Watford F.C. formed in 1898
Background
I published an article on the 25th October 2019 entitled “Watford F.C. – formed 1881,1891 or 1898?” https://thestrawplaiters.com/library/watford-f-c-formed-in-1881-1891-or-1898/
A website entitled “Watford Gold” published an article which I was informed about in October 2024. https://www.watfordgold.org.uk/history/origins-of-watford-fc/the-early-history-of-watford-fc#commentsform
I kept my 2019 article very short but it included more than enough information to raise doubts about the 1898 amalgamation. Oddly, the Watford Gold article, produced three years after mine, contains no new research on the amalgamation between Watford St. Mary’s and West Herts in 1898. One would have thought that someone would have acted on the doubts but sadly this was not the case.
When doubts are raised in your own mind or that of a fellow historian it is unwise to refer to books – which might be incomplete for whatever reason. One has to go to the original sources. I had doubts about the 120 year old story that Luton Town F.C. were formed by an amalgamation between local clubs Excelsior and Wanderers. My doubts were stirred by the fact that Wanderers continued to exist and entered the F.A. Cup after the amalgamation in 1885. I looked at the newspapers of the time and found there was no amalgamation – the club was formed at an open meeting of all football lovers which was advertised by posters around the town. That is now accepted by all, including the club. I also busted the myth that the committee and team was formed of a certain number of Excelsior and Wanderers players.
The myth about an amalgamation first appeared in about 1890 when a local newspaper mentioned it. One can only assume that the journalist was misinformed or said it as an easy way to explain the creation of the club. Once something is put into print the ball of misinformation starts rolling. Copy and paste is nothing new – Victorian authors of other newspapers and magazines copied the amalgamation story and once books were published then the story stuck for 120 years. My 2019 Watford article should have initiated a review of the research of the events of 1898. Instead, good old copy and paste won the day.
I continued to pursue the history of LTFC, good and bad. I spent thousands of hours researching over a 12 years period, visited numerous locations and contacted dozens of people and organisations. A snippet here, a photo there, slowly built up the history like a jigsaw. I visited the British Library many times – one visit produced just one sentence of use but it was used.
I read every Luton newspaper from 1855 to 1894 and set the full history of football in Luton in that period. I completed the full history of Luton Town games 1885-1894 including all known match reports. Included in the history is my transcription of the club minute books – all together there are about 500,000 words in 46 chapters.
I identified J.C. Lomax and George Deacon as the founders of the club, located the oldest known team photo (1890) and identified the players, located and restored the only known photo of the team on the Dallow Lane ground, identified the first professional LTFC player, worked out the orientation of the Dallow Lane pitches and identified the first foreign born player.
On a wider football note I have provided a history of the formation of the Southern League which filled in many gaps, provided the correct history of the penalty kick and pitch markings, set out the laws on professionalism and located numerous kit colours for the Historical Football Kits website. I have investigated the history of dozens of other Victorian clubs which can be found on my website. I do talks and a walking tour on the early history of LTFC. Having said all that, I am not so arrogant as to believe that the history of LTFC is finished. I, and others, continue to research and question issues and always will.
I have been in contact with historians from many clubs such as Maidenhead, Bedford, St. Albans, Derby and others including Watford. All were really helpful because when it comes to history there is no rivalry. There is no law which says a historian has to solely concentrate on their own club. If I can help, I will. Because research on Watford F.C. comes from a Luton historian it does not mean it is tosh.
The original research on the Watford St. Mary’s and West Herts amalgamation was done over 30 years ago before the internet so should never be considered meticulous or complete. 30 years ago much of the research meant trawling through hard copies or micro-fiche copies of newspapers at the library or museum. This was laborious and you could only look at the newspapers they had. Also, the newspaper collection might be incomplete and other important newspapers might be held in another town. Another worry was missing a vital sentence when viewing page after page for hours on end. You could either print off pages for a fee or write notes – mobile phones with a camera were not around.
Today, the British Newspaper Archive is an excellent resource and covers the newspapers for the whole of the UK, something the original researcher could not use. Much was missed for whatever reason. This article fills that gap.
The issues
- It is contended by Watford Gold that in 1898 Watford St. Mary’s were in dire straights, were dissolved so West Herts absorbed them, took some of their players and changed their name to “Watford.”
