1911–12 New Brompton F.C. season

New Brompton

1911–12 season
Chairman	Edward Crawley[1]
Southern League Division One	18th
FA Cup	Fourth qualifying round
Top goalscorer	League: Fred Corbett, Abel Lee, Jock Taylor (6 each) All: Fred Corbett, Abel Lee, Jock Taylor (6 each)
Highest home attendance	7,000 vs Norwich City (6 April 1912)
Lowest home attendance	1,500 vs Exeter City (6 January 1912)
Home colours

During the 1911–12 English football season, New Brompton F.C. competed in the Southern League Division One. It was the 18th season in which the club competed in the Southern League and the 17th in Division One. At the end of the season, the club changed its name to Gillingham F.C.

Gillingham also competed in the FA Cup, losing in the fourth qualifying round. The team played 39 competitive matches, winning 11, drawing 9, and losing 19. Fred Corbett, Abel Lee, and Jock Taylor were the joint highest goalscorers, with six goals each. Jack Mahon made the most appearances, playing in every game.

Background and pre-season

New Brompton, founded in 1893,[2] had played in the Southern League since the competition's formation in 1894.[3] At the time, only a small number of teams from the south of England had been elected into the ostensibly national Football League, with many of the south's leading teams playing in the Southern League.[4] The 1911–12 season was the club's 17th season in Division One, the league's top division, following promotion from Division Two at the first attempt in 1895. As was often the case in the early 20th century, the club did not employ a full-time team manager; most tasks associated with a modern manager, such as the signing of new players, were among the responsibilities of the club's secretary, William Ironside Groombridge.[5] J. Craddock was newly appointed to the position of team trainer.[1]

A number of players who had been regulars during the previous season left the club, and constraints caused by a significant financial loss over the course of the previous twelve months made it hard to recruit good-quality replacements.[1] New Brompton signed two new half-backs, Abel Lee and Tom Kelly, both of whom had previously played for Grimsby Town.[1] Forwards joining the club included Dick Goffin from Clapton Orient and Edward Whiteside, formerly of Norwich City.[1] No new goalkeepers were signed, but it was anticipated that Albert Bailey, the goalkeeper for the club's reserve team during the previous season, would step up to the first team in place of Thomas Holmes, one of the departing players.[1] The team wore New Brompton's usual black and white kit.[6]

Southern League Division One

September–December

Jock Taylor scored the only goal that New Brompton recorded in October.

The club's first match of the season was on 2 September at their own ground, Priestfield Road, against Luton Town;[7] Kelly, Goffin, and Whiteside all made their debuts.[8] Whiteside had several shots on goal for New Brompton but the match finished 0–0.[7]

January–April

New Brompton's final game of the season was away to Plymouth Argyle.[8]

League match details

Key

In the result column, Gillingham's score is shown first H = Home match A = Away match

pen. = Penalty kick o.g. = Own goal

Results[8]

Date	Opponents	Result	Goalscorers	Attendance
2 September 1911	Luton Town (H)	0–0		5,000
9 September 1911	Exeter City (A)	1–8	Whiteside	7,000
16 September 1911	Brentford (H)	2–1	Lee (pen.), Goffin	5,000
23 September 1911	Queens Park Rangers (A)	0–3		12,000
30 September 1911	Millwall (H)	1–3	Whiteside	4,000
7 October 1911	West Ham United (A)	0–0		6,000
14 October 1911	Bristol Rovers (H)	0–0		4,000
21 October 1911	Swindon Town (A)	0–5		not recorded
28 October 1911	Northampton Town (H)	1–3	Taylor	5,000
4 November 1911	Brighton & Hove Albion (A)	0–7		6,000
11 November 1911	Stoke City (H)	1–1	Court	5,000
25 November 1911	Leyton (H)	0–2		3,000
2 December 1911	Norwich City (A)	0–1		5,000
9 December 1911	Crystal Palace (H)	1–1	Corbett	5,000
16 December 1911	Southampton (A)	0–3		not recorded
23 December 1911	Plymouth Argyle (H)	0–1		4,000
25 December 1911	Reading (H)	1–0	Lee	5,000
26 December 1911	Reading (A)	0–2		3,000
30 December 1911	Luton Town (A)	0–3		6,000
6 January 1912	Exeter City (H)	4–1	Court (2), John, Taylor	1,500
20 January 1912	Brentford (A)	1–7	Goffin	3,000
27 January 1912	Queens Park Rangers (H)	1–2	Lee (pen.)	4,000
3 February 1912	Millwall (A)	1–1	Taylor	10,000
10 February 1912	West Ham United (H)	0–3		5,000
17 February 1912	Bristol Rovers (A)	1–0	Lee	3,000
24 February 1912	Coventry City (A)	2–3	Goffin, John	5,000
2 March 1912	Northampton Town (A)	2–1	Taylor, John	4,000
9 March 1912	Brighton & Hove Albion (H)	0–0		5,000
16 March 1912	Stoke City (A)	0–2		5,000
23 March 1912	Coventry City (H)	3–3	Goffin, Lee, Mahon	2,000
30 March 1912	Leyton (A)	2–0	Johnson, Corbett	3,000
5 April 1912	Watford (H)	1–0	Corbett	5,000
6 April 1912	Norwich City (H)	3–1	Corbett (2), Taylor	7,000
8 April 1912	Watford (A)	1–0	Corbett	7,000
13 April 1912	Crystal Palace (A)	1–1	Whiteside	7,000
17 April 1912	Swindon Town (H)	3–1	Whiteside, Taylor, Goffin	5,000
20 April 1912	Southampton (H)	1–0	Lee	6,000
27 April 1912	Plymouth Argyle (A)	0–2		9,000

Partial league table

Main article: 1911–12 Southern Football League § Division One

Southern League Division One final table, bottom positions

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Promotion or relegation
17	Bristol Rovers	38	9	13	16	41	62	0.661	31
18	New Brompton	38	11	9	18	35	72	0.486	31
19	Luton Town	38	9	10	19	49	61	0.803	28	Relegated
20	Leyton	38	7	11	20	27	62	0.435	25	Resigned from the league

Source: ^[citation needed]

FA Cup

As a Southern League Division One team, Gillingham entered the 1911–12 FA Cup at the fourth qualifying round stage; their opponents were Croydon Common of the Southern League Division Two. New Brompton took a 2–0 lead but the referee abandoned the game due to heavy rainfall.[9]

Cup match details

In the result column, Gillingham's score is shown first H = Home match A = Away match

pen. = Penalty kick o.g. = Own goal

Results[8]

Date	Round	Opponents	Result	Goalscorers	Attendance
18 November 1911	Fourth qualifying	Croydon Common (H)	2–0 (abandoned)	not recorded	not recorded
22 November 1911	Fourth qualifying	Croydon Common (H)	1–2	Church	not recorded

Players

Jack Mahon played in every game during the season.

Dick Goffin scored five goals.

During the season, 23 players made at least one appearance for New Brompton. Jack Mahon made the most, playing in every game. Andrew Mosley was absent for only one game, and Bailey, Lee, and Taylor missed only two matches. At the other end of the scale, Charlie Frost and C. Gudgeon played only once; in Gudgeon's case it was the only appearance he made for New Brompton. Lee, Taylor, and Fred Corbett were joint top goalscorer with six goals each. This was the lowest figure with which a player had ended the season as New Brompton's top scorer since the 1905–06 season.[10]

Player statistics[8]

Player	Position	Southern League Division One		FA Cup^[a]		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Albert Bailey	GK	36	0	1	0	37	0
A. Bell	GK	2	0	0	0	2	0
A. Church	FW	6	0	1	1	7	1
Fred Corbett	FW	22	6	0	0	22	6
Albert Court	FW	28	3	1	0	29	3
E. Diddams	HB	5	0	0	0	5	0
Charlie Frost	FW	1	0	0	0	1	0
Dick Goffin	FW	31	5	0	0	31	5
C. Gudgeon	FW	1	0	0	0	1	0
John Hawkes		17	0	0	0	17	0
Cornelius John		16	3	0	0	16	3
Arthur Johnson		17	1	0	0	17	1
Tom Kelly	HB	16	0	0	0	16	0
Abel Lee	HB	36	6	1	0	37	6
Jack Mahon	HB	38	1	1	0	39	1
George Massey		11	0	1	0	12	0
Andrew Mosley		37	0	1	0	38	0
Alfred Nobbs		21	0	1	0	22	0
Tom Strang		8	0	1	0	9	0
Jock Taylor		36	6	1	0	37	6
Sidney Weavers		10	0	0	0	10	0
Enoch Westwood	FW	4	0	1	0	5	0
Edward Whiteside	FW	19	4	0	0	19	4

FW = Forward, HB = Half-back, GK = Goalkeeper, FB = Full-back

a. ^ The abandoned first match against Croydon Common is not included.

Aftermath

On 6 June, the club's board of directors took the decision to change the club's name to Gillingham Football Club to reflect the fact that in the decades since the club's formation the previously small settlement of Gillingham had outgrown and absorbed New Brompton. The name change would not be formally approved by the shareholders until the following summer; nonetheless the team played under the new name in the 1912–13 season.[11] Along with the new name, the club adopted a new kit featuring red shirts with blue sleeves, replacing the previous black and white stripes, and for the first time added the coat of arms of the borough to the shirts.[6]

References

1. "New Brompton". Athletic News. 21 August 1911. p. 5. Retrieved 23 January 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
2. Mitchell, Reeves & Tyler 2013, p. 140.
3. Blakeman & Robinson 2014, p. 4.
4. Soar & Tyler 1983, p. 177.
5. Elligate 2009, p. 117.
6. Triggs 1999, p. 24.
7. "New Brompton 0, Luton 0". The People. 3 September 1911. p. 6. Retrieved 23 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Brown 2003, p. 29.
9. "Other matches in brief". The Guardian Journal. 20 November 1911. p. 11. Retrieved 22 January 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Brown 2003, pp. 23–29.
11. Elligate 2009, p. 102.

Works cited

• Blakeman, Mick; Robinson, Michael (2014). Non-League Football Tables 1889–2014. Soccer Books Limited. ISBN 978-1-86223-299-0.
• Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Soccerdata. ISBN 978-1-8994-6820-1.
• Elligate, David (2009). Gillingham FC On This Day. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-9054-1145-0.
• Mitchell, Colin; Reeves, Jon; Tyler, Daniel (2013). The History of English Football Clubs. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78009-449-6.
• Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1983). Encyclopedia of British Football. CollinsWillow. ISBN 978-0-0021-8049-8.
• Triggs, Roger (1999). Images of England: Gillingham Football Club. Tempus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-75241-567-3.