The History of Gedling Miners Welfare FC

The Club was formed in 1919, at the same time as the Notts Alliance Football league resumed playing again after the First World War. In their first Season they finished 3rd in the League and won the League Cup by defeating Sneinton FC (now Carlton Town FC) 1 - 0 .

At the end of the 1929 - 30 Season the Club changed its name and become known as "Mapperley St. Judes" and enjoyed moderate success during this period. During the Second War they reformed as "Gedling Miners Welfare FC" and with the restart of football for the 1945 - 46 Season they went on to win both the Notts Alliance League and the Notts Alliance Senior Cup. This was repeated on numberous occasions and this success spilled over to the 1950's, which was the most success period of the Club. We won the Notts Alliance League and Cup double many times and at one point remained unbeaten for three Seasons.

In the FA Amateur Cup they entertained two of the top sides of the time. Pegasus were the visitors to Plains Road in 1954 and temporary stands were erected all around the Ground to house a crowd of 7.000 plus. Two Seasons later Bishop Auckland visited and the Police put a limit of 10,000 on the Gate. We saw Gedling lose 4 - 1 to the best amateur team in the country, having missed a penalty at a crucial time of the game. The 'Bishops' had six amateur England Internationals on show and the most famous being Bob Hardisty who was the Captain of England. The staggering record attendance at Plains Road, will surely never again be surpassed by a Nottinghamshire amateur Club.

These were the good times at Plains Road and unfortunately the Club have not had the same degree of success since then. The lowest point came at the end of the 1998 - 99 Season when we had been relegated to Division 2 of the Notts Alliance FL. Only three Committee Members remained with only half a Kit, half a team and no money, but the next Season saw us bounce back and under the guidance of Vic Hulme, Gedling won the League, Intermediate Cup and were semi-finalists to Retford United in the Notts F A County Cup. At the end of Season 2001 - 02 Vic stepped aside as Manager and took up the post of Chairman of the Club. This left the way open tor the appointment of Duncan Broad and Mark Allison as the management team for the start of the 2002 - 03 Season. They had the task of building a team to match the ambitions of the Club and this was achieved when at the end of the next Season we applied and were accepted into the Central Midlands Football League. We then gained promotion to the Supreme Division in our first season which was more than we had anticipated.

The Ground has seen a remarkable transformation from virtually a 'Parks Pitch' seven years ago to what is now probably the best amateur Ground in the area. Since the floodlights, fencing and hard standing were installed it has had a profound effect on the Club. We have recently staged Notts F A Cup Finals and various representative games, which speaks for itself. We are now in the process of installing seating on two sides of the Ground and we now feel that our facilities are starting to match those of local teams like Arnold Town and Carlton Town and we are attracting higher calibre Players. These facilities have stood us in good stead as we applied and were accepted in to the recently formed East Midland Counties Football League at Step 6 of the Pyramid System. This promotion has also enable us to apply to play in the F A Cup. We played and lost away to Westfield FC of the MFA in our first attempt, but have great hopes of progressing further in the years to come.

Gedling Miners Welfare FC spent five years in the Central Midlands Football League under the guidance of Duncan Broad and Mark Allison and it was felt by themