Charlton has a rich history and we intend to cover the whole story, commencing in 1905 when a group of teenage boys decided to form a football club, right through to the present day, taking in the glory years as well as the turbulence of the recent past.

Our history section will tell the whole story, warts and all.

1905/1915

As 1914 season came to a close, Charlton celebrated a decade of football with more silverware (Sothern Suburban League East Winners), and a new home at Angerstein Lane. This first experience of ‘ground sharing’ with Deptford Invicta offered a 4,000 capacity, testament to the growing fortunes on the pitch with no less than 20 trophies in nine seasons.

This growth in gates however hit an untimely slump as the country found itself within the grips of a global war, the consequences of which are still felt a century on.

Being so closely located to industries key to the war effort and military camps, Charlton have always shared close links with our armed forces. It’s fascinating to remember that long before a rivalry with Millwall or Crystal Palace existed numerous local derbies were hotly contested with army teams, the most infamous being the 1910 Charlton Charity Cup Quarter Final against the Royal Army Ordnance Corps Reserves. Losing 2-1 the away supporters vented their frustration on the officials with the local Kentish Independent reporting,

‘In fact, if it had not been for the protection afforded by the soldiers, the referee would have been very badly assaulted, violence being attempted all the way from the ground to the dressing room. In addition, the referee was subjected to bad language by the supporters all through the game, and the conduct was generally nothing short of hooliganism.’

By January 1915 a good many of those ‘hooligans’ found themselves in Khaki as war raged in France and Flanders. This combined with extended hours at both the Seimens works and the Woolwich Arsenal meant on occasions Charlton struggled to field a full side. January saw a 5-0 home reverse to Finchley, few first timers appeared on the team sheet that contained only 10 names. The Kentish Independent highlighted this ‘It is very evident that the Charlton Athletic players are feeling the extra pressure of work being caused by the war, for they played last Saturday as though they had been working all night’.

It was around this time that the FA raised a specific footballer’s battalion. Whilst men from many London clubs found their way into its ranks there are no clear links with Charlton players, the battalion was quickly over-subscribed however as supporters flocked to serve alongside their heroes in both the 17th & 23rd Middlesex Regiment. It is intriguing that a sister battalion the 13th Middlesex contained a William Budden and Fred Chick, both had London addresses within tram journeys of the stadium, sadly neither would survive the war. Our last team group taken before the war shows a W. Budden stood next to F. Chick, it is believed these are two wartime Addicks who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Attendances hit an all-time low as more men enlisted for extra shifts or joined the colours, when Catford Southend were defeated 6-2 they were forced to play their goalkeeper and trainer up front, it was clear that regular football would not be possible given the current world crisis.

Both Scotty Kingsley & Albert ‘Mosky’ Mills got on the score sheet that day, both would serve on the Western Front and return to make the transition with the club to professional status in 1920. They offer a continuous link between the East Street boys of 1905 and our beloved Valley today, both local lads having been schooled at Fossdene Road and Maryon Park respectively they are rightly remembered as key individuals in our clubs history.

The final nail in the clubs coffin came with the news in April that Angerstein Lane was to be commandeered by the military as a petrol dump. This alongside the desperate need for munitions and artillery pieces having a huge impact on those men employed at Woolwich and Seimens, also major employer for players and supporters being ‘acquired’ by the authorities under the ‘owned by the enemy act’ meant the lives of all connected to the club underwent massive change in the spring of 1915.

By April the Kentish Independent reporter emotionally wrote ‘I feel sure that all classes of football players in Woolwich and the surrounding districts will learn with deep regret that Charlton Athletic have had to throw up the sponge and discontinue operations for this season. A large percentage of the players work in Government ‘shops’ and keen pressure applied to every man to work as long as he could, permission to be absent has often been refused. I am very sorry for the club, for at one time they had every appearance of winning the London League.

As our club war memorial states in stone ‘the majority of the boys left to take part in the Greater Game overseas…’

Whilst 1915 was largely spent in training camps and drill halls for many newly enlisted Addicks, a few men were already overseas, the largest battle in France to involve the British was fought at Loos in September, the 47th London Division had a largely successful action capturing their objectives led by the London Irish kicking a football across no-mans-land.

Playing a less glamourous role that day the men of the 21st (Camberwell) London’s held the extreme right of the line, using theatre mannequins to draw the German fire from the assaulting troops, their ruse worked extremely well. Among the puppeteers that day was Albert Purdy, eventually wounded on the Somme he played 99 times between 1921/25 including our famous cup run of 1923. He later proved a talented rat catcher and groundsman at the Valley, a skill no doubt acquired during his time in the trenches.

