1919/20 Programmes Surface

Some extremely rare matchday programmes from Dulwich Hamlet’s greatest ever season have just surfaced.  One or two of the nine home programmes are a bit battered but they reveal little tidbits of club history not always found in newspaper reports.

The earliest dates from 15 November 1919, an Isthmian League match with Clapton which Dulwich won 2-1. The last is for the final match against the Civil Service, one which Dulwich Hamlet had to win to secure the League and Cup double.

It was the legendary Edgar Kail that scored that all important goal. 

A more detailed look into the Hamlet's greatest ever season can be found in my little book The Story of a Season: Dulwich Hamlet 1919-20. This book from 1996 is long out of print.

When Aldershot Were the Big ‘Traction at Champion Hill

By Mishi Morath

After Football League Club Aldershot went bust in 1991, few thought that the Hamlet would ever play a team called Aldershot again. But with their reformation in 1992 and their subsequent rise up the isthmian League, we played them regularly in Premier Division fixtures.

Apart from when we met Aldershot in the FA Amateur Cup in 1937, we had previously hosted a team named from the military town twice before. But it was not Aldershot Town. It was ALDERSHOT TRACTION COMPANY, and they visited the ‘old, old’ Champion Hill, prior to the ‘old’ Champion Hill being opened in 1931, for two FA Amateur Cup ties in the nineteen twenties. Here’s how the games went.

Aldershot Traction Company made their virgin visit to Champion Hill on 17 January 1925 for an FA Amateur Cup second round tie, having beaten Wycombe Wanderers in Hampshire the round before.

The Hamlet won by three goals to one on a fine day in front of over five and a half thousand spectators. The Hamlet kicked off and had the ball in the back of the net after only two minutes, but the goal was ruled out for offside. Aldershot fought back after this piece of luck and pushed forward down the right, the Hamlet conceding a corner, which the company failed to do anything with. Dulwich then took control. Williamson cleared for a corner with the visitors’ keeper well beaten. The Hamlet continued to dominate. And the inevitable first goal came after twenty minutes when Bill Davis made a good pass to Edgar Kail, who knocked the ball onto Jones, who shot and scored.

The Aldershot goal was now under siege, and had many narrow escapes. But for the fine performance of Pearce between the visitors’ sticks it could have been a cricket score. Aldershot then conceded a penalty for handball, but when Caesar took the spot kick his rasping shot stuck the woodwork and traveled out across the goalmouth and out of play, much to the dismay of the Hamlet supporters. Vanner, for the Traction Co., had a rare shot but was denied by Williams.

On changing ends for the second half Dulwich made a sensational start, but Sid Nicol fluffed his shot when he blasted a sitter over the bar. Shortly after, Aldershot conceded a corner and from Gatland's kick, Davis headed towards goal but Pearce just tipped the ball over.  Then a characteristic run and pass from Kaii resulted in Davis adding to the Hamlet’s tally with a second goal twenty minutes into the second period.

Aldershot then fought back and for a time held their own, until Dulwich hit back with another attack, Jones netting from a pass by Nicol. The Traction did not give up and a couple of chances fell to Vanner and Hunt. The referee then blew, for an apparent foul by Kail on Humphries, who from the resultant kick knocked the ball out on the left to Sturt who netted a consolation for the visitors right on time. Traction were to be complimented on their plucky display, they fought every inch of ground with splendid tenacity right up to the final whistle, and fully deserved the accolades paid to them in the dressing rooms afterwards by a Dulwich official.

The star players for Dulwich were Jonas, Jones, Kail, Caesar and Goodliffe; whilst for Aldershot Traction Company – Pearce, Williamson, Harris, Humphries, H. Applegate and Vanner impressed.

For the record, in the first round the Hamlet drew one apiece at home to Enfield, before winning the replay four one. In the third round a 1-1 draw was fought out with Nunhead at their Browns Ground, with the Hamlet winning the replay back at Champion Hill by the odd goal in three. The quarter finals saw Dulwich lose by the only goal of the game to Southall, who went on to reach the final, losing 2-1 to Clapton at The Den.

Three seasons later the two clubs paths met again, with the stakes a bit higher, as this was the FA Amateur Cup quarter finals. Again the match was at Champion Hill, and this time the match was even more one sided. In the first round the Hamlet had won 7-1 at Eastbourne, whilst the Traction had won 2-1 at home to Portland United. A local derby in the next round saw Dulwich beat Bromley four goals to two at Champion Hill, as Aldershot overcame Barking Town 4-2 at home. The last sixteen saw Dulwich hit seven again, this time at home in a 7-1 crushing of Wycombe Wanderers, with Traction winning 5-3 away to Whitehall Printeries. 