- Watford Gold adds that Watford St. Mary’s were tricked into thinking it was a merger by West Herts who carried on as before so it was actually an absorption.
- 1991 saw the publication of the book “The Official illustrated History, Watford Centenary 1881-1991.” The club produced a centenary badge 1891-1991 for their shirts and celebrations went ahead. However, “new information” came to light that took the club’s formation back to 1881. The book title was therefore amended to cover 110 years instead of 100. When discussing the beginnings, the book concentrates on the story of Watford Rovers and West Herts with Watford St. Mary’s role downplayed. The latter are described as “heading towards dire financial problems” without offering any evidence in support. The book says that an amalgamation was agreed but concludes that “in practical terms, Watford St. Mary’s were absorbed not amalgamated.” This is followed by the heading “Club takes a new name” inferring that West Herts merely altered their name.
- The Watford Archive website denies there was an amalgamation at all and says –
“There was talk of an amalgamation with local rivals Watford St. Mary’s but nothing came of it. Watford St Mary’s became defunct in 1898, and their registered players therefore immediately became free agents. Five of them were signed by Watford FC as players. Neither those five players, nor the officials under which they had played for St Mary’s, had any administrative function in the affairs of Watford FC.” In addition, the Watford Archive website says in its chronology – “When rival club Watford St. Mary’s folds, West Herts name is changed, this time to Watford F.C.”
Clear? No, it’s a mess based on pre-internet research which resulted in much being missed.
West Herts Club and Ground were a sports club with Football, Lacrosse, Tennis and Cricket sections.
The evidence shows that –
- Watford St. Mary’s were not in crisis.
- Watford St. Mary’s had made a profit 3 years running so had a healthy bank balance.
- West Herts were in crisis.
- West Herts had huge debts and were losing money.
- West Herts could not afford a much needed Grandstand.
- West Herts Football section were losing money.
- West Herts proposed an amalgamation and a new club.
- West Herts proposed “Watford Town” as the name of the new club.
- Watford St. Mary’s agreed to the amalgamation and a new club.
- Watford St. Mary’s agreed the new club should be named “Watford F.C.”
- There was an amalgamation between West Herts and Watford St. Mary’s.
- The F.A. ratified the amalgamation and the new name “Watford F.C.”
The conclusion
This article deals with all Watford Gold’s points so it is a long one. I will therefore now set out two pieces of evidence that prove Watford F.C. were a new club founded in 1898 and that they were formed by an amalgamation of West Herts and Watford St. Mary’s. This conclusion will be repeated at the end of this article for completeness.
The Morning Leader London Newspaper of 8th March 1898 said –
“There are not many Second Division Southern League teams that can command a 2,500 gate. It seems a pity that Watford St. Mary’s cannot amalgamate with West Herts and make one really strong team.”
Charles Brightman was a West Herts Club and Ground committee man and a well respected local councillor. He saw the Morning Leader article and wrote a letter published in the Watford Observer of the 12th March 1898.
“FOOTBALL IN WATFORD
To the Editor of the Watford Observer
Sir, The Morning Leader, of Tuesday March 8th, in reporting the match, West Herts versus St. Albans, says, ‘There are not many Second Division Southern League teams that can command a 2,500 gate. It seems a pity that Watford St. Mary’s cannot amalgamate with West Herts and make one really strong team.’
Now, sir, is it not practicable to act on this suggestion, and by amalgamation start afresh under the title of ‘Watford Town’? Surely our town is large enough to run a football club ‘on its own,’ and if the practical and enthusiastic Watfordians connected with the two clubs make up their minds to work together, I am quite sure we should soon have a team not only worthy of the principal town in Herts, but able to hold its own against such clubs as Luton, Millwall Athletic, Woolwich Arsenal, Southampton etc.
I may be reminded by some of your readers that I believed in the healthy rivalry between the two clubs. That is perfectly correct, but but I am advised that our town is not large enough to support a double lot of professionals, and it is I believe impossible to attain the success of Luton etc, without practically unanimous support. As unity is strength, I think the time has come when all heart burnings should cease, all anonymous letter writing drop, and all work for starting a new season as ‘Watford Town Club’ on the best ground in the county. Then we should have no difficulty in providing a grandstand; we should all get more value for our money and we should all be able to sing, ‘We’ve got the ground, we’ve got the men, we’ve got the money too.’
