Letchworth Garden City Football Clubs

Letchworth Garden City F.C

Letchworth Athletic F.C

Letchworth Town F.C

             The Beginning 1906

On a warm summer evening Friday 3rd August 1906 a gathering of football enthusiasts held a General Meeting at the Free Church Hall. Their aim was simple enough, and it was to endorse their committee’s proposal to found a Premier Football Club in Letchworth Garden City.

Mr .C.H.Ashwell was in the chair and he duly presented the following recommendations to approve

      Subscriptions to be 2/6 per annum

       The club to be called Letchworth Garden City Football Club.

       The club to enter the Herts County League and the Biggleswade and District League

       The Herts Junior Cup

The meeting elected Mr.T.Ashwell as Team Captain

Mr.P.Hughes as Vice Captain

Mr.J.S.Launder as Treasurer

Mr.J.Clay as Secretary

Then the meeting was informed that the Herts County Senior League had been restructured and that Letchworth would be in the Northern Division with such clubs as Hitchin Town Reserves,Hitchin Blue Cross Brigade,Stevenage,Baldock and Welwyn.

The Club had secured a ground at Garth Road.

The meeting then closed.

                     1907

      The Aftermath    1907-1908

After the horrendous season that had just passed,the closed season acted as a time for clubs in the footballing world to take stock,reorganise and seek players ready for the start of the season.

Some of the players would immerse themselves in the summer sport of cricket.Their names are recorded in the local newspapers as testimony to their love of sport winter or summer

The football supporters of clubs would be waiting for the coming of their AGM when their views on the past and the future activities of their clubs could be aired.

Garden City F.C did have one fund raising activity when a concert was staged at Willian School on May 6th.

It seems that by the end of May the Letchworth Garden City F.C had wound up its affairs,due to shortage of players and the ensuing defeats,which in turn produced financial losses.

On Wednesday 29th May at the Central Hotel in Letchworth a well attended meeting formed  a football club entitled Letchworth Athletic F.C.

The first event of the new season was a match aginst Baldock.Letchworth looked very smart in their new kit of blue and claret but it did not stop them losing 6-3 but they were praised for the spirited way they played.

The Citizen newspaper described the game with Stevenage

“Stevenage visited Garth Road and are no means novices nor is their game of the parlour order.Letchworth kicked off and Hawes dashed off down the pitch and put in a shot,but the keeper was wide awake, a corner was conceded.Give and take play followed and as a diversion Emery retaliated,resenting some action of the Stevenage player Fields,there being a fight the referee ordered both players off the pitch” (So play was no different then!)

Some seasons were less successful than others

10th November 1906-Biggleswade 14-Letchworth Garden City 1

Match reports for the various football clubs from 1906 are available to read in the Letchworth Football Clubs folder in the library.