So the scene was set for this fourth round clash on 20 February 1929. In a sense, history repeated itself, when the Hamlet once again hit seven in the Amateur Cup, this time for no response. The Aldershot team came with a great reputation, and for a small part of the opening half maintained it. They held the Hamlet and were unlucky nor to open the scoring. Gradually, but surely, the Dulwich defence wore them down, allowing the home forwards to take control of the match. And then the contest was all but over.

Edgar Kail gave another brilliant display of scheming forward tactics, and besides scoring twice in each half, opened out the game for others to take benefit. Robbins began the scoring after a back-pass from Lewis, and after Kail added his couple Lewis turned in a long cross from Morrish to score. directly after the break Kail claimed his hat trick, and ten minutes later his fourth and the Hamlet’s sixth goal. Robbins completed the tally from the penalty spot after Kail had been fouled. The Aldershot team tried hard, but ineffectually, they were completely beaten by a rampant Hamlet side.

A below par Hamlet lost by four goals to one to Ilford at Stamford Bridge. Ilford went on to win the Amateur Cup beating Leyton in the final at Highbury.

Original article from HH6 Winter 2000. Copyright © Mishi Morath.

Dulwich Hamlet Casualties on the First Day of The Somme – 1 July 1916

Today marks the centenary of the First Day of the Battle of the Somme. After hearing the gun salute at 7:28am this morning from my office desk, and then observing the two minutes silence, I decided to spend a couple of hours down at the Imperial War Museum. It was well worth it. It put the events of the last week or so – the EU referendum resulting in a ‘Leave’ vote and the England football team’s exit from the Euros – into perspective.

Two Dulwich Hamlet players perished 100 years ago today, in what was one of the bloodiest battles in history. Hamlet midfielder, Sergeant George Arthur Popple [pictured] of the 1st/12th Battalion, London Regiment, The Rangers, was known as ‘Pop’ to everyone at Champion Hill.

'Pop' Popple

Rifleman Reginald Astill of the 1st/9th Battalion, London Regiment, Queen Victoria Rifles, is better remembered for representing the Dulwich Hamlet Cricket Club. However, it is quite likely that Reg occasionally turned out for one of the Hamlet’s football teams as well.

Before the end of the Battle of the Somme on 18 November 1916, a further four hundred thousand British and Commonwealth soldiers were to perish. Among them were two more Hamlet fatalities – Tom Rose and Frank Hagger.

Both Popple and Astill, whose last remains were never recovered, have their names recorded on the Thiepval Memorial at the Somme in France.

One of the staff at the museum gave a terrific talk about the single worst day in the history of the British Army. It reminded me of Roger Deason’s great speech about all 22 Dulwich Hamlet fallen at the club’s War Memorial several years ago. Almost twenty thousand British soldiers died in one single day with a further forty thousand maimed and wounded. These are staggering figures and there is nothing to touch it in the annals of our nation.

One interesting side effect of the Somme was the creation of the Imperial War Museum itself the following year. The World War One Gallery at the IWM is amazing – not just in its artefacts but in the impressive layout and the design.

The Battle of the Somme film is shown in its entirety on a loop. When the movie hit the silent screens in 1917 it was seen by millions. Apparently, more people paid to see it than saw the recent Star Wars movie! And instead of putting people off the Great War with images of death and despair …it caused more men to sign up.

Viewing this famous film footage of the Tommies before, during and after the Battle in the IWM setting, surrounded by objects and pictures and relics that once belonged to long dead soldiers made it even the more poignant.

If you haven’t visited the IWM I would highly recommend it.

Frank Hagger

Tom Rose

Copyright © Jack McInroy, 1 July 2016

Stephen Child - Dulwich Hamlet Terrace Legend

The Euro 2016 Championship has thus far provided us with a plethora of late, late goals; some very surprising results; the strangest of final group tables that have left us with the most lopsided last 16 draw imaginable; and the usual England fayre – the struggle to get going, and after three games still the uncertainty of our best team selection.

One thing I have also enjoyed is seeing Dulwich Hamlet terrace legend Stephen Child running the line in several games as referee’s assistant. Steve is a familiar face to Premier League supporters having helped officiate in a couple of hundred games in the last eight seasons, twenty odd Champions League matches,  and is rightly regarded as one of the nation’s top men in black (or yellow, or pink, or green).

The 42 year old has already assisted in the Germany v Ukraine and Hungary v Portugal matches and I don’t doubt he will be involved in one or two more, maybe even the Final tie itself if referee Mark Clattenberg continues to do well in the centre of the pitch.

Steve was a regular in the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters’ team during the 1990s, when he was in his late teens and early twenties. He is certainly one of the finest players I played alongside in the pink and blue. If I remember correctly, Steve also turned out a few times for the Dulwich Hamlet Reserves.

