Season 1942-43
6TH SEASON
SEASON REPORT
The 1942-43 season, the club’s sixth playing season and fourth under wartime conditions, was on the whole a successful and enjoyable one. The first team had a long programme of friendly games, almost all against Service teams, while an under 19 side competed in the Hastings Minor League and Minor Cup and also played a few friendlies. There were also a few 2nd XI matches, which meant that two teams were fielded almost every Saturday, which was a big improvement on 1941-42.
Once again no fouls were given against the Casuals players in the great majority of matches. Frequent tributes were paid by opposing players and officials to the clean and sporting play of both the first and under 19 teams, and also to their determination in adversity.
During the season, the club acquired the use of an additional pitch and goalposts in the Church Field, Icklesham, thanks to the kindness of Messrs W Merricks and Sons and this proved of great value. The first match played there was on the 6th February 1943 when the 1st XI took on Signal Platoon H Q Company 6th Royal Welsh Fusiliers (Rye Hill).
1ST TEAM
There were a number of occasions in the year when the 1st team was short due to players failing to turn up or regulars being unavailable. This did mean from time to time it was necessary to bring in players from other service teams in the area and as a result the club were represented in more than one game by F Evans, who had played for Leicester City Reserves and W MacDonald, who had previously appeared for Walsall Reserves. The first team game against 374 Battery Royal Artillery (Pett Level) ‘A’ XI on the 24th April 1943 was the first goalless draw in the club’s history.
The side was well-captained by Reg Carter who, along with the senior players, set an excellent example. Dick Merricks was leading scorer with nine goals.
1ST TEAM PLAYING RECORD
| Competition | P | W | D | L | F | A | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friendly | 31 | 8 | 5 | 18 | 63 | 114 | N/A |
| DATE | OPPONENTS | VENUE | COMPETITION | RESULT | GOAL SCORERS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12/9/1942 | 374 Battery Royal Artillery (Pett Level) ‘A’ | Home | Friendly | 1 – 3 | Peter Shearer |
| 19/9/1942 | 230 Battery Royal Artillery (Winchelsea Beach) ‘A’ | Home | Friendly | 0 – 4 | |
| 26/9/1942 | 279 Battery Royal Artillery (Roughters) | Away | Friendly | 2 – 3 | Tony Gibson, D Parish |
| 3/10/1942 | ‘A’ Company 16th Durham Light Infantry (Pett) | Home | Friendly | 0 – 3 | |
| 10/10/1942 | 230 Battery Royal Artillery (Winchelsea Beach) II | Away | Friendly | 6 – 5 | Len Potten 3, F Cattell 2, K Holloway |
| 17/10/1942 | ‘A’ Company 16th Durham Light Infantry (Pett) | Home | Friendly | 1 – 8 | C Morphy |
| 24/10/1942 | 279 Battery Royal Artillery (Roughters) | Home | Friendly | 3 – 2 | Arthur Baker, Len Potten, Peter Martin |
| 7/11/1942 | 230 Battery Royal Artillery (Winchelsea Beach) II | Home | Friendly | 1 – 4 | Bob Rich |
| 14/11/1942 | ‘D’ Company 16th Durham Light Infantry (Winchelsea) ‘A’ XI | Home | Friendly | 1 – 9 | Nick Francis |
| 21/11/1942 | Battery Royal Artillery (Broomham) | Away | Friendly | 0 – 7 | |
| 28/11/1942 | 279 Battery Royal Artillery (Roughters) | Home | Friendly | 4 – 4 | Ted Hempshall 2, Len Potten, Bob Rich |
| 12/12/1942 | Icklesham and Winchelsea Home Guard | Home | Friendly | 1 – 2 | Ted Hempshall |
