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Since writing the first part of this piece, two weeks ago, the numbers of Covid-19 cases worldwide have nearly doubled, and the deaths. Football has slowly receded into the background for those forced into isolation, and its importance has paled compared to the health and protection of loved ones, finding enough to do during the days so they don’t bleed together into a timeless morass, and making sure we have enough toilet paper (loo roll, etc.).

In that new order given unto us by “sheltering in place” we have time to understand our history. Lessons from then can be interlineated with those we’re setting forth in the face of the current pandemic. And, hopefully the results on the pitch over the next two decades will be as successful for Arsenal as they were in the two decades between the World Wars.

Between 1919 and 1939 there were 10 different winners of the First Division, including Liverpool and Sheffield Wednesday twice, Huddersfield Town three times, Everton 3 times, and Arsenal 5 times (in those glory years of Alex James, Ted Drake, Denis and Leslie Compton, and Cliff Bastin, from 1930-31 through 1937-38). Radio had been introduced so the masses could follow games announced from the stadia in the comfort of their homes; one wonders if broadcasters thought they’d stop fans from going to the games if they could just stay at home with a bottle and a smoke and hear the game called by professionals. If so, what naivete! Despite radio the crowds came in increasing numbers as World War 2 approached, averaging 23,468 per game in the First Division across those 20 years, an increase in nearly 10,000 per game from the years between 1900-1915.

And who was being watched the most? In addition to the five titles and 2 FA Cup victories between wars, Arsenal led the attendance league 10 of those 20 years, including 9 straight years between 1930-31 and 1938-39. Our highest average attendance at Highbury in those years was over 46,000, in 1935-36. This seems odd. We’d won the league in three straight years, but could only manage 6th that season (behind Sunderland, but 21 places above Spurs, languishing in 5th in the Second Division). Nonetheless, before the war came we’d win our fifth title in 1937-38, making the Bank of England club the most successful of any in the First Division by almost every measure. The numbered red shirt with the white sleeves became as famous as the Art Deco stands of Highbury and games under the floodlights.

The events from the German Anschluss of 1938 and the annexation of Czechoslovakia the following year brought the first response of Football League players and teams to the crisis: a number of players from West Ham, Liverpool, and Bolton joined the Territorial Army. Nonetheless, the 1939 season started in fine fettle on 26 August 1939, with 88 League teams scheduled to play 1848 games throughout the season. Arsenal opened with a 2-2 draw at Wolverhampton, then came home to Highbury; they squeaked past Rovers 1-0 on the 30th. Two days later Germany invaded Poland. Our game on 2 September went forward, and the Gunners smashed Sunderland in a 5-2 win. Contrary to Neville Chamberlain’s 1938 claim that he’d achieved “peace for our time”, he declared war against Germany on 3 September. The win against Sunderland was last League game played at Highbury until 7 years, 2 days later, when we lost to Rovers 1-3 on 4 September 1946. Yes, that’s giving a bit away, there was League football after the war!

As opposed to the dithering about continuing to play by the Football League in 1915 (and continue they did), the League decided that day to cancel the season in its entirety. The FA Cup, which started with preliminary rounds on 2 September, also cancelled the competition; it would not return until the Fall of 1945. Forty-two of Arsenal’s 44 professional footballers joined the Royal Air Force, serving as physical training instructors at home and in various capacities abroad; Tom Whittaker became an Air Raid Warden at the start of the war, was accepted by the RAF and promoted to Squadron Leader as a pilot, and was granted an MBE for his part in planning British operations of D-Day.

The immediate fear, across England, of attack by Germany’s Blitzkrieg brought the country to a standstill. Unlike the worries of the Great War, the threat of German bombs raining down on packed football matches was brought to mind by memories and images of destruction from aerial attacks in the Spanish Civil War; immediately, all places of public entertainment were closed, including football stadia. As September of 1939 drew towards its end and no bombs fell, and the authorities allowed some friendlies to be played between league clubs. However, even those games were subject to limits on attendance and ticketing, and could be cancelled by the local constabulary at the last moment.

When the Football League met at the end of September they discussed how to work with these restrictions, and others imposed by the Home Office (such as setting maximum capacities for stadia at 8,000; stadia with capacities of more than 60,000 could have crowds of 15,000, and in all cases fans must be evenly distributed in the stands and terraces…socially distant, as it were). The Home Office also dictated any season must end by the end of April in 1940, and banned travel of more than 50 miles within England. Out of the September meeting came League decisions (home/away club revenue sharing, player registrations remaining with their club but allowing for guest players when soldier-players were stationed near a club to which they were not registered) and restrictions, such as maximum per-match payments, limits to squad size, and minimum admissions charges.

The League was determined to create regional competitions as it had during World War I, and the scope of each region was set out by the Home Office’s travel limit. It was decided to create 8 divisions from the 88 League clubs: Western, North Western, North Eastern, East Midland, Midland, London and Home Counties (divided into 10-team A and B leagues), and South Western. Arsenal was joined in South A by Charlton, plus other, smaller teams such as Southend United, Clapton Orient, and Spurs. Stadia had been taken over by the Home Office for the war effort led to a variety or issues. Exeter City’s St. James Park was requisitioned, and with no ground sharing available they didn’t participate in the War Leagues. Highbury was also unavailable, having been turned into an Air Raid Precautions post, protected by a barrage balloon over the Clock End. In the reverse of World War I, Arsenal played its “home” matches at White Hart Lane; fair play to them, returning the favor. Football would begin on 28 October 1939, with the War Leagues scheduled to play a total of 1068 games.

In the 1939-40 London and Home Counties South A regional division, Arsenal reigned supreme. Despite an increase in players leaving for the armed services, Arsenal managed to win 13 and draw 4, losing only once, ending the season eight places and 12 points ahead of Spurs. The season progressed in all regions with no bombing raids; cold weather in January and February required the Home Office to extend the season, though it kept the games limited to Saturday (excepting the usual festive period gamedays). The London and Home Counties divisions were re-drawn to group First and Second Division teams into South C, and Everyone Else in South D. Arsenal came third to Spurs, just 3 points back. However, as the season progressed many teams had to forfeit games, or had difficulty getting players to fill out a first eleven, so change was to come in the 1940-41 season.

Shortly after the first War League season ended in May Hitler ordered his troops to step up their attack on Britain, Winston Churchill became Prime Minister, and the “Phony War” ended as the first phase of the Battle of Britain began. Combined with the logistical issues involved in supplying so many teams with players, and staging so many games at stadia that made perfect targets for German bombers, in July the Football League restructured the 10 divisions into two, the Northern and the Southern Regional Leagues. Seventy teams would play 848 games when it was all said and done. There was no way to have a symmetric season in either region, due to travel restrictions, games postponed or abandoned due to German bombardment, and the potential lack of players. As a result, it was decided that league positions would be based on goal average. Other, smaller leagues were established in the South Coast and the West.

The 1940-41 season opened on 31 August, in a quiet spot between aerial battles. However, the following weekend, on 7 September, Arsenal “hosted” Fulham at White Hart Lane. The game was called off with Arsenal leading 5-0 due to a massive, 350-plane German aerial assault that brought the Blitz to London. In 2010 the Guardian printed a diary entry from a young Londoner who was at the game:

“Saturday 7 September – This afternoon went to see Arsenal v Fulham on Spurs’ ground. It’s a lovely ground too. Arsenal played a magnificent first half, and all five of their goals were snorters. At 4:55 pm, 15 minutes from time, the air raid came and the game was called off. Five minutes later I watched a formation of Junker bombers, protected by fighters, attacked by two of our planes. There were at least 50 [German] planes and two came crashing down before they went out of sight. Boy, what a thrill it was.”

This match was one of six stopped before time due to that same raid. From that day forward, the East Stand at White Hart Lane was closed, being as it was needed to be a mortuary for North London’s bomb victims.

These air raids continued into October, forcing abandonment of the Arsenal derby with Spurs on the 19th. Soon after, in spite of its protective barrage balloon, the terraces of the Clock End were damaged when a German bomb blew up just outside the stadium, blowing tons of concrete from Arsenal’s half-sized training pitch onto the South Bank, requiring extensive repair. The Blitz continued to pummel London and England’s industrial heartland, killing thousands during 71 different raids, driving attendances to half of what they were in 1939-40. Later in the season, the roof over the North Bank was destroyed by an incendiary bomb, setting fire to the wartime goods stored there, bringing the shed to the ground. Festive-period fixtures were not allowed, excepting Christmas and Easter Monday. The number of abandoned games dropped after the New Year, and in spite of Highbury’s destruction Arsenal came in 4th in the South Regional Championship, behind Crystal Palace in first; Tottenham could barely manage 10th.

The end of the Blitz in May, 1941 brought an end to frequent German bombing raids and allowed more games to be played across Britain. As we’ve seen today with the proposals for a European Super League, for 1941-42 the Football League had to contend with a breakaway of the London clubs from the League’s Regional Championship format…but at that time it was successful. The London clubs that broke away had their League registrations cancelled; this could have had serious consequences for the London League teams, but the Football League would allow them to re-register later in the War. Nonetheless. the 16 clubs in the new London League played home and away from August 1941-May 1942. The London League was administered by the pre-war London Combination, and affiliated with the London FA; the League allowed guest players to move freely between the London League and the North and South Regional Championships. Through all of this attendance increased, nearly doubling compared with 1940-41, even as rationing of clothing, petrol, and other necessities caused hardship among the population. Arsenal played 30 matches in the London League, and ended the season in May, 1942 in first place, winning 23, drawing 2, and losing 5.

In June of 1942 the London clubs were brought back to the Football League fold, apologizing in writing and paying a £10 fine. They continued with the London League, which expanded to 18 teams (adding Southampton and Luton Town) for the 1942-43 season. Not all teams played both home and away; a total of 28 games were played between the teams. The 1942-43 season was played against a backdrop of reduced civilian casualties in Britain, against rising casualties on the continent and in Africa. Attendances rose again by nearly 1/3 when compared with 1941-42. Arsenal again finished the London League in first place, with 43 points from 28 games, in May of 1943. It would be the last of Arsenal’s London League titles; Highbury would not see another title until Arsenal’s First Division winners of 1948.