Steve Child (airborne) alongside Christian Burt 

for Dulwich Hamlet Supporters FC in the 1990s  (Photo:Dave West)

It would be nice to meet up with Stephen Child again and reminisce about the old days. Perhaps someone has his contact details so we can invite him down to Champion Hill and do a Q&A in the bar.

The following is an article written by Stephen Child and has been lifted  from Refereeing Magazine, a joint publication of FA Learning and The Referees’ Association, Volume 22, May 2014

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Point of View: Maintaining Concentration and Mental Strength

Stephen Child, FIFA and Select Group Assistant Referee, provides a personal insight into how he has developed different mental skills to maintain his concentration and mental strength to cope with the pressures of elite officiating.

Concentration

As a match official, you are always mindful of your concentration levels. One lapse in your attention levels during a match could prove costly and the consequence can be significant. With points at stake for the teams concerned, for them, it could ultimately be the difference between promotion and relegation, while for you as an official it could lead to relentless media coverage exposing your error to the world for all to see. It is therefore imperative that you develop a strong level of concentration during matches and develop skills to cope with pressure.

I remember when I first started lining. It was very easy to switch off and allow your mind to wander, especially during a one-sided match where most of the action was down the other end. I noticed very quickly that this meant that you could easily miss incidents or lose your positioning with the second rearmost opponent. To help me combat those moments, I found the best way was to do a running commentary of the game. It had an immediate impact on my performance and I was able to appreciate team tactics, recognise offences and identify players, which at times helped the referee when he needed to discipline players.

For me this was a valuable lesson learned and one that has helped me to reach the level I am at now. That being said, due to the speed and unpredictability of players and general play, it is inevitable that mistakes occur but to me this is not a failing. It is only a failure on your part if you do not reflect on it and put steps in place to try and avoid it happening again. For example, in my first match this season a situation occurred in which I gave a throw-in the wrong way just after half-time. A lapse of concentration meant that I had not remembered the direction the teams were kicking. As this had rarely ever happened before I just put it down as a one-off. However, a few weeks later the same thing happened again.

I had been lining for nearly 20 years and never had this problem before, so why was it happening now? To help me understand I analysed both incidents, discussed them with my coach and developed a new strategy that would help me reduce the potential for reoccurrence. This new strategy involved, at the start of the second half, moving the flag from hand to hand and saying aloud the colour of the team that’s kicking in that direction - I also do this after a long stoppage or injury. Thankfully this seems to have done the trick.

Mental Strength

Without doubt, operating in the Premier League and on international matches is hugely demanding on a number of levels.

As an elite official you not only have to have a high level of fitness to cope with the speed of the game and keep up with the pace of players, but you must also possess the mental skills to cope with the intense pressure that you experience from the moment you receive an appointment. Often there is large scale media attention on the two teams involved, especially if it is a big game such as a top of the table clash, local derby or relegation battle with newspapers, satellite TV and social media often commenting on the match daily in some format leading up to it. But this is where preparation is vital.

After receiving a Premier League appointment on the Monday before the match, it’s important to then organise a training schedule and travelling arrangements to ensure you are at your peak. I also like to do a bit of research on how the teams are performing; who is likely to be playing; what kind of formation and team tactics the teams may have and if there have been any previous negative moments between the two sides.

Although you should never prejudge what will happen, I find it helpful to be ready for what could happen so that it’s not a surprise. And that is especially important when you consider the fact that, thanks to the media coverage that the Premier League attracts, your performance will be scrutinised by everyone - the PGMOL, The FA as well as your colleagues, family and friends. There really is no hiding place. So, after each match I try to analyse my performance like an assessor. I obviously confront any errors that I may have made and think of ways they could have been avoided and how to prevent them happening again, but I also think it is important to praise yourself for the good things that you did. Ultimately, this preparation – alongside support from monthly meetings with our coaches and our sports psychologist – allows me to go into my next match with a positive frame of mind and the feeling that I will be able to put into practice what I’ve learnt from the previous match.

The SUMO

As an assistant referee, there will be many occasions when the ball is not in your half. This is when you must stay focused. You could find yourself standing at the halfway line watching the play, perhaps thinking about your previous decision. If I start to do that, I say the word SUMO which is an acronym for: Shut Up Move On.

This acts as a trigger for me to stop thinking about my last decision and gets me to refocus on the field of play. It is obviously important to move on quickly, because if you don’t there could be another big decision to make, and it has often been said that incorrect decisions regularly occur after a contentious incident has just happened.

Maintaining The Balance

I consider it to be essential to have a balanced life away from football. Quality time with my family, friends and playing tennis is my way of getting away from it all and unwinding.

My family and friends have had to be so understanding when I have had to miss important occasions such as weddings, christenings and even holidays due to the demands of my matches, so when I do get free time I try to make the most of it.

Click HERE for the link to download Refereeing Magazine Vol 22 from May 2014.