Last word should go to the Gallipoli campaign that by August involved over 420,000 allied soldiers (of which surprisingly less than 5% were Australian), among the British contingent serving with the 2/2 London’s was life-long supporter Billy Cotton who’s ‘Red Red Robin’ still rings around the Valley before kick-off and one hopes will continue to for many generations to come.

1939-1945

With a father who served in HM Forces, most of the time overseas and a mother who worked at Woolwich Arsenal throughout the Second World War, it was probably inevitable that I would have more than a passing interest in the history of those times, although admittedly for some reason that I’ve never quite been able to work out, my interest has always been slanted towards the war at sea. Notwithstanding this, possibly because of hearing my Mother and her friends talking about those days, interest in the home front, especially in my own corner of south east London has never been too far from the surface.

These days, there aren’t too many visible signs of the war in SE7, although with a bit of local knowledge and with a little research, it is quite easy to get a good idea of what was bombed and what evidence remains.

The first place to start when researching an area is the local authority’s archive to study the Civil Defence Incident Logs. Scandalously, in the sixties and seventies, perhaps before the social history value of such information was fully appreciated, some boroughs destroyed their records. Fortunately the Royal Borough of Greenwich, as we should now call it, has an excellent Heritage Centre in which is held the records of the old Metropolitan Boroughs of Greenwich and Woolwich.

From a study of these logs, it can been seen that much of the heaviest damage was done to what is now known as North Charlton – that is the area at the bottom of Charlton Church Lane and bordering the Woolwich Road. There were many factories in this area, especially between Woolwich Road and the River and it was these that suffered repeatedly. Johnson & Phillips, British Ropes, Harvey’s, Stone Manganese, Siemens, the Central Tram Repair Depot at Rainton Road and many other local industries were all heavily bombed in 1940-41, as was the Woolwich Arsenal, where my late Mother had been working since joining as a 16 year old in 1937. Despite working in what was arguably the most dangerous place in London, she always felt safer once at work, rather than chancing the public shelters that were the only option if the warning went whilst travelling to work on the bus. She maintained until the end of her life that if the siren went as she was crossing Beresford Square, as it did on more than one occasion, she would always hurry up and get through the Arsenal Gates. This probably false feeling of safety was shared by many of the workers that I have spoken to subsequently.

The story as far as Charlton was concerned actually began before what is now viewed as the official start of the Blitz. On the 4th September 1940, St. Paul’s Church, which was located at the junction of Charlton Lane and Fairfield Grove, received a direct hit from a high explosive bomb which entered through the roof of the main building, completely destroying it. This was something of a landmark, as it was the first church in London to be destroyed in the War and the day following the incident, many thousands of people came to view the ruins. Sadly, the novelty value of this occasion was to wear off very quickly indeed. The gutted shell of the building remained until after the war, but was then demolished and the land sold to the local council for housing purposes. Today, the only clue to the existence of this landmark is an unremarkable block of local authority flats, which bears the name of the church which once stood on the site. This incident was covered more fully in this blog in April 2010

Mum did have one lucky escape, which was on ‘Black Saturday’ 7th September 1940, the first day of the Blitz. For reasons that she could not later recall, her boss had given the Pay Office (where my Mother worked) a Saturday off. This was a real bonus, because Saturdays were a normal working day at that time. My Mother remembered spending much of her day off – from the late afternoon onwards – in the Anderson Shelter of her parents’ home in Montcalm Road, Charlton. When she reported for work on the following Monday, the whole area where she worked, including her own office building as well as many of the air raid shelters, had been destroyed.

The destroyed Charlton Station (Greenwich Heritage Centre)

In Charlton, ‘Black Saturday’ also saw the railway line between Charlton Junction Station (as it was then called) and Woolwich Dockyard completely closed due to unexploded bombs. This pattern was followed many times during the following two months, with the line being closed again on the 12th September and again on the 20h, 24th and 25th September, when Angerstein’s Wharf was struck, with four railway personnel being killed. In October, the lines were again blocked due to bomb damage and once again, Angerstein’s Wharf was struck by incendiary bombs. No evidence of this damage is really apparent today, as most of the buildings were demolished post-war. Jumping ahead in time, the Booking Office and ancillary buildings of Charlton Station were completely destroyed on 23rd June 1944, when it received a direct hit from a V-1 flying bomb, killing four civilians, including Mrs. Newick, the wife of the signalman, who lived in the Stationhouse. As a result, the whole station was demolished and remained as a collection of temporary buildings until 1967, when the station was rebuilt into the style we see today.

