A look back on the history of Churchill FC

While tidying up his loft, he stumbled across a treasure trove of historical documents and images relating to Churchill Football Club.

He explained: "I found a very large folder I started to compile 45 years ago, it's the history of Churchill Football Club, which contains every newspaper cutting the club ever had printed from their formation 1904, with team photos from 1909.

Churchill were crowned champions of the Cheddar Valley League during the 1909-10 season. (Image: Nick King)

"I spent many hours as a young boy turning the microfiche film at the Weston library in search of every report of Churchill Football Club, Ialso visited the library at Wells where again I spent many hours scrolling every microfiche and printed off match reports."

And the more information King uncovered, the more treasures he gathered up.

King then found a book containing hand-written letters, including one from local vicar Lionel Brown.

He takes up the story written in the book, adding: "He was so angry at the referee, who was a schoolmaster from Blackford clearly in favour for the other side, that the vicar was sent off for swearing. This followed the rest of his side who joined him by walking off about ten minutes from time.

"As a result the club had to appear before the Somerset FA in Wells, they travelled in Blagdon's Jake Lyons bus not only were they fined and the ground closed for a month but on the journey home they hit fog over the Mendip Hills running into a pile of stones by the Hunters Lodge Inn they were stranded for several hours."

But a regret of King's was not to take a picture of former 1927 Clevedon League winning captain Wilf Barker's medal during their interview in the 1970s.

He believes the picture would have been passed from family member to family member.

King also recalls a story Barker told him of how he boarded the bus at St Marys memorial cross in Langford for an away fixture, but left his kit bag behind and had to borrow boots and shorts from the referee!

Another tale the league title-winning skipper told was how the club celebrated their championship in an open-top bus around the village, with many former players reporting how the picture house located at Churchill crossroads would slip slides on during the film showing Churchill's match results.

Nick King has been compiling information on Churchill FC for the last 45 years. (Image: Nick King)

More research saw Churchill hold a record crowd of over 1,600 people at Langford House, before the First World War demolished the ground and they reformed as a team and moved to Churchill Turnpyke, which is now a new development of houses at Churchill crossroads.

The team then moved to a pitch next to the Churchill Inn, which is today a new housing complex, and Pudding Pie Lane, which has been taken over by new housing development, before settling in at their present ground off Ladymead Lane.

The main contributions came from interviewing former player Bill Nigh, who lived in Doleberrow and first came to the club after World War One and talked about their dread playing at Blagdon because they had to get off the horse drawn coach and help push it up the hills.

Nick King has every newspaper cutting the club ever had printed from their formation 1904 and every team photos from 1909. (Image: Nick King)

Back in 1979 when the club celebrated their 75th anniversary former professional footballer Paul Cheesley competed in a football match against the village skittles team, with this rounded off with evening celebrations.

And then in their 100th anniversary in 2004 the club had to present evidence of their centenary to the FA in London.

King said: "They agreed the club could be honoured with a hand-written scroll which took several months to prepare, hand delivered by the FA and was presented to the club at a centenary celebration held at Churchill Comprehensive School."

King then gave a short speech about the club's history which included his mention of the two life members former schoolmaster Frank Williams in 1945 and Sam Warren in 1950, with Cheesley again volunteering his time and helping to host the evening, on the night club chairman Frank Thomas elected King as a the club's third life member.