was able to polish up his French, which was the subject he went on to teach so well at school. It comes as no surprise to also learn that he was in charge of football at Alleyn's for many years.
He joined Alleyn's School in 1911, and was one of two Housemasters that served in the war. In 1921, and in honour of the school's two war heroes, two more Houses were added (to the existing six) to the School's House system. Thus Tyson House came into being.
A real gentleman and a true patriot, Tyson always wanted the best for those under his care and he was ready to serve his country in the best way possible. He established a Cadet Corp. at the beginning of the First World War, before he went to France. He also helped the war effort during the period of the Second World War when he set up the South London Emergency Secondary School (SLESS) based within Alleyn's building. He eventually became the Head, a post he held until the end of the war. Looking back on his time at SLESS he wrote of it as "A job well done." He retired from teaching in 1947.
Tyson's Death Charles Francis Tyson died a few months before his 80th birthday at Harestone Nursing Home, Caterham, Surrey on the 31st October 1964. (Three days after Champion Hill's first floodlit match against Chelsea.) His address at the time of death was 16 Palace Road, SW2, less than two miles from Champion Hill. He left £7,419 in his will.
His death occurred in the same football season as the passing of Bill Smart one of his old team-mates, Jack Hugo, Gil Goodliffe and Leslie Bowker - all former Hamlet stalwarts - yet sadly, his demise seems to have gone unnoticed by the club. (I may be wrong, only there is no mention in the 75 Year Book, whereas the other four gentlemen are. This suggests that links between C.F. Tyson and the Hamlet were severed many years earlier.) Well, if it's not too late for a quick obituary to Mr Tyson regarding his association with Dulwich Hamlet F.C. then I'd like to use his own words, and say, "It was a job well done."
Alleyn's School, Dulwich. In piecing together this short article I am indebted to Mr Arthur Chandler, honourary archivist of Alleyn's School, Mr John Blackmore, historian of amateur international footballers and Mr Duncan Holley, official historian to Southampton F.C.
Chinese naval cadets from Chatham, complete with handbells and