| 19/12/1942 | ‘D’ Company 7th Royal Welsh Fusiliers (Pett) | Home | Friendly | 1 – 3 | Albert Rich |
| 26/12/1942 | 329 Battery Royal Artillery (Rye Hill) (Troop Team) | Away | Friendly | 1 – 2 | Alan Burton |
| 2/1/1943 | 374 Battery Royal Artillery (Pett Level) II | Home | Friendly | 9 – 0 | Bob Horton 3, Joe Southerden 3, Dick Merricks 2, Frank Crisford |
| 9/1/1943 | H Q Company 7th Royal Welsh Fusiliers (Rye) | Away | Friendly | 0 – 8 | |
| 23/1/1943 | Royal Artillery (Icklesham) | Home | Friendly | 5 – 5 | Dick Merricks 2, Frank Crisford, Bob Rich, Bob Horton |
| 30/1/1943 | Signal Platoon H Q Company 7th Royal Welsh Fusiliers (Rye) | Away | Friendly | 6 – 3 | F Evans 3, W Gillies 2, Dick Merricks |
| 6/2/1943 | Signal Platoon H Q Company 6th Royal Welsh Fusiliers (Rye Hill) | Home | Friendly | 1 – 3 | Ted Hempshall |
| 13/2/1943 | R A F (Fairlight) | Home | Friendly | 1 – 1 | Dick Merricks |
| 20/2/1943 | ‘B’ Company Field Artillery (Royal Army Medical Corps) (Rye Grammar School) | Home | Friendly | 3 – 1 | Bob Horton 2, Gordon Hickman |
| 27/2/1943 | 374 Battery Royal Artillery (Pett Level) II | Home | Friendly | 4 – 2 | Dick Merricks 3, Ted Hempshall |
| 6/3/1943 | ‘A’ Company Gloucesters (Pett) | Home | Friendly | 1 – 11 | Doug Coleman |
| 13/3/1943 | Icklesham and Winchelsea Home Guard | Home | Friendly | 3 – 0 | Reg Carter, Bill Payne, Peter Shearer |
| 20/3/1943 | 374 Battery Royal Artillery (Pett Level) II | Home | Friendly | 3 – 3 | F Evans, Richard Pettitt |
| 27/3/1943 | R A F (Fairlight) | Home | Friendly | 1 – 2 | Bob Rich |
| 3/4/1943 | ‘B’ Company 6th North Staffords (Pett) | Home | Friendly | 0 – 5 | |
| 10/4/1943 | ‘B’ Company 6th North Staffords (Pett) II | Home | Friendly | 2 – 5 | Joe Southerden 2 |
| 17/4/1943 | M T Platoon H Q Company 6th North Staffords (Rye) | Home | Friendly | 2 – 1 | Phil Webber 2 |
| 24/4/1943 | 374 Battery Royal Artillery (Pett Level) ‘A’ XI | Home | Friendly | 0 – 0 | |
| 1/5/1943 | ‘A’ Company Royal Norfolk Regiment (Pett) | Home | Friendly | 0 – 4 |
2ND TEAM
The 2nd team played only four friendlies, winning one, drawing one and losing two. The side suffered a heavy defeat against Ore United but played the game a man short.
2ND TEAM PLAYING RECORD
| Competition | P | W | D | L | F | A | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friendly | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 17 | N/A |
| DATE | OPPONENTS | VENUE | COMPETITION | RESULT | GOAL SCORERS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26/9/1942 | Ore United | Away | Friendly | 3 – 11 | K Holloway 2, Tom Apps |
| 17/10/1942 | ‘A’ Company 16th Durham Light Infantry (Pett) II | Away | Friendly | 2 – 4 | Ted Mann Jnr, Len Potten |
| 23/1/1943 | Ore United II | Away | Friendly | 8 – 1 | Richard Pettitt 3, John Archer 3, Dick Shearer, Sutton |
| 26/4/1943 | Rye Army Training Corps | Away | Friendly | 1 – 1 | John Archer |
MINOR TEAM
The Minor team entered the Hastings Minor League and finished fourth out of six teams with nineteen points with each side playing each other four times.
After losing the opening five league matches, the Minors improved and lost only three more league games all season and recorded victories over all the other teams in the league. On several occasions the side played short.
Peter Martin captained the Minors and, like Reg Carter with the 1st XI, took much credit for the team spirit and sporting football. Richard Pettitt with sixteen goals was leading scorer.