May this good time come is the great desire of
Yours obediently
Charles Brightman
Queen’s-road
March 10th, 1898”
Here we have direct proof of a West Herts committee man suggesting an amalgamation of West Herts and Watford St. Mary’s to form a new club. The highlights being –
“..it seems a pity that Watford St. Mary’s cannot amalgamate with West Herts and make one really strong team.”
“..if the practical and enthusiastic Watfordians connected with the two clubs make up their minds to work together…”
“..by amalgamation start afresh under the title of Watford Town”
“..all work for starting a new season as Watford Town Club.”
The two clubs negotiated in March 1898 with Mr Brightman leading for West Herts. This all ties in with the Watford St. Mary’s committee meeting as reported by the Watford Observer of the 2nd April 1898 –
“Mr W.H. King (the hon. secretary) then gave the details of the whole question as far as it had gone, and fully explained how Mr Brightman had brought together representatives of each club to discuss the matter.”
“With regard to the name of the proposed new amalgamation, Mr King said if they decided that evening to amalgamate, the new Club would be known as ‘The Watford Football Club’; that was what has been practically agreed upon by the committees of both clubs.”
We have confirmation that both sides wanted an amalgamation to make one bigger club and call the NEW club “Watford F.C.”
It is a great pity that the memory and honour of the Watford St. Mary’s men has been tainted but there is a chance to address this. I hope there will be an open and honest discussion resulting in Watford St. Mary’s being given their rightful place in history.
We must also honour Charles Brightman for having the idea of one strong new football club in Watford and pushing forward the amalgamation. He died in Watford on the 24th February 1928 aged 74 having been born on the 8th July 1853 in…..Luton, Bedfordshire.
Watford F.C. were formed in 1898.
Dealing with the Watford Gold article.
Note 1 – I draw your attention to Mr Brightman’s comment about a healthy rivalry –
“the time has come when all heart burnings should cease, all anonymous letter writing drop, and all work for starting a new season as ‘Watford Town Club.’”
“Heart burnings should cease” means that both sides must start thinking with their heads not their hearts. It is amusing to read about the sniping anonymous letters (Victorian era anonymous trolling) however more importantly, it demonstrates the keen rivalry between the two clubs. And, as Watford Gold mentions elsewhere, an upper and middle class (West Herts) versus the working class (Watford St. Mary’s) rivalry. We must bear this in mind when considering comments made by West Herts men after the amalgamation.
Note 2 – The sources I have quoted, such as the Watford Observer, were written in 1898 by the Sports Editor of the paper. Victorian Sports Editors were often players or ex players who were heavily involved in sports in the town where they worked and some were on football club committees. The sports editor of the newspapers quoted would have known many of the major figures involved at the West Herts Club and Ground and Watford St. Mary’s.
Note 3 – when talking about money, “s” equals shillings and “d” equals pence – pre decimal currency – 12 pennies in a shilling, 20 shillings in a pound.
The Watford Gold article begins –
“Watford St. Mary’s: Merger or Absorption?
And so to the 1898 ‘merger’ of West Herts and Watford St. Mary’s, which to the critics, is the main point of contention.
At the time of the ‘merger’ Watford St. Mary’s were in deep crisis and could not sustain professional football, a step they’d taken just the previous season. The club had funds in the bank, but no prospect of raising enough money to employ new professionals, or even retain their existing players. With no home ground or league football it was obvious that the club was unsustainable. With West Herts offering Southern League football up the road, prospects were not good for the Saints.”
St. Mary’s Finances
There is no evidence that St. Mary’s were in a deep crisis and could not sustain professional football. Two points here, firstly, St. Mary’s had money in the bank but were in financial crisis. That makes no sense – they have money in the bank so do not even have an overdraft but they are in crisis? Secondly, this shows a lack of understanding of Victorian era professionalism.
Watford St Mary’s were a well run club that had made profits each year since their formation in 1894. The Annual General Meeting of Watford St. Mary’s was reported in the Watford Observer of the 31st August 1895 –
“There was a large attendance of members. Mr H Wise was voted to the chair. The Secretary’s report and statement of accounts showed a balance in hand of £22 13s 10d.”