As the war stretched on through 1943, the Germans concentrated their efforts on the Eastern Front, England focused on Tunisia, and had a respite from the bombing and the battle for Europe. Arsenal played again in the London League in 1943-44, coming in 4th behind Spurs. Rationing, and the limits set by the Home Office, continued to make life difficult for the people of England, yet attendances grew again by nearly 1/2 compared with the previous season. On a personal note, US Army Air Force troops were stationed around Britain beginning in early 1943, increasing in number through the year. My mother’s uncle, 2nd Lieut. Alan S. Grant, a B-17 bombardier with the US 8th Army Air Force, was among them. He was stationed at RAF Station Horham, and participated in 25 daylight bombing raids into Germany between October and December, 1943. He left Horham on 29 December, bound for Chicago and his new wife Mary Lois. The B-17 ferry flight bringing him to his debarkation point at Woodvale, near Southport, crashed into Cwm Dyserth in Wales killing all aboard. Uncle Al is buried at the Cambridge Military Cemetery.

Just after the end of the 1943-44 season came Operation Overlord, the invasion of Europe from England by the Allies. The heavy fighting in France and Germany from Summer 1944 through spring of 1945 was the backdrop for yet another season organized by the Football League in the same manner as the previous 3 years. A major difference from the previous season were the attacks of the V1 and V2 flying bombs on London and its surrounding areas. The British Government blamed many of these bombings on “gas main explosions” to prevent panic; fortunately, none of these “flying gas mains” landed on a football pitch while a match was being played. Just as Hitler gave himself lead poisoning with his pistol in his Berlin bunker the London League season of 1944-45 ended, with Arsenal in 8th, having never getting on track, losing one less than they won and drawing 5 from 30 games.

Finally, after six long years, the War in Europe was over. It didn’t end in the Pacific Theater until September, and so the planning by the Football League for the 1945-46 season looked much the same as it did for the 1941-42 season. The London League was dissolved, and Arsenal played in the Football League South, coming in 11th behind Birmingham City; for the season, 86 teams played 1324 games in six leagues across 3 Divisions. Arsenal also played in various friendlies, providing an Arsenal XI that played Russian Champions Dynamo Moscow in November, only to lose 3-4 at White Hart Lane in front of nearly 55,000 fans. The FA Cup restarted in the Fall of 1945, with the early rounds seeded regionally to reduce traveling (though the rationing of petrol and the 50-mile travel limit were relaxed by the Home Office). Arsenal lost 0-6 in their first game, a Third Round tie against West Ham on 5 January of 1946; while they beat the Hammers 1-0 in the return leg on 9 January, they lost the tie on aggregate and were out of the cup. True League football would finally return in September of 1946, with the 1946-47 season playing the same teams and same slate of games as was cancelled in 1939.

In addition to the wartime regional leagues, the Football League created a War Cup competition with 5 rounds and a final at Wembley. This started in early 1940, with 137 games played over 9 weeks; West Ham won the cup on 8 June in front of more than 40,000 fans, including evacuees from Dunkirk’s beaches. The War Cup was played through the 1944-45 season, with Arsenal playing for the cup in the finals of 1940-41 and 1942-43, winning neither. The 1941 final against Preston North End was 2-legged; the first tie at Wembley ended in a draw. Leslie Compton missed a penalty in the opening stages of the game, and Preston scored shortly thereafter. But Denis Compton (the brothers Compton played cricket for Middlesex and football for Arsenal) leveled the tie just before the half with a fine strike from inside the box. The second leg was played at Ewood Park, where Arsenal couldn’t find the back of the net, losing 2-1 courtesy of a brace from Preston’s Bobbie Beattie, and an own goal from their Frank Gallimore.

The 1943 War Cup final was structured differently. In the South Region final Arsenal destroyed Charlton 7-1 at Wembley in front of 75,000 fans, a record score for the stadium at the time. Reg Lewis, foreshadowing his heroics in the 1950 FA Cup Final, scored the first. Denis Compton scored the 2nd before Charlton got one back with a penalty, then Lewis put in his second before Ted Drake, who continued to play occasionally for Arsenal on leave from the Royal Air Force, got the 4th for the team. Drake got the 5th just after halftime, then Lewis completed his Arshavin with two more goals past Charlton’s hapless Hobbins before the final whistle. The 1943 final was Drake’s last for Arsenal; he injured his spine in a regional match in 1945, ending his career as a player. In the North Region final Blackpool defeated Wednesday across two legs. The overall final was played at the Bus Stop in Fulham; 55,000 watched as Arsenal lost 2-4 to Blackpool. While we won neither, we were the only club in the League to reach two War Cup Finals.

World War 2 was a much more intense time for the people of Britain than was World War 1. The clubs of the Football League provided 780 players to the armed forces; of the 42 professionals on Arsenal’s books in 1939, 9 died in the War: Sid Pugh, Henry Cook, Will Parr, Leslie Martin, Bob Daniel, Hugh Glass, Cyril Tooze, Herbert Roberts, and Bill Dean. The oldest was Lieutenant Herbert Roberts; at 39 he was part of the great 1930s teams, starting 335 times for Arsenal over 11 years, winning 4 titles and an FA Cup medal as the club’s centre-half before retiring in 1937 to train Arsenal’s reserve side. He died in 1944 of erysipelas while on duty with the Royal Fusiliers’ City of London Regiment. As far as I can tell, no other club lost as many to the War as did Arsenal.

Relative to World War 1, British life in the Second World War was much more complicated. Germany’s aggression against Britain from the air created an environment where little was known, yet life had to go on as normally as possible. Restrictions of movement, restrictions of teams and how the leagues were formed made the Wartime leagues less than optimal for the fans and players alike. Does any of this sound at all familiar to what’s happening now, in this time of Covid?

