History of The Faringdon Thursday Memorial Cup Competition
Founded 1951
Extracts taken from the Minute Book:
‘At a meeting held at the Salutation Hotel on 15th March 1951, those present were Messrs J Bryan, N Skinner, M Gosling, F H Wills, J Benford. It was decided to run a Challenge Cup to be known as the ‘Faringdon Memorial Cup’ profits from the same to be in aid of ‘Faringdon playing fields’.
FIRST OFFICIALS
President: Dr J B Pulling
Chairman: M Gosling
Vice Chairman: F H Wills
Secretary: J Benford
Assistant Secretary: N Skinner
Treasurer: J Bryan
Referees Secretary: J Angless
Committee: J V Hale, R Stevens, P Willis
The roots of the Competition can be traced back to 1936 when shopkeepers and their assistants had a midweek afternoon break (i.e. early closing on a Thursday). In a field along Church Path they assembled and very soon they realised they had the makings of a team. A Committee was formed under the Chairmanship of Sid Bowler with Maurice Gosling as the first Secretary. The team entered the Oxfordshire Thursday League and also played in the Faringdon Hospital Cup (played to raise funds for the local hospital and between teams within 10 miles of Faringdon). During the team’s short history, until the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, they played on three different pitches. After being near to the Church, they moved to Hospital Field and then to Park Road Sports Field, (by the old railway line).
When the old team returned from the war duty they found some things had changed. The Town did not stop on a Thursday afternoon as before and the energetic performers of pre-war were not so young.
With some £30 remaining in the Bank from the old Thursday Team the ‘old players’ discussed how best to provide a memorial to six Old Comrades who fell in the war. From the meeting held in 1951 a Competition Committee was formed. The Committee gave the Vice-Chairman Instructions to obtain a Trophy. He purchased a second-hand horse racing cup from Levertons Jeweller Shop and it was renamed ‘Faringdon Thursday Memorial Cup’.
The Competition filled a niche in local football circles previously occupied by the Faringdon Hospital Cup whose demise was an inevitable result of the impact of the Welfare State which began in 1948.
During the first year of the Competition, the Secretary, Mr Benford, left the district and Jack Bryan took over the position which he held for 29 years. Jack was an ever present member of the committee (President from 1995) until his passing in 2006, the last of the original committee.
After the first season £40 (which was a large sum in those days) was donated to the Parish Council towards a Playing Fields Fund and the Committee asked the Council if they could provide a Pavilion at Tucker Park, in which will be a plaque as a memorial to those killed in the Second World War. In the first few years the Town joined together in providing a fitting tribute to the missing men. Finals night was a big occasion at Tucker Park. The Cadet Band played, the Youth Club provided programme sellers and celebrations continued well after the final whistle.
During the early years £130 was paid to the Parish Council, but no lasting memorial was produced. The money being spent on improving the existing facilities.
Much fund raising was required to reach their aim of a Pavilion. After twelve years the GREAT DAY arrived. On Thursday 26th September 1963, Frank Chambers, Chairman of the Parish Council and Jim Angless, Chairman of the Tucker Park Committee officially opened the New Pavilion. It had been in use for a period before this, as Faringdon Town FC required the facilities to compete in the Hellenic League. To mark the occasion, a team of ‘Swindon Old Pros’ played a Thursday Cup Representative Team.
A brass plaque was also produced, which is still visible within the clubhouse at Tucker Park, when at a Service of Dedication and Unveiling, The Vicar of St Peter’s, Maidenhead, Rev J H Cook performed the service. During his Curate’s days at Faringdon he had been goalkeeper for the Thursday Club.
After the opening of the new pavilion, donations to the Town Council were made for the Tucker Park Pavilion Fund from this Competition. In recent years the Competition has regularly donated funds to local branch charitable organisations such as the Royal British Legion, the British Heart Foundation and the Faringdon Community Rapid Response Team.
In its time, many representative matches have been played by the Faringdon Thursday Memorial Cup Representative Team, with games against North Berks, Swindon & District, Wiltshire Combination, Witney & District and Hellenic Leagues.
The 1975/76 season was the Competition’s 25 Jubilee Year and to mark the occasion, it was agreed to hold an annual Jubilee Cup Competition along side the Thursday Memorial Cup, with games played between the North Berks, Swindon & District, Witney & District and Thursday Memorial Cup XI Teams.
The Jubilee Cup Competition continued until, at a committee meeting on Monday 19th December 1994, due to lack of funding as the main reason, it was decided that the present format of the Jubilee Cup should cease. In its place, reinstate the Donald Allnatt Cup (named after an ex-Faringdon Town Player who was killed in a Road Accident) with a new format and shall be played for each season. There would be a one off game played between a Faringdon Town F.C.XI and another team of which the Faringdon Thursday Cup Committee would decide. The Cup itself was originally the Faringdon Hospital Cup.
The same funding problems continued with the Donald Allnatt Cup and at a committee meeting on Monday 21st August 1995 it was decided that the Faringdon Thursday Memorial Cup could not continue to support the Donald Allnatt Cup.
In 1990 the Committee agreed to an Individual Player of the Final Award in honour of a co-founder Maurice Gosling who died the year before. The annual award was to be known as the “Maurice Gosling Man of the Match” award. Andy Davitt a midfielder for Pinehurst was the first recipient of this award.
The 1990/91 season was the Competition’s 40th Anniversary Year and to mark the occasion a game was played between a Faringdon Thursday Memorial Cup Select XI and a Berks & Bucks Football Association Select XI. The game ended in a 1 all draw. Attending the game were four members of the Stanford in the Vale team which played in the first cup final 40 years before and trying to improve on history was Stanford in the Vale, playing in that years Cup Final against Bishopstone. Sadly Stanford lost 6-1.
The 2000/01 season was the Competition’s 50th Anniversary Year. This was marked with a game between a Faringdon Thursday Memorial Cup Select XI and Faringdon Town F.C. After the game special presentations were made in the Pavilion, which itself has seen many changes over the years, as it now has a social club room as well as the changing facilities. Attending the evenings celebrations were members from various Competitions, such as Berks & Bucks FA, Wiltshire FL, North Berks FL, Swindon & District FL, Hellenic FL, Witney & District FL and Swindon Sunday FL. A special plaque was presented to Mr Jack Bryan for his fifty seasons dedication from the start of the competition.
The Losing Finalist each year receive the Ron Bartlett Shield, which was presented for the first time to the losing finalist of the 25th Anniversary 1975/76 season. Ronnie was Treasurer of the Competition for a number of years and left a small legacy, so it was agreed to purchase, in his memory, a Shield for the Losing Finalist. The Winners receive the Faringdon Thursday Memorial Cup.
The Competition continues in popularity and Football Clubs see this as a must win Cup. A Lasting Memorial.