For 1896 here is the Secretary’s report from the Watford Observer of the 29th August 1896 –
“In making to you my annual report, I think you will all agree that it is a matter of congratulation to us all to think what a sound basis our club stands upon. You have each had a balance sheet placed before you, by which you will see that at the end of last season we were able to carry over a balance of £30 13s 11d. For the coming season our prospects are better than ever; the whole of last season’s players are again available, the ground has vastly improved, and the enthusiasm amongst the members is greater than it has ever been in the history of the club.”
Their third annual dinner in 1897 was reported by the Watford Observer of the 1st May 1897 and highlights those two successful seasons and the Secretary goes on to say –
“Although the season just ended had been noted for the large number of rainy Saturdays, thus interfering materially with the ‘gate;’ yet he might say that they have nearly doubled the balance of last year. (Cheers). As regarded (sic) the future, he had given attention already to the getting down of even stronger teams for next season, and was at present negotiating with very strong London clubs to pay Wiggenhall a visit. They had secured the ground for another season from the new owners, Messrs Benskins and Co….”
Even with terrible weather the Saints supporters turned out and St. Mary’s nearly doubled their profit.
Where is the crisis?
Professionalism
Watford Gold states Watford St. Mary’s had “no prospect of raising enough money to employ new professionals, or even retain their existing players…”
Again, there is evidence to the contrary in the form of an advert placed by Watford St. Mary’s in the 22nd January 1898 Morning Leader newspaper, London for
“a good centre forward professional or amateur.”
There is also a lack of knowledge about professionalism. Professionalism was used as a means to place your best players under contract to stop them being poached by other clubs. For Watford St. Mary’s this meant that their best players – the Cother brothers and Slaughter – could not be poached. This sent a strong signal to the fans.
Professionalism did not mean paying a living wage (which was about 30-40s a week). That would have been unsustainable for Watford St. Mary’s. Payments were often as little as 7s 6d a week. The Luton Times of the 4th November 1898 says of the new Watford Club –
“Only three or four of the men may be termed full-blown professionals, and there is a strong local element receiving only 7s 6d to 15s a week, while Robins and Baker, of the Old Wilsonians, are amateurs.”
Many teams in this era mixed it up too. Luton Town were the first club in the south to turn pro in 1891, or more accurately, semi-pro as our Secretary Isaac Smith said. Only a living wage could realistically be termed as fully professional. When Luton Town paid their first professionals in 1890 it was 5s a week – but only to 3 of the players at first. It was enough for the players to take Saturday mornings off work to get to home and away games on time – short winter days meant a kick off no later than 2pm as there were no floodlights.
Let us consider a rough outline – Watford St. Mary’s charged 4d admission to their home games so a crowd of 500 (which they drew even when West Herts were at home) would pull in over £8. Three players on 7s 6d amounts to just over a £1. This is based on the lower end of the attendance. Wolverton at home in November 1897 saw a 1,000 crowd (over £16 pulled in), Christmas Day 1897 saw a crowd of 1,300 (over £21) and Boxing Day 800 turned out (over £13). The highest crowd was 2,500 (according to the Watford Observer of 16th October 1897, Saints supporters were the majority) to see the victory over West Herts which brought in over £41.
Where is the crisis?
West Herts Finances
Here is the crisis – Watford Gold turns to West Herts finances.
“To counter this, the West Herts Club and Ground had what should be considered a huge debt. On the face of it, this sounds like the club were in trouble, but in truth, they had spent enormous amounts of money on setting up the club as a base for all sporting activity in the town. The club was backed by the entire upper and middle class establishment of the town and in fact were planning further development, including a new grandstand at the time of the ‘merger’, all of which came to fruition and was fully funded by subscription.
While harder to understand today, the political dynamic of the day should be noted; St. Mary’s were the ‘working class’ club and West Herts [Watford Gold incorrectly states “Rovers” here] were the ‘middle class’ one – the ‘mill owners against the mill workers’, as it were (St. Mary’s supporters referred to West Herts as ‘The Toffs’). It was obvious that Watford could only sustain one professional club and West Herts knew it could only be them. With this in mind, they would need to win over the St. Mary’s supporters. The best way, as proposed by Hon Sec. Benjamin Apps, was to convince the Saints supporters to move their allegiance. To do this, the West Herts committee decided to give the impression that the absorption of St. Mary’s was in fact a ‘merger’.”