As we saw in the part I some of the same concerns raised by the Football League in World War 1 were raised in World War 2, and have been raised again today. That the League restarted the 1946-47 season with the same teams and same schedule as they had at the start of 1939-40 leaves it a possibility that whenever League football resumes (after the current season that appears to be being abandoned) it will simply be started anew with no 2019-20 title winner. As well, depending on how points are counted some of the potentially odd results from the current season may echo the results from before and after the War to end all Wars (namely, that Arsenal might benefit at the expense of Tottenham, but FOYS, ha!). We are fortunate that the number of dead from Covid-19 has come nowhere close to either the dead under Flanders’ poppies, those taken by the so-called “Spanish Influenza” of 1918, or those lost to the specter of Nazi aggression in the fields of World War 2.

And yet, what can be said of the future, after football resumes, at least in England and the English leagues? One can only hope there’s an unbroken number of years with no pandemics, no Great Wars, and many Arsenal league and cup trophies, including old Big Ears itself…


I am indebted to the following websites, videos, and authors for their research, from which I culled the information to write this piece:

https://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn/nav/attnengleague.htm
https://www.englishfootballleaguetables.co.uk/Blog/ww2.html (Dave Coalman’s blog)
www.rsssf.com
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm05ILo9g2I (1941 Cup Final)
https://youtu.be/4BApHjH9r7c?t=1 (1943 South Region Cup Final)
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tKXO75zNSlc# (Same video of 1941 Cup Final but different of 1943 South Region Cup Final)
https://londonist.com/london/history/football-wartime-blitz-1940s (Contains image of newspaper article for 1943 South Region Cup Final)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vw_Gy3ECmHI (North Bank destruction)
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2010/nov/10/blitz-football-grounds-bomb-damage (Arsenal-Fulham 7/9/40)
Gas Masks for Goal Posts: Football in Britain during the Second World War. Anton Rippon, 2005

86 Drinks to “The Great Lull, or Football in the Time of Covid, part II”

  1. 1
    BtM says:

    Good morning, Scruz. I was trying to post this note to Ned on the last page and found it was blocked. Forgive me for doing so here. (Then I’ll go off and read ‘Part 11’).

    @129 Ned : At the great risk of over-egging the nostalgia cake, this piece on Caldow is very representative of ‘different times’ and worth a read. (Spoiler alert – beware the ‘world-class’ epithets)

    https://www.scotsman.com/news/obituaries/obituary-eric-caldow-rangers-and-scotland-full-back-gentleman-game-who-was-never-booked-87016

    Jimmy Johnston and Bertie Auld were Celtic’s funny men. Jinky’s “The only time I ever passed Eric Caldow, he was walking down the street and I drove past in my Jaguar” is typical.

    Caldow’s Rangers team was a powerful force. To this day, irrespective of whether they were Gers’ fans or not, everyone who was then a schoolboy in Scotland can recite that team’s line up (even in their sleep).

  2. 2
    Pangloss says:

    Great piece Scruz.

  3. 3
    OsakaMatt says:

    Fantastic scruz.
    I had no idea that so many
    games were played and it is
    really a tribute to the can-do
    spirit of everyone involved.
    I also didn’t know so many
    Arsenal players died.
    It must have taken a lot of
    research and I really appreciate
    your efforts.

  4. 4
    bt8 says:

    Six years of history but what a long, tedious, terrifying and sad six years they must have seemed. Puts our current difficulties into perspective but football must have brightened lives a bit.
    Thank you Scruz.

  5. 5
    North Bank Ned says:

    Another excellently comprehensive piece, Scruz. Thank you. As Bt8, says, puts our current situation into perspective.

    The streets to the south and west of Highbury got quite heavily bombed during the Blitz, presumably because of the railway line running up through Finsbury Park. Where the Ems now stands took two direct hits. My mother tells me that there were evenings during the Blitz when it seemed there were two suns: the orange glow of the real sun setting in the west and the orange glow of the Docks burning in the east.

  6. 6
    BtM says:

    That’s a fantastic piece of work, Scruz. Thank you.

  7. 7
    TTG says:

    Scruz,
    Thanks for a terrific piece of research . It’s a very informative read and I learnt a lot. It was a terrible time and London took much of the brunt of the bombing . I grew up in South London and the house next to me was destroyed in the war, the family occupying the house were all killed . London was full of bomb sites .
    Another link to my Dad in reference to your article was that he was in the desert with the Royal Artillery where he fought at El Alamein . While in the desert he joined in a football match with some lads from oop North . He was a decent footballer but found these lads to be very tasty . After the kick around he got talking to one of them who turned out to be George Eastham’s father , an England international. He revealed that most of the lads playing were from Bolton Wanderers and had signed up en masse . I’m not sure how many survived but although we effectively turned the balance of the war with the victory at El Alamein loss of life was high. I know Dad lost a number of colleagues . He was on a gun crew on what they used to call ‘ twenty five pounders’ . A Gunner to the end !
    Great work Scruz, Thankyou

  8. 8
    Trev says:

    Looks good – and huge, scruz ! (When did you last hear that ?) 😳

    So huge I’ll have to read it properly later – daylight lockdown tasks to be done now …..

  9. 9
    bathgooner says:

    A truly masterful piece, Scruz demonstrating very impressive research work. I learnt a huge amount.

    Football wa a major R&R activity for the British Forces in both WWI and WWII. My old man was with the XIVth Army in Burma but I don’t think he got the chance to play much football. However my grandfather who was in the Royal Navy in the eastern Med in WWI did play in Egypt and I have somewhere a partly damaged photograph of the team.

