A LOOK INTO HISTORY 202

A LOOK INTO HISTORY TWO HUNDRED AND TWO

CHELMSFORD CITY RES v SHORTS SPORTS 1939

World War 2 was declared on 1 st September 1939 thus giving the new
League season no chance at all but the Southern League split into an
emergency competition of Eastern and Western Divisions and though
there were only 7 or 8 games played, Chelmsford City won the Eastern
Section ahead of Guildford City, Tunbridge Wells Rangers, Dartford, and
Norwich City 2nds. The initial programme was for eight matches but they
only achieved seven missing out on the Tunbridge Wells Rangers fixture.
They played the Western winners, Lovells Athletic, the Toffee Company
from Newport, South Wales but drew 2 2 so the Championship was
shared. The League Cup Final was reached but City lost to Worcester
City over two legs.

Chelmsford City were able to play a considerable number of friendlies
and our Match Programme priced 2d is for their Reserves against Shorts
Sports, the aircraft manufacturers from Rochester in Kent. On Boxing
Day, 26 th December 1939. At the break of War the factory ran short of
space so built a huge underground factory from which they were able to
help the War effort considerably. They eventually moved to Belfast in
1947. Shorts Sports, like so many works teams had plenty of personnel
to choose from and in fact won both the Kent Senior Cup and League
Cup in 1939-40.

The Programme has an unusual format 5.5 x 8.5 ins and folds out to 16
sides. On opening up, the teams are easily seen but when you unfold
more the Club Notes are the first to be seen and after the usual welcome
the club thanked the F A in that they would be sending an F A X1 on 6 th
January in aid of the Red Cross Fund. The rest was taken up on the
sinking of the Graff Spee and the hope that if this continued Hitlers War
would soon be over, sadly it wasn’t. The Supporters Club had their own
page and subs were 2. “ The Man in the Iron Mask” was at the Ritz and
tickets were to be given out in a raffle. Other pages were adverts which
left the most interesting page that showed all the Friendly games they
had played thus far from August 26 th when Aldershot Reserves were
beaten and 5,605 attended. On September 16 th Arsenal visited with 4,695
watching a 0-4 defeat. The lowest attendance was v an Army X1 on
October 11 th ,1,337 and best scores, 7-1 v Norwich City on Nov 25 th 2,541
and 7-2 v Fulham 2,424 on Nov 11 th . After the game you could visit
Chelmsford Funland at 201 Moulsham Street with all the latest English
and American Novelty Machines, Admission Free !