Some interesting background here. It ends implying that there was a cunning plot by West Herts and the merger was actually a trick which St. Mary’s fell for. The upper and middle classes fooled the working class. The Toffs fooled the mill workers. The reality however is that the working class certainly knew about finances as I have already set out. Being upper or middle class is no guarantee that one is good with finances as we are about to find out. The fact that the working class club helped to rescue the Toffs via the amalgamation must have hurt. I will deal with the post amalgamation rivalry later.
Let us look more closely at West Herts Club and Ground finances. Remember they were a sports club with Lacrosse, Tennis and Cricket also played. Elsewhere Watford Gold says “The football club were the only profitable section of the West Herts Club and Ground, with all other sports draining resources” so I will deal with that as well.
The Football section finances as reported by the Watford Observer of the 13th February 1897 –
Receipts £241 7s 7d; Expenses £252 12s 1d. A football loss of £11 4s 6d.
The 1898 West Herts Annual meeting showed a very serious position as reported in the Watford Observer of the 5th February 1898 –
Football receipts £203 18s 1d; Expenses £237 11s 8d
Cricket receipts £70 0s 3d; Expenses £73 3s 3d
Lawn Tennis receipts £28 17s 6d; Expenses £8 19s
Lacrosse receipts £8 8s; Expenses £4 1s 8d
Athletic sports and concert receipts £120 2s 3d; Expenses £111 17s 6d
To summarise –
Football loss – £33 12s 7d
Cricket loss – £3 3s
Lawn Tennis profit – £19 18s 6d
Lacrosse profit – £4 6s 4d
Athletic sports and concert profit – £8 4s 9d
The football loss had increased threefold from £11 4s 6d to £33 12s 7d in one year. The football section were clearly not “the only profitable section of the West Herts Club and Ground, with all other sports draining resources.” Football was dragging down the West Herts Club and Ground and as the Sportsman of the 3rd February 1898 reveals, the overall West Herts Club and Ground debt rose by £65 14s 1d making a total debt a huge £844 1s 5d.
The Sportsman adds that the meeting also discussed the need for a grandstand at the end of the football ground for the huge sum of £150 (to hold 250 people). It was agreed that West Herts could not afford a grandstand so the subject was postponed until the end of the season. A little more than a month later, Mr Brightman wrote his letter suggesting an amalgamation concluding that if pulled off “we should have no difficulty in providing a grandstand.”
The basics
Watford Gold continues –
1. “This was a merger in propaganda only, which can be proved by the following verified details:” The first point is –
West Herts FC was not dissolved and continued operating in exactly the same manner before and after the ‘merger’.”
The conclusion of this article snuffs out this contention. If one applies some basic logic, as I said in my previous article, Watford St. Mary’s F.C. was solely a football club so of course they dissolved after the amalgamation on the 15th April 1898. The West Herts Club and Ground was a sports club. Besides Association Football, the club also played other sports including cricket, tennis and lacrosse. When the amalgamation came, the West Herts Club and Ground continued to exist to support the other sports. So of course they would operate as before.
2. The second point is –
“St. Mary’s were wound up as a business on the 7th May 1898, BEFORE the ‘amalgamation’, as seen in an announcement in the Watford Observer.”
Again, some basic logic and research is required. The amalgamation agreement between the two clubs clearly states that they would complete the season. When the season was over, of course Watford St. Mary’s were wound up as one would expect.
The Watford Observer added in their 7th May 1898 edition –
“When three-parts of the season was gone, there were whispers of the advantages of amalgamation of the two clubs. That the principle was right few disputed, and the question narrowed itself down to a few minor difficulties. It was ascertained that the executive on both sides regarded the suggestion favourably, and joint meetings of the officials were arranged. The proposals took a definite shape, and very soon amalgamation was a thing accomplished. It was decided, however, that each club should finish off its fixtures. Next season the Watford club will play on the Cassio-Road ground, and one of the chief ideas of the amalgamation is to have a second team of sufficient strength to be an attraction while the first string is engaged elsewhere. The details of the amalgamation scheme we have already given in these columns. Generally speaking, then, the local football season which has just closed has been a most important one. It has witnessed two steps which have marked fresh epochs – the adoption of professionalism and the amalgamation of West Herts and Watford St. Mary’s.”