    A well-deserved bottle of Dom Perignon is chilling on the bar for you, Scruz. Sláinte. 🥂🍾

  10. 10
    North Bank Ned says:

    Btm@1: Thanks for the link. An informative read. Caldow seems to have been an outstanding player in an era of some exceptional Scottish talent. Clearly the Smith tackle was a career-ending injury.

  11. 11
    scruzgooner says:

    thanks, all. i got everything done, including the league war cup, then had a devil of a time making a narrative out of the actual war league seasons. there were many contradictions in the web pages and books i found, but i think i finally got it right. glad you found it interesting. sorry it was so huge (a word i *never* hear 😉 ).

    watch the videos, they’re very cool.

  12. 12
    North Bank Ned says:

    Some more Arsenal-associated war deaths to add to Scruz’s list of the professional players lost:

    Leslie Lack, about whom little is known, beyond that he grew up in Clerkenwell and was a promising outside left who played for Tufnell Park and North London schoolboys before signing for the club as an amateur in May 1939. He flew Spitfires in the RAF and went missing over Holland in 1943, believed downed by friendly fire returning from a mission. He was 21 or 22 and died before ever having the chance to play for the first team.

    Ernie Tuckett, who was on the club’s books from 1932-37 but played only two league games (towards the end of the 1935-36 season before being swapped with Bradford City for Laurie Scott in February 1937. He died in a flying accident at the end of the war.

  13. 13
    North Bank Ned says:

    Scruz@11: Conflicting information on the Internet? Surely not!

    A glass of what you prefer on the bar for picking through it all so accurately.

  14. 14
    scruzgooner says:

    ned@12, i do believe leslie lack is also known as leslie martin: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15257075/leslie-martin-lack

    as for ernie, his death happened after ve day, so maybe he’s just not often counted…even the woolwich arsenal blog says there are contradictions for him 🙂 https://blog.woolwicharsenal.co.uk/archives/11686

    and all who’ve posted glasses and bottles for me, sláinte! i’ll lay that dom down, sorry to say, until such a time as arsenal wins the league again. hopefully not long, thanks, bath.

  15. 15
    Uplympian says:

    Another masterpiece Scruz, a comprehensive study of a period of football that, quite understandably , was completely overshadowed by the war. You’ve filled a vast gap in my knowledge. Considering the severe bombing that London took ( along with most major cities in the UK ) in someways it’s surprising that any organised football took place at all.

    A V2 bomb destroyed some houses behind where my parents were living – killing the occupants instantly. The shockwaves were so severe it started my mother off in labour
    ( she was carrying me ) and she walked the mile or so to the Whittington Hospital as all the ambulances were caring for the badly injured. I was born 6 weeks early at 3 1/2 pounds and not expected to survive – there were no incubators at that time. Well I’m still here! Some of my earliest moments I recall are playing around the numerous bomb sites.
    Thanks again Scruz, both volumes 1 & 2 are super reads.

  16. 16
    scruzgooner says:

    thanks, uply. that’s pretty impressive on your mother’s part; shows how tough women are, though so many macho men will deride to the contrary. glad it didn’t land a couple doors closer! my brother was born about the same in 1969, and my mother (a nurse) was stressed as hell about it. he got the best care (they knew her, you see), had an incubator and round-the-clock observing. i can only imagine you were given a rag soaked in milk to suck on and brought home in a barrow 🙂

    i’m happy you’re still here, and appreciate the compliments.

  17. 17
    TTG says:

    Uply- that’s some story ! You are a fighter and it sounds like it runs in the family!
    Glad you made it 😃. 31/2 lb babies in that era rarely did .

  18. 18
    bt8 says:

    Thank you scruz also for the links. That article by Frank Keating in the Guardian is an amazing read rounding up the damage at various football grounds throughout England as a result of the German bombing raids.

    Uply, I’m so glad you made it. 🙂

  19. 19
    Doctor Faustus says:

    Wow! Scruz, that is an extraordinarily meticulous and also supremely readable piece. It’s so rich with details. Impressively researched and superbly summarized.

  20. 20
    North Bank Ned says:

    TTG@7: Bolton Wanderers players in Army uniform, so maybe some of those your father played against. That is Don Howe second from right.

    https://spartacus-educational.com/2WWfootball1.jpg

    Scruz@14: Martin and Lack are likely one and the same. I took it as you specified professionals and Lack was an amateur who didn’t get to play a first-team game they were were different people. Tuckett was no longer an Arsenal player during the war so rightly not on your list.

    Upply@15: That is quite a story. That generation of your mother’s was made of stern stuff.

  21. 21
    TTG says:

    Ned,
    Thankyou for the picture . Dad said although they were the centre of much attention the players were very unassuming and down to earth lads

  22. 22
    TTG says:

    I’ve done some research on that Bolton team and the Wikipedia entry for Harry Goslin who sadly died in Italy charts their war. In terms of the postings it was almost identical to my father’s war postings . Looking at those footballers lost in WW2 a disproportionately high number were Arsenal players

  23. 23
    North Bank Ned says:

    TTG@21: The Bolton players in the photograph, which was taken in 1939, are, left to right, Billy Ithell, Danny Winter, Jackie Roberts, George Caterall, Don Howe and Harry Goslin. Many of the Bolton team joined the 53rd (Bolton) Field Regiment, whose football team you can see in this photo:

    https://spartacus-educational.com/Fbolton4.jpg

    It seems to be comprised entirely of Bolton Wanderers players.