The railway received one further blow, on 8th February 1945, when the signal box at the opposite end of the platform to the booking hall, received extensive blast damage from a V-2 that exploded 400 yards away from the building, although happily causing no casualties.

The familiar sights of London at war were already apparent in SE7 by the time the Blitz started in September 1940. Although there was no heavy anti-aircraft battery in Charlton itself, my mother recalled a mobile gun that used to drive along Canberra Road firing sporadically, which presumably did little good, other than to give the impression to the general public that we were fighting back, albeit in a small way. There was also a battery of 3.7” guns on Blackheath, which again, at that stage of the war, would have been more of a morale-boosting exercise than anything else. Charlton Park was the home of one, possibly, two barrage balloons, which of course, were dotted liberally all across London. In Canberra Road, number 106 received a near miss and severe blast damage, which caused the building to be demolished and which now gives one of the few clues to the Blitz still visible in SE7. The house was rebuilt to a slightly different layout to the other undamaged houses, which still stands out today. It was this blast that did the only lasting damage to the family home in nearby Montcalm Road. Roof tiles were blown off, windows blown out and the upstairs ceilings were all brought down. The evidence of post-war rebuilding is still evident today, with the ceilings being reconstructed in a different style to the originals.

Invicta Road School (Greenwich Heritage Centre)

On November 14th 1940, the same night as the great raid on Coventry, southeast London also suffered. In Charlton Park Lane, near the junction with Shooters Hill Road, near to where Charlton Lido now stands, a parachute mine fell and became entangled in trees. Fortunately, there was sufficient time to evacuate the residents of the adjacent houses, before it exploded some hours later, destroying several houses and causing severe blast damage to many other properties. By far the worst incident in London on this night was in nearby Blackheath, when Invicta Road School, then in use as Station 54X of the Auxiliary Fire Service received a direct hit from a Parachute Mine, killing twelve firemen and three civilians. These two incidents were separated by a matter of minutes and quite possibly the same aircraft dropped both of these mines.

Back in Charlton proper, The Village also attracted the attention of the Luftwaffe, when the Bugle Horn public house and St. Luke’s Church also received severe blast damage. The stained glass windows of the church were almost completely destroyed and what is now the Lounge Bar of the pub was severely damaged. This was not rebuilt until after the war, and whilst today the building looks much as it ever did from the outside, a closer inspection of the interior of this bar reveals it to be a pastiche of the original.

Once the First Blitz of September 1940 to May 1941 was over, Charlton in common with the rest of London enjoyed something of a respite with only sporadic raids until the ‘Little Blitz’ of late 1943 to the spring of 1944. Then in June 1944 came the Allied invasion of Europe and the war-weary citizens of Charlton perhaps thought that the end was in sight. It was at this relatively late stage of the war that Londoners were subjected to their final and arguably worst ordeal in the form of the terror weapons – the V-1 Flying Bombs and later the V-2 Rockets.

The first V-1 in London fell in Bow on 13th June 1944 but the boroughs of Greenwich and Woolwich were spared until three days later, when the first of many of these weapons fell in both boroughs. Greenwich’s first fell harmlessly on allotments in Tunnel Avenue, Greenwich, whilst the first ‘buzz bomb’ in Woolwich fell in Heavitree Road, Plumstead causing seven fatalities. The V-1’s fell regularly thereafter in both boroughs, with the casualties mounting steadily. The V-1 assault fell away and then stopped altogether by early September 1944 when the Allied armies overran the launching sites in the Pas de Calais. Another brief respite followed but then on 8th September 1944, a house in Staveley Road, Chiswick was obliterated without warning. At first, the authorities tried to calm the populace by informing them that the explosion was caused by an exploding gas main but when the explosions continued, they finally had to come clean and tell Londoners that yet another new weapon was being used against them. Thereafter, some of the more cynical Londoners christened the rockets ‘flying gas mains!’

Like everywhere in London, as well as many other places in England and indeed liberated Europe, the V-2s caused havoc in Greenwich. The first one to fall in the borough also proved to be the worst. This was on 11th November 1944 when the Brook Hotel in Shooters Hill Road was completely destroyed by a direct hit. There were twenty nine fatalities, many of whom were passengers on a number 89 bus which happened to be passing when the missile fell. The pub was rebuilt after the war but subsequently closed; the building however is still extant as a small supermarket. Most buildings that suffered from the attentions of these rockets were completely destroyed but there is one building in Charlton, which although rebuilt after the war, still shows the extent of the damage caused. The building is Charlton House, the splendid Jacobean manor house that greets visitors to Charlton arriving from the direction of Blackheath, which suffered a near miss from a V-2 on the evening of 25th January 1945. The entire north eastern wing of the building was destroyed, and although the post-war rebuilding work was painstakingly done, unfortunately shortages of materials and perhaps a low budget caused the wrong colour brickwork and stone to be used and the rebuilt area can still be clearly seen, giving the present day viewer some idea of the extent of the damage caused.

