London Welsh F.C.

London Welsh Football Club are one of the oldest in London having played its first competitive match on 18 October 1891, although it had been founded around a year earlier by officers of the Welsh regiments, with the aim to "honourably uphold the reputation of Wales in the Metropolis".

For the rugby union team, see London Welsh R.F.C.

Their first season was a difficult one, including an emphatical 0–12 loss to Millwall Athletic in the 1891–92 season. They played in the London League in the 1896–97 season, in which they finished 7th of seven. They were suspended towards the end of the season, and the points from their two remaining games went to their opponents, Thames Ironworks (Who later changed their name to West Ham), who as a result finished second. Another noteworthy fixtures in the early days were a 1:0 defeat and 1:1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in 1894. At this time the club had 90 members who were all, exclusively, Welsh.

The team was soon to be nicknamed "Preston North End" because "they were never beaten". This was due in part to having 6 Welsh internationals playing for the team, including Price White, Jeffrey Jones, Sam Gillam (1890–93), Robert Lee Roberts (1891-1902) and the charismatic Leigh Richmond Roose (1900–01), who was capped three times while playing for 'Welsh'. Whilst a number of its rivals developed into professional clubs London Welsh retained its amateur status and when the Amateur Football Alliance reconstituted the Southern Olympian League in 1921, following the First World War, 'Welsh' were one of 15 clubs admitted to membership.

The Southern Olympian League gradually extended its Membership and Reserve XIs were admitted for the first time in 1923-24 and a Minor Section in 1927–28. The status and reputation of the League was greatly enhanced in the seasons between the wars, but in 1939 the Second World War broke out and the League was again disbanded. Immediately hostilities ceased the League was restarted with 8 clubs. The number rapidly increased in succeeding seasons and in 1948-49 it was possible to form three Senior Divisions, Senior and Junior Challenge Cup competitions were introduced in 1948–49, Minor Cup in 1950-51 and a competition for 4th, 5th and 6th XIs in 1953–54.

Honours

London Welsh won the following league honours during their long period in the South Olympian leagues:

> Senior Division 1 - London Welsh 1st XI in 1922-23

> Minor Division 3 - London Welsh 3rd XI in 1951-52

> Senior Division 3 - London Welsh 1st XI in 1953-54

> Senior Division 3 was won by London Welsh 1st XI in 1968-69

> Senior Division 3 was won by London Welsh 1st XI in 1973-74

> Minor Division E was won by London Welsh 3rd XI in 1979-80

> Senior Division 4 was won by London Welsh 1st XI in 1993-94

> Minor Division C was won by London Welsh 3rd XI in 1993-94

London Welsh also won the Middlesex Cup in 1921–22.

In 2002 the SOL and the Old Boys' Football League merged to form the Amateur Football Combination, one of Europe's biggest leagues. Of the original SOL clubs only London Welsh and Witan remain as members of the AFC. Up until the early 1990s Gunnersbury Park was Welsh's home until it they decided to seek better facilities and move to the Ibis ground nearby. London Welsh suffered from the selling off of sports pitches and for the next few years the club went through a nomadic period that included two seasons in south east London at Charlton. London have now come back to our West London roots and use the facilities of The Polytechnic Football Club from the Southern Amateur League.

Present day club

London Welsh currently operate two football teams, who play home games at the Quentin Hogg Memorial Ground in Chiswick and compete in the Amateur Football Combination. The Amateur Football Combination (AFC) is based in and around London and the Home Counties, and is believed to be the biggest adult football league in Europe. It has around 100 clubs and 350 sides playing Saturday afternoons, and comprises more than 1% of adult male 11-a-side football teams in England. In the 2016–17 season London Welsh's two teams competed in the South 1 and South 5 divisions. After a lean period the 'Welsh' picked up silverware in 2015–16, with the first XI winning the South Division 3 (And being promoted two divisions in a league re-organisation) and the second XI won the A.F.A. Cup.

As well as competing for league honours teams are awarded marks for their sportsmanship, hospitality and facilities, and Welsh have been named the top club for hospitality three time since 2005. The club are a mixture of Londoners, Welshmen and International players, with the first X1 including several Ex-semi pro players. The club hold regular social events and have toured Cyprus, Cornwall, Bournemouth, Barcelona and Nice (For Euro'16) in recent years.

References
  • Blows, Kirk & Hogg, Tony (2000). The Essential History of West Ham United. Headline. ISBN 0-7472-7036-8.
  • Newspaper reports on the formation of London Welsh http://newspapers.library.wales/view/3766371/3766377/67/ http://newspapers.library.wales/view/4321836/4321839/7/
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