    The regiment shipped out to Egypt in the autumn of 1942. This page about Harry Goslin, Bolton’s pre-war captain and who was killed in the North Africa campaign, has quite a lot of detail about its involvement in the fighting, in which your father must have taken part, too.

    https://spartacus-educational.com/BOLTONcgoslin.htm

    It may be that the reason for Arsenal’s relatively high casualty rate compared to other clubs is that many of the players joined the RAF, rather than the Army. If you took a hit in either of those services the outcome was somewhat binary.

  24. 24
    North Bank Ned says:

    oops. Harry Goslin died of wounds sustained fighting in Italy, as TTG said above, not North Africa.

  25. 25
    North Bank Ned says:

    oops, again. Penultimate sentence of @23 should read ‘joined the RAF or Navy…’

    Typing fingers must be taking a day off…

  26. 26
    TTG says:

    Ned,
    Thankyou for going to the trouble to research this.
    Your point about the RAF is a key one but Dunkirk, Egypt and ultimately Monte Cassino which these Bolton lads were involved in is a busy…and dangerous war !

  27. 27
    scruzgooner says:

    ned, that spartacus site is excellent, i didn’t use it as much as i could have…the piece might have been kind of, uh, huge if i had 😎

    i’m leaving history to the monks from here on out. they earn their bread and wine, for sure!

    bt8 and faustus, thank you; i am glad you enjoyed it. bt8, when i found that diary entry, and it mentioned that particular game, etc., i was thrilled. what an amazing thing to be able to memorialize in your diary…arsenal winning at whl… 🙂

  28. 28
    scruzgooner says:

    and ttg, glad your pop made it home and was able to tell the stories to you. hope you and mrs. ttg are keeping well. 🙏

  29. 29
  30. 30
    bt8 says:

    Lip synching extraordinaire

  31. 31
    Uplympian says:

    Scruz, pedants corner para 5 – “Nonetheless, the 1939 season started etc with 88 teams scheduled to play 168 games “ – only 2 games per team 🤓

  32. 32
    Uplympian says:

    Bt8 – the group as a whole didn’t do any better, the drummer almost got within a few ins of the drums themselves. Stevie Winwood went onto have a long & illustrious career.

  33. 33
    scruzgooner says:

    uply, you’re right! i’ll have to recalculate that; i totaled up the games in each league rather than from each team in each league…

  34. 34
    scruzgooner says:

    uply, i recalculated the original 1939-40 season numbers, and added actuals for 1938-39, 1940-41, and 1945-46. good spot.

  35. 35
    TTG says:

    Scruz,
    Thankyou for your good wishes which are warmly reciprocated. Mrs TTG is making little steps forward but I’m keeping her well away from the world at large . Let’s hope post lockdown we can have some normality. For her seeing and hugging her grandsons would be a huge lift

  36. 36
    scruzgooner says:

    glad to hear it, ttg. i assume she’s healing, and is able to spend time in the garden, just recuperating. seeing and hugging those two would be a huge lift for any grandma, or grandpa, for that matter 🙂

  37. 37
    Brendan says:

    Hello

    Strange times here

  38. 38
    TTG says:

    Scruz,
    You bet ! At the daily Downing St. conference yesterday they talk a first call from a membe4 if the public, an elderly lady. Her question was ‘ When will I be able to hug my grandchildren?’
    I just hope America with that loathsome idiot in charge don’t open up too early and prompt a second wave

  39. 39
    North Bank Ned says:

    Don’t hold your hopes too high, TTG.

  40. 40
    bt8 says:

    Just wanted to highlight the inscription on TTG’s stone at the Emirates pictured in the previous post. Well chosen words. If you missed it just look between the two young men.

  41. 41
    Trev says:

    Scruz, an amazing piece of work !

    I have no idea how long that took you but, thank you ! So much I didn’t know – actually I’m not sure I knew any of it – other than that we gave the Spuds the elbow here and there !

  42. 42
    North Bank Ned says:

    France has become the first of the big-five European leagues to end its season, by government order. What to do about promotion, relegation and European qualification to be decided, but the latter has already set off an unholy row that would likely be replicated if the Premiership suffered the same fate.

  43. 43
    OsakaMatt says:

    I just read this on the topic of
    hugging grandchildren…..
    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-52470838

    It’s quite difficult to know what to
    do when the experts disagree

  44. 44
    bt8 says:

    Re: Ned above on the unholy row in France there is a simple solution: Relegate PSG to improve competition for places

  45. 45
    bt8 says:

    Which brings up another question. Is it better to turn down the option to become part of a European super league?

  46. 46
    bathgooner says:

    Matt @42, in my experience, when you get 3 experts in a room, you get 4 opinions.

  47. 47
    bathgooner says:

    bt8@43, I will be astonished if there is any UEFA CL or EL competition next season unless in the extremely unlikely but absolutely delightful event that CV-19 fizzles out completely aand permanently over the summer.

  48. 48
    bathgooner says:

    Wellies the ball downfield in a Keown-esque clearance to set up the pre-assist for the half century!

  49. 49
    bt8 says:

    Neither Mike Dean, his blindsman, nor VAR having seen it, the bloke in the third row of the stand punches Keown’s wayward ball on for …

  50. 50
    OsakaMatt says:

    the well-placed Matt who after
    taking careful aim thuds a toe
    punt into Mike Deans arrogant
    mush to deflect onto the edge
    of the box for…..