MINOR TEAM PLAYING RECORD
| HASTINGS MINOR LEAGUE |
| Competition | P | W | D | L | F | A | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | 19 | 8 | 3 | 8 | 49 | 45 | 19 # |
| Cup | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | N/A |
| Friendly | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 22 | N/A |
| All Games | 23 | 8 | 4 | 11 | 60 | 72 | 19 # |
| DATE | OPPONENTS | VENUE | COMPETITION | RESULT | GOAL SCORERS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3/10/1942 | Ore United Minors | Away | League | 1 – 5 | Ted Mann |
| 10/10/1942 | Boys’ Brigade | Home | League | 0 – 3 | |
| 31/10/1942 | Silverhill Young Men’s Club | Home | League | 0 – 1 | |
| 7/11/1942 | Hastings Air Training Corps | Away | League | 0 – 2 | |
| 14/11/1942 | Boys’ Brigade | Away | League | 1 – 8 | Peter Shearer |
| 21/11/1942 | Ore United Minors | Home | League | 1 – 1 | Ted Mann |
| 28/11/1942 | Silverhill Young Men’s Club | Away | League | 7 – 2 | Richard Pettitt 3, John Archer 2, Eric Wicken, Peter Shearer |
| 19/12/1942 | Ore United Minors | Away | Friendly | 5 – 12 | Bill Southerden, Harry Kennard, Peter Martin, Richard Pettitt, Ken Mesher |
| 2/1/1943 | Battle Air Training Corps | Away | League | 8 – 3 | Peter Shearer 3, Richard Pettitt 3, Ted Mann, John Archer |
| 9/1/1943 | Battery Royal Artillery (Icklesham) ‘A’ XI | Home | Friendly | 1 – 7 | Harry Kennard |
| 16/1/1943 | Hastings Air Training Corps | Home | League | 1 – 2 | Richard Pettitt |
| 30/1/1943 | Silverhill Young Men’s Club | Home | League | 5 – 0 | Peter Shearer, Peter Martin, Ted Mann, Bill Southerden, Richard Pettitt |
| 6/2/1943 | Hastings Air Training Corps | Away | League | 2 – 2 | John Archer, Richard Pettitt |
| 13/2/1943 | Ore United Minors | Away | League | 1 – 1 | John Archer |
| 20/2/1943 | Hastings Air Training Corps | Home | League | 3 – 1 | Bill Southerden 2, Eric Wicken |
| 27/2/1943 | Boys’ Brigade | Away | League | 1 – 4 | John Archer |
| 6/3/1943 | 374 Battery Royal Artillery (Pett Level) ‘B’ | Home | Friendly | 3 – 3 | John Archer, Alan Burton, Peter Martin |
| 20/3/1943 | Silverhill Young Men’s Club | Away | League | 5 – 3 | Bill Southerden 3, Peter Shearer, Ernie Philcox |
| 27/3/1943 | Battle Air Training Corps | Home | League | 0 – 2 # | |
| 10/4/1943 | Ore United Minors | Home | League | 6 – 1 | Richard Pettitt 2, Peter Martin, Dick Shearer, Ted Mann, Ken Mesher |
| 14/4/1943 | Ore United Minors | Away | Hastings F A Minor Challenge Cup 1st Round | 2 – 5 | |
| 17/4/1943 | Boys’ Brigade | Home | League | 4 – 3 | John Archer 3, Richard Pettitt |
| 24/4/1943 | Battle Air Training Corps | Away | League | 3 – 1 | Richard Pettitt 3 |
| Notes # Match v Battle Air Training Corps (27/3/1943) played for four points |
GENERAL MATTERS
On the social side, a dance realised a large profit for club funds and thanks were due to Mrs R Merricks who organised it and to her several willing helpers and to those friends of the club who gave donations.
During the season, Len Potten broke a leg while playing for the club against Icklesham and Winchelsea Home Guard. A grant of £3 3s was made by the Sussex County Football Association Benevolent Fund, to which the club had contributed in the past.
The sixth club news bulletin was issued in July 1943 –
The club again lost many players through volunteering and calling-up. During the year it was learnt that Tom Lonsdale, who appeared a few times in the 1938-39 season was missing from air operations in the Middle East, where he was a pilot officer observer. At the end of the season the club heard the news that Harry Barnes, the former Honorary Treasurer and one of the people who did most to build the club up, was missing from air operations over Duisburg on Easter Monday night. Members all hoped to hear that both of these popular former members were safe. It was also learnt that Bill Allen, a former goalkeeper, and previously reported missing, was a prisoner of war in Italian hands.
As in all other seasons, the thanks of the club were due to many people, especially those who assisted in collecting teams. Whilst it would be necessary to mention almost everyone in this respect, it would be difficult to over praise the work of Peter Shearer and also the very valuable assistance given by Arthur Baker, Peter Martin and Harry Kennard. The club was also grateful to Mrs E L Morris at the Royal Oak in Pett for taking and passing on so many telephone messages from both players and officials.
The thanks of the club were due to also to Mr Lovell Turner who repaired one of the goalposts on the Recreation Ground free of charge.
Whilst it was again found possible to give games to a considerable number of old players home on leave, there was also a rather low standard of reliability as regards to turning-up on the part of some of the players, although most people were good about this. Len Rich again looked after the footballs as well as acting as linesman, and Ted Mann senior refereed many games.
The congratulations of the club were given to Percy Allen, one of the original members, who was now a Doctor of Philosophy of Reading University and a Reader in Geology there at the age of twenty-six, as well as being a Fellow of the Geological Society.
The Annual General Meeting of the club took place at the Queen’s Head Inn, Icklesham on Tuesday, 15th June 1943 at 7.30 pm.