I am at a loss as to understand why the amalgamation date is unclear to Watford Gold as there is clear evidence available to show it happened on the 15th April 1898. The West Herts Secretary himself named the 15th April, as reported by the Watford Observer of 15th August 1898 –
“The Amalgamation; Mr Apps, referring to the amalgamation which took place between St. Mary’s and the West Herts Clubs on April 15th, said that…etc”
In addition, the Herts Advertiser of 16th April 1898 says –
“The much-talked-of amalgamation between two prominent football clubs of Watford was definitely settled at a committee meeting held a week or two ago.”
F.A. ratification
The above answers the next Watford Gold point which is –
“The ‘amalgamation’ and name change was ratified by the FA on 27th May 1898 – 20 days AFTER St. Mary’s ceased to exist, meaning that no club existed to amalgamate with West Herts. If the ‘amalgamation’ had been rejected by the FA then West Herts would have continued as such, with a name change to Watford FC (as was the case in reality).”
This is a naive point and lacks knowledge of the Victorian football world. It would have been negligent of the clubs not to check with the authorities before reaching an agreement on amalgamation. The F.A. and Southern League would want to see the written agreements of both clubs. The F.A. were very efficient. Enquiries put to the F.A. were dealt with rapidly by Charles Alcock the Secretary (from 1870 till 1895) and his successor Frederick Wall (1895 till 1934).
This era saw at least 6 postal deliveries a day, telegrams, messengers and an efficient railway network all providing speedy delivery. On the postal service, I have seen four postcards exchanged on one day between two people in different towns. I have seen Luton Town minute book entries which reveal a reply to an enquiry to the F.A. was received within 4 days. The discussions between West Herts and Watford St. Mary’s started in mid March so it would have been easy to enquire of the F.A. before any agreement was reached between the two clubs. And well before the amalgamation date of 15th April.
Name change
The next point in the Watford Gold article is –
“The name change was not directly due to the ‘merger’ and was explained by the West Herts Club & Ground Chairman during a committee meeting; ‘Mr. (BC) Apps said they proposed to call the club “The Watford Football Club”, and as a reason he mentioned that when they were playing at Portsmouth they were asked where the “West Herts” Club came from – “from St. Albans?” This shows two things (1) That the name change was explicitly from West Herts to Watford and (2) that the Football Committee needed the approval of the West Herts Club & Ground Committee to change the name and appear to have done so without any approval or input from the St. Mary’s club. This is backed up by the notes from the St. Mary’s committee meeting, where the committee was told that the new name would be Watford FC. There was no vote.”
Oddly, Watford Gold has not dated this committee meeting. This committee meeting was reported in the Watford Observer of 15th August 1898 so took place that week. This is 4 months after the amalgamation and well after all the issues had been settled. A reminder that the amalgamation was on the 15th April, the Watford Observer announced the new name “Watford” on the 7th May and the F.A. approved the amalgamation along with the new name Watford FC in late May 1898.
Other clubs absorbed by West Herts
Another point from Watford Gold –
“West Herts had already ‘absorbed’ other local clubs including The Grove, Watford Wanderers and Watford Swifts in the same manner, albeit on a smaller scale. The stated intention was for West Herts to become the representative club for the town.”
This point is based a clip about Watford Rovers (who had joined the West Herts Club and Ground in 1890 but continued to play this season under the name Watford Rovers) from Watford Observer of the 22nd April 1891 –
“Turning to the Reserves, comprised of the Grove Club, Watford Swifts, and the Rovers’ second team, we must confess to rank disappointment.”
Absorption of these clubs is not mentioned at all. This clip is taken out of context by Watford Gold as the article goes on to talk about Watford Rovers trying to recruit the best players in the town. Indeed it mentions how successful Watford St. Mary’s had been in that respect. The clip means the players guested for Rovers or were trialists. There were no contracts tying players down at this time so they could play for whatever club they liked.
In addition, Watford Wanderers played throughout the 1890’s and were still playing in December 1898. The 30th April 1898 Watford Observer shows Grove finishing the season. I have no information on Watford Swifts and no evidence has been produced in support of absorption. This appears to be an attempt to support the flawed theory that Watford St. Mary’s were absorbed by West Herts.
Committee
The next point from Watford Gold is –
“The ‘new’ Watford FC Committee were made up of the entirety of the West Herts Football Committee. Three of the St. Mary’s Committee were invited to join the board, all in junior positions.”