Johnson & Phillips in March 1945 (Greenwich Heritage Centre)

The final V-2 incident of the war as far as Charlton was concerned occurred on 9th March 1945, barely two months before the end of the war in Europe, when the Johnson & Phillips factory, which had suffered so much during the First Blitz received another direct hit, this time on the Cable Shop causing one fatal casualty. The last V-2 of the entire war fell in Orpington on 27th March 1945 causing one final fatality but with the Allied armies closing in on the shattered remains of the Third Reich, the final surrender of the Nazis on the 8th May 1945 meant that London and Londoners could at last begin to return to their peacetime routines.

To end on a brighter note, the final word must go to an incident which my late Mother remembered until the end of her life. It was June 1944 and her husband to be, Ron was on leave, having just returned from nearly four years service overseas in North Africa. The air raid siren sounded and both Mum and Dad began to walk down the garden to the shelter. As they were doing this, a V-1 could be seen and heard overhead. The engine then stopped and instead of running, my Mum made some comment about the engine having stopped and just stood there watching. Ron told her in no uncertain terms to get down, whereupon he pushed her to the ground and she ended up face down in the dirt with a muddy face.

Mum was uncertain when exactly and where the V-1 fell, but given the chronology, it is just possible that it was the same weapon which fell on Charlton Station as described above.

She still laughed about this incident some 60 years on, as apart from the muddy face, it was the first time that my Dad had ‘sworn’ at her, apparently having called her a “Silly Cow” when she was gawping at the Doodlebug!

Post War Charlton

Jimmy Seed assisted by his old friend Jimmy Trotter led Charlton to the most succesful period in their history. From their rapid rise through the leagues they were to spend almost a decade as one of the countries  largest sides.

Though this marked the pinnacle of the clubs history, the question will always remain what if the war had not interrupted with Charltons rapid growth on and off the field, (a similar question could be raised regarding the 14-19 war), when peace did come the club were able to pick up where they had left off with consecutive Wembley finals in 1946 & 1947. .

Both games went to extra time, the disappointment of 4-1 defeat against Derby County was replaced with scenes of joy as Chris Duffy scored the winning goal against Burnley in 1947. Crowds in excess of 50,000 regularly packed out the Valley to cheer on their heroes in red. Sam Bartam providing a safe pair of hands alongside Addicks greats, Don Welsh, Bert Turner and Charlie Vaughan.

Overseas tours to Canada, South America, Belgium and Turkey became common place, in the latter the club beat Galatasary, Fenerbahce and Besiktas!

League consistency was not so straight forward with a third place finish in 1946 followed by a narrow scrape with relegation the following year. The end of such an eventful decade as the 1940’s undoubtedly were saw Charlton remain in the top flight of English football, albiet the introduction of a new hero in Hans Jeppson went a long way to ensure this.

Today away supporters are housed in the ‘Jimmy Seed Stand’ and a bust of the great man sits pride of place in the boardroom, a case could be made that this is the house that Jimmy built. A further legacy of this period in our history is the Bronze statue that graces the entrance to the West Stand, that of ‘our Sam’ with Bartram’s bar behind him also named in his honour.

Those supporters that witnessed those ‘glory days’ may be getting fewer but the memory of this halcyon period in the clubs history will long remain.

1950 – 1980

After the league and Cup success of the 1930s and 40s, the 50s, 60s and 70s were decades of slow decline.  Many cite the death of Director Albert Gliksten in 1951 as a turning point but his brother Stanley and later his nephew Michael would retain control of the club throughout this period.

The 5th place finish in Division 1 in 1953 with players such as Eddie Firmani, Stuart Leary, Derek Ufton and Sid O’Linn gave false hope but the Jimmy Seed was sacked in 1956/7 and the team was relegated the same season.  Under Jimmy Trotter the team were one goal away from an instant return but that was as close as Charlton would come to Division 1 for a long time.

Not that this period was ever boring.  Charlton scored plenty of goals but often let plenty at the other end. The 7- 6 win over Huddersfield in 1957 with five goals from Johnny Summers epitomised the Addicks of this era.   This wasn’t a one -off as the 6 -6 draw with Middlesbrough and 7 – 4 victory over Portsmouth in the same era proved.

The 60s saw a long run in the 2nd tier and promising young players such as England International Mike Bailey and local boy Billy Bonds sold to pay the bills.  Marvin Hinton and Len Glover were other fan favourites who had successful top flight careers but with other clubs.

Firmani’s return as a player and then manager nearly saw promotion back to the top flight with the 1969 team of Ray Treacy, Matt Tees, Paul Went, Charlie Wright and Graham Moore but when that team broke up relegation to Division 3, in 1972, was the first time since 1935 that the side had dropped so low.

With Theo Foley as boss and the likes of Derek Hales, Mike Flanagan, Keith Peacock and Colin Powell Charlton were still a good team to watch but it took the organisation of Andy Nelson to get the side back to the 2nd Division in 1972.

The promotion season and derby victories over Chelsea and Spurs showed that there was still a lot of potential support for Charlton if a consistently successful side could be built but without that crowds dropped alarmingly and the Valley fell into disrepair.   Charlton entered the new decade of the 1980s again dropping into Division 3 but with former player Mike Bailey no in charge.

1980-2010

As the 1980’s began with promotion to the second tier of English football, so did the most turbulent period in the history of our club.

As the decade progressed SE7 witnessed, falling attendances, crumbling terraces, increased hooliganism, unpaid bills, eventual padlocked gates, the threat of extinction and the short lived novelty of an African Prince appointed to the board. Yet, bizarrely, on the field the club also saw the return of club legend Derek ‘Killer’ Hales, the emergence of Paul Walsh and Paul Elliot, the arrival of former European Footballer of the Year Alan Simonsen from Barcelona and the appointment of Lennie Lawrence, an unlikely yet key figure in the clubs history.

It was under Lennie’s reign that the club survived a high court winding up order, though they were to eventually loose the fight to stay at the Valley. The Battle for the Valley is well told in Rick Everitt’s excellent book and in the museum, yet the clubs tenure at Selhurst Park less so. Despite everything being against them Lennie’s nomadic side were to gain promotion to the First Division in the 1985/86 season.

Many supporters chose not to attend Selhurst Park, and had good reason to, however the efforts of the small band of club staff working from a portacabin, buoyed on by a group of committed players sweating for the badge alongside a loyal band of addicks fans who did make the tedious journey every other week should not be overlooked in enabling the continued existence of Charlton during those unpopular times in SE25 and to a lesser extent Upton Park.

Supporters were even treated to a rare Wembley outing in the 1987 Full Members Cup Final, albeit one that ended in a timid defeat to Blackburn Rovers. The play off saga (under the old system) with Leeds United was a more memorable affair with Peter Shirtliff’s brace at St Andrews securing, what many fans rightfully claim to be the most important win in the clubs history. Top flight survival was key to the clubs existence.

Elsewhere, despite a resounded ‘the Valley will not witness football again’ claim from those in charge, the most amazing display of fan power, synonymous with Charlton supporters throughout the clubs history was taking shape through the Valley Party. Many items and memories from this time are on display in the museum, it is a period that every Charlton fan can be justly proud of culminating with that Colin Walsh goal on the 5 December 1992 and a return to our rightful home, The Valley.

With a new board of directors, a presence back in the local community and the brave appointment of Steve Gritt & Alan Curbishley, the club were about to enter arguably the most stable period of their history, new stands were opened and an emerging side first flirted with, then won the play offs to the recently created Premier League. Few who witnessed the events at Wembley on the 25 May 1998 will ever forget Clive Mendonca’s sublime hatrick against his boyhood hero’s Sunderland, the dramatic penalty shoot-out, Sasa Ilic’s save from Michael Gray and the realisation that once again Charlton Athletic would take their place among the countries elite. Though relegation was to follow, the club were well placed for a swift return and the 1999/2000 season was for many supporters one of the finest they have witnessed (along with club legend Chris Powell’s side winning the League One title 2011/2012), inspired by Clive Mendonca and Andy Hunt fellow stars Steve Brown, Richard Rufus, Chris Powell and John Robinson will live long in the memory of addicks fans who were also treated to an FA Cup run to the QF, the highlight of which a 3-2 win away at Coventry despite going 2-0 down.

Seven successive seasons in the Premier League were to follow with memorable wins over all of the top clubs in front of capacity Valley crowds (plus an incredible 3-3 come back against Manchester United not to be forgotten by those who witnessed it). It was only when the stability of Alan Curbishley’s tenure came to an end in 2006 that the club fell back to the second tier, then the third before an all too brief revival under Chris Powell, a true Charlton man whose tenure came to an untimely end in 2014.