  51. 51
    bt8 says:

    Maybe the 2021-2022 season then, Bath? If so that would leave a fair amount of time for UEFA to reconfigure (and clean?) the face and dirty hands of European football, one might think.

  52. 52
    bt8 says:

    Not sure of course if the pandemic would be over at that point either. Apparently the 1918 flu lasted nearly two years.

  53. 53
    bt8 says:

    But in 2009 it took scientists only about 6 months to develop a vaccine for the swine flu the new H1N1 influenza virus, that threatened to be much worse than the vaccine prevented it from becoming, according to an article on Scientific American titled “How the COVID-19 Pandemic Could End“ that I tried to copy here but was prevented by a combination of my technology shortcomings and possibly copyright protections.

  54. 54
    bt8 says:

    Hey there Matt and thanks for your well timed assist demonstrating that it takes a team to overcome the deviousness of Dean.

  55. 55
    OsakaMatt says:

    Hello bt8,
    The toe punt was pure wish
    fulfilment so happy to help
    😁

  56. 56
    OsakaMatt says:

    @45 Bath
    😃
    I hope the Swiss are right
    of course but personally I’m
    still at the who knows stage

  57. 57
    bt8 says:

    In normal circumstances the Swiss cheese approach can be adapted for use by the makers of Wisconsin cheddar so I certainly hope they will both be getting solid medical and veterinary policy advice.

  58. 58
    bt8 says:

    At least I have learned a few new words through all of this, zoonotic being one of them.

  59. 59
    scruzgooner says:

    bt8, isn’t the deviousness of dean that swampy bit of land just outside the forest of dean? well in for the half-ton, by the way.

  60. 60
    bt8 says:

    The Forest may indeed be in close proximity to the deviousness, scruz, as well as the purgatory of Dean. But Google Maps tells me Bath should be in close enough geographical proximity to offer an expert opinion. 😉

  61. 61
    OsakaMatt says:

    bt8,
    so good you had to say it twice?
    The Dean Pomposity would be a
    good name for a small hill that
    thinks it’s a mountain

  62. 62
    North Bank Ned says:

    One answer to the who-gets-European-qualification question would be to have one competition next season for which the top 256 clubs on the UEFA club coefficient rankings would qualify, regardless of how leagues decide to settle their 20219-20 seasons. It would be played as a straight knock-out. No group stages. That would give eight rounds, and be a genuine European championship.

    If the broadcasters or any of the big clubs got antsy about big-names going out early, the top 32 clubs could get byes to the round of 64 and clubs ranked 33 to 64 get a bye to the round of 128, as happens with the FA Cup. That would also mean the competition could shrink to 192 clubs playing over nine rounds or expand to 320 clubs playing over ten rounds as deemed desirable.

  63. 63
    Bt8 says:

    Was hoping Scruz or Artur would zap my unintended double drink but OM the dean of pomposity is a good one. 🙂 [double post? what double post? ;)]

  64. 64
    bt8 says:

    Dean Pomposity, even better!

  65. 65
    scruzgooner says:

    dean always mistook steve miller’s “the joker” as singing “the pomposity of love…”

  66. 66
    bathgooner says:

    bt8 @59, I’ve only been to the Forest of Dean once, to use up a birthday activity gift on their quite quaint steam railway. However, since arriving in the ‘West Country’ medical community, I have been advised on many occasions that the denizens of that slightly remote corner are seriously inbred. Think West Virginia, Merkins. A radio phone-in anecdote: “When I divorce my wife, is she still my sister?”

  67. 67
    Trev says:

    Bath @65,

    The answer to your question relies on a simple formula –

    If the number of her teeth, plus the number of her eyebrows is less than or equal to 3, then Yes, she is.

  68. 68
    bathgooner says:

    🤠

  69. 69
    TTG says:

    I’ve been out of the loop footballwise for a while but had a Zoom call on Tuesday with a connected individual who is big in the AST ( and I met with the Guvna) . He tells me –
    – Auba may sign a new contract but we’d sell him if we can get enough money
    – like we’ve been saying here we will see very few big fees paid, most deals will be loans
    – they’d like to keep Ceballos on loan but the terms we negotiated last year are too tasty to repeat this year
    – Mari has impressed and will probably stay , Sokratis may leave
    – lots of interest in Saka but he thinks he will stay .
    Much depends on the finances after a decision is taken on 2019/20 but we are really struggling because of the wage bill although we improved things last summer. Selling Iwobi was a masterstroke, buying Pepe wasn’t.
    If we are going to see football behind closed doors on TV the TV contract will be fulfilled but gate receipts will be decimated especially if the ban on crowds continues into next season. You won’t be able to sell players for huge fees because the only teams who can afford them will know they have you over a barrel .
    Expect the top 4 next season to be Citeh, Chavski , ManUre and one other . Might even be Newcastle . FFP ( or the PL version ) will be interesting and will regulate the biggest excesses of the club’s bankrolled by their mega-rich owners . That doesn’t include the mega-rich Kroenkes.
    It’s hard to see viable European football next season

  70. 70
    North Bank Ned says:

    TTG@68: All of that makes sense. We’ll see barter deals, too. They will let clubs establish a prices floor for transfers without having to lay out net cash, which in turn will help bolster fragile balance sheets.