This is incorrect. The Watford Observer of 2nd April 1898 reported on the Watford St. Mary’s meeting on the proposed amalgamation. The Secretary Mr King said –
“In addition to himself, who was going to assist Mr Apps (of West Herts) in his duties as Hon. Secretary, Mr King said they would have an immediate representation of three members on the Football Committee, and these members would remain in office till April 1899. In addition to Mr King, Mr Hackney, Mr Culverhouse and Mr Harrison would represent Watford St. Mary’s upon the committee of Watford F.C.”
Handbooks
The next point is –
“Official Watford FC handbooks, produced by the Watford Observer on behalf of the club referred to club records dating back back beyond the ‘merger’ to the West Herts days. No St. Mary’s records were listed. This continued up to the 1930s.”
I have no access to the Handbooks. Written by West Herts men? Written by the upper or middle class? There are many publications that do give 1898.
No evidence of a trick
Watford Gold admits there is no proof in the next point so I am unclear why it is made –
“Whilst it can no longer be proved due to the records being destroyed, the West Herts committee meeting notes made it very clear that the ‘merger’ term was used to entice St. Mary’s supporters over to Cassio Road. This is also inferred in many committee meeting notes from the local press.”
I do not have access to the committee notes and they have not been produced as evidence. In any event, West Herts supporters, or any supporters looking back years later is interesting but they do get things wrong as we all know. Or did those men merely lack the knowledge, or repeated what others had said? Or like many today, did they want their club to be older than it actually was. And of course the rivalry between the two clubs (and classes) certainly would lead to some sniping as Mr Brightman set out in his letter of the 10th March 1898 – what better sniping than saying St. Mary’s were tricked and absorbed by the Toffs of West Herts.
25th Anniversary
The next point is also from a West Herts man –
“In 1906 CH Peacock, founding member of Watford Rovers, owner of the Watford Observer and then current Watford FC Committee member talked specifically about the 25th anniversary of Watford FC, founded by Henry Grover.”
The only item I can locate is the Watford Observer of the 15th December 1906 naming Watford Rovers and Henry Grover but there is no mention of of a 25th Anniversary. The writer “Free Lance” does however mention the “amalgamation with Watford St. Mary’s.”
The Southern League
The next Watford Gold point is –
“The newly named Watford FC took up the same Southern League position they had held the previous season as West Herts.”
As mentioned previously, the two clubs would be incompetent if they did not check the position with the F.A. and Southern League prior to the amalgamation. One of the overriding aims of the authorities was to promote and support the game. A strong new club would be, and was, warmly welcomed.
Already dealt with
A long paragraph here, the relevant points of which I have already dealt with –
“What reason did West Herts have to merge with St. Mary’s? Although the latter made a profit the year leading up to their demise, they had no ground, no prospect of increasing their number of professional players and were stuck in the minor Herts League with no opportunity of advancement. West Herts already had all of these things in place, including a solid spot in the Southern League and the Cassio Road ground, the jewel in the crown of Hertfordshire grounds. As previously mentioned, St. Mary’s were a working class church team and had no money behind them – all finances were ‘hand to mouth’. West Herts had numerous upper and middle class backers, including the Earl of Essex, the Earl of Clarendon, Fred Halsey (standing MP for Watford) and Ralph Thorpe, who singlehandedly financed a push to the Southern League First Division from 1903. The football club were the only profitable section of the West Herts Club and Ground, with all other sports draining resources.”
Players
Watford Gold says –
“Of the St. Mary’s players, only three made more than 2 appearances for Watford FC during the 1898/99 season. All three of these signed for West Herts before the ‘merger’ Jack and Eddie Cother and Bobbie Slaughter. The other St. Mary’s players made a total of 4 appearances between them during the season.”
Incorrect. The amalgamation happened on the 15th April 1898 and all three Watford St Mary’s players completed the season and indeed played against West Herts as reported by the Herts Advertiser of the 30th April 1898. You will recall the agreement between the clubs was that both should finish their respective seasons.
Finally
Watford Gold ends with more post amalgamation musings which I have already covered. Whatever internal machinations occurred post 1898 cannot change the events of that year. It is clear a new club, Watford F.C. was formed. A quick glance at any newspaper post 1898 shows Watford F.C. not West Herts F.C.
Why did the amalgamation take place?
Why would West Herts waste time and effort negotiating then amalgamating with a club that was going out of business and then ask the F.A. to approve it? They would be a laughing stock in Watford and the football and business world. It doesn’t make sense. Why not wait until they went out of business then poach their players and simply ask the F.A.’s approval to only change the name of the club? In any event, the F.A. would not approve an amalgamation with a club that had gone bust. They would have rejected that part of the application and simply agreed to a name change.
The facts on finances are the reverse of Watford Gold’s claim. West Herts were in financial trouble with huge debts. Watford St. Mary’s were a well run club making a profit three seasons running.
Were Watford St. Mary’s tricked? The amount of inferences included in the Watford Gold article from West Herts men years later is certainly an attempt to lead us this way. But the events of 1898 are the key. This article and the following pieces of evidence explain it all and justifies the 1898 foundation conclusion.
The vital pieces of the story, missed for whatever reason, follow –
The Morning Leader London Newspaper of 8th March 1898 said –
“There are not many Second Division Southern League teams that can command a 2,500 gate. It seems a pity that Watford St. Mary’s cannot amalgamate with West Herts and make one really strong team.”
The West Herts man, Charles Brightman, had a letter published in the Watford Observer of the 12th March 1898.
“FOOTBALL IN WATFORD
To the Editor of the Watford Observer
Sir, The Morning Leader, of Tuesday March 8th, in reporting the match, West Herts versus St. Albans, says, ‘There are not many Second Division Southern League teams that can command a 2,500 gate. It seems a pity that Watford St. Mary’s cannot amalgamate with West Herts and make one really strong team.’
Now, sir, is it not practicable to act on this suggestion, and by amalgamation start afresh under the title of ‘Watford Town’? Surely our town is large enough to run a football club ‘on its own,” and if the practical and enthusiastic Watfordians connected with the two clubs make up their minds to work together., I am quite sure we should soon have a team not only worthy of the principal town in Herts, but able to hold its own against such clubs as Luton, Millwall Athletic, Woolwich Arsenal, Southampton etc.
I may be reminded by some of your readers that I believed in the healthy rivalry between the two clubs. That is perfectly correct, but but I am advised that our town is not large enough to support a double lot of professionals , and it is I believe impossible to attain the success of Luton etc, without practically unanimous support. As unity is strength, I think the time has come when all heart burnings should cease, all anonymous letter writing drop, and all work for starting a new season as ‘Watford Town Club’ on the best ground in the county. Then we should have no difficulty in providing a grandstand; we should all get more value for our money and we should all be able to sing, ‘We’ve got the ground, we’ve got the men, we’ve got the money too.’
May this good time come is the great desire of
Yours obediently
Charles Brightman
Queen’s-road
March 10th, 1898”
The highlights of the letter being –
“it seems a pity that Watford St. Mary’s cannot amalgamate with West Herts and make one really strong team.”
“..if the practical and enthusiastic Watfordians connected with the two clubs make up their minds to work together…”
“by amalgamation start afresh under the title of Watford Town”
“all work for starting a new season as Watford Town Club.”
That letter formed the basis of the negotiations. The two clubs negotiated in March with Mr Brightman representing West Herts. This all ties in with the Watford St. Mary’s committee meeting as reported by the Watford Observer of the 2nd April 1898 –
“Mr W.H. King (the hon. secretary) then gave the details of the whole question as far as it had gone, and fully explained how Mr Brightman had brought together representatives of each club to discuss the matter.”
“With regard to the name of the proposed new amalgamation, Mr King said if they decided that evening to amalgamate, the new Club would be known as ‘The Watford Football Club’; that was what has been practically agreed upon by the committees of both clubs.”
Very specific wording was used – the new Club would be known as ‘The Watford Football Club
We therefore have confirmation that both sides wanted an amalgamation to make one bigger club and to call the NEW club “Watford F.C.”
It is a great pity that the memory and honour of the Watford St. Mary’s men has been tainted but there is a chance to address this. I hope there will be an open and honest discussion resulting in Watford St. Mary’s being given their rightful place in history.
We must also honour Charles Brightman for having the idea of one strong football club in Watford and pushing forward the amalgamation. He died in Watford on the 24th February 1928 aged 74 having been born on the 8th July 1853 in…..Luton, Bedfordshire.
Watford F.C. were formed in 1898.
31st October 2024