    How much did Iwobi earn? I thought he was relatively lowly paid although presumably would have got a big bump had his contract been extended last summer.

    I think it will be difficult for the broadcasters to claim a refund from the league as it would open a hornet’s nest of calls from their viewing customers for refunds on subscription fees. They will not want to go there.

    The other unknown, on which you may have some insight although it has been little mentioned. is the commercial deals the club has. Are those still paying in full or will the club be getting less for stadium naming rights, shirt sponsorship and encounraging people to visit Rwanda? I can see the risk of being sponsored by an airline when people cannot or are unwilling to fly.

  71. 71
    depressedgooner says:

    Good morning all, sorry it has taken me so long to find my way here, not been very well lately and finding the energy to do much of anything has been tough.

    However my spirits were buoyed immensely by seeing this fine establishment and what a lovely tribute to the great man himself, I’ll be pleased when we can watch the mighty Arsenal live again but not at any cost, I have plenty of DVD’s of glory days I can work my way through.

    Nice to see so many familiar faces again, will be nice to reconnect with you all once more.

  72. 72
    North Bank Ned says:

    Draw up a seat and welcome in. DG. Hope you are past the worst of what ailed you.

  73. 73
    North Bank Ned says:

    French league has decided to award final positions on the basis of points-per-game. So the title goes to the clear frontrunners, PSG. But it seems only two up and two down for promotion and relegation with play-offs for the third slot in both directions abandoned.

  74. 74
    OsakaMatt says:

    Ned,
    I like the French solution better
    than going Dutch.
    I see Lyon have reserved the
    right to take legal action as they
    have dropped from 5th to 7th
    and as a result will not qualify
    for European football (assuming
    there is any).

  75. 75
    scruzgooner says:

    welcome back, dg. a drink’s on the bar for you, dr. pepper, vernor’s, or whatever floats your alcoholic boat 🙂

  76. 76
    OsakaMatt says:

    I suppose the masterstroke on
    Iwobi refers to the fee we got
    for a player with I think below
    average goals/assists output
    for his position.
    We replaced him with a mix of
    Saka/Nelson/Martinelli all of
    whom are on less I would guess
    plus Auba whose salary was
    already factored in. Actually,
    on the right I’d guess Pepe
    isn’t being paid more than
    Mkhi though I don’t know the
    financial details of the loan
    deal and how much if any of
    salary we are still carrying.

  77. 77
    bt8 says:

    dg, so glad to read your drink and to hear you are on the mend from what has been ailing you. Also glad you like the new site, please contribute as much as you like!

  78. 78
    bathgooner says:

    Welcome to the new bar DG. I think the Guvna would approve of it. Draw up a stool and join the craic. I hope that this place can aid your full and swift recovery. 🥂

  79. 79
    scruzgooner says:

    I just added another video, the first half of which contains the same as the other of the 1941 final, but the second is a different view of the 1943 South Region final. The 1943 stand-alone video is from Pathé, the others from Movietone…

  80. 80
    TTG says:

    Sky have screened an interval today with Professor Tim Spector the head of Epidemiology at Kings College . He is the driving force behind the Covid19/ ZOE website which is tracking symptoms and in my opinion is providing much more useful data than the Government are churning out every afternoon. He is an Arsenal season ticket holder and was agreeing that the medical aspects of Project Restart look sensible and realistic. But he estimates we won’t be watching football at Ashburton Grove for at least a year, probably two !

  81. 81
    TTG says:

    Apologies I meant interview not interval . But the point is if Spector is right and he is the most realistic voice I’ve heard on the subject we are going to see extraordinary change and disruption to the game.
    Imagine how the Totts feel paying a fortune for a stadium that they can’t use for two seasons ! Imagine that no kids , no regular fans will be able to go to our home and see the team play . Watching football in a deserted stadium with no atmosphere is a product the TV companies may tire of showing and the finances to pay the players are just not there . Football will lose its soul if Spector is right

  82. 82
    scruzgooner says:

    yowza. that’s incredible. thanks, ttg.

  83. 83
    North Bank Ned says:

    OM@75. It seems that Mkhi was on £120,000 a week with us but Roma are paying him £51,000 a week. I guess we are carrying the difference, but that burden will be considerably lightened by the £2.64 million loan fee we got. That’s worth around £57,000 a week. Not sure if we are off the hook for UK National Insurance and all the other non-wage costs of employing someone, but the deal probably works out more or less a wash. Certainly cheaper than having him sitting on the bench or not being able to get a game. Pepe seems to be on £140,000 a week, which puts only Ozil, Auba and Laca above him in the earning stakes.

  84. 84
    North Bank Ned says:

    Spector’s prognosis is grim and indeed has profound implications for the game, TTG. I suspect the TV companies can deal with atmospheric-less empty stadiums better than the players. They know how to create artificial reality. But will fans ever go back to the stadiums if they become habituated to football being played when they are not there?

  85. 85
    scruzgooner says:

    ned, i’m a spectator on tv and have only been to live footie four times, once (with TTG) at THOF. the difference between watching live, and being part of that energy and atmosphere, is so massive as to be two separate types of thing. and even at the local games (san jose earthquakes) the atmosphere, while trying to be what we’ve all seen on tv, makes watching on tv something less than optimal…

    the bigger risk will be will fans ever go back to the stadiums if they can’t be certain that covid isn’t lurking in the corners waiting to bludgeon them into an early grave…

  86. 86
    scruzgooner says:

    >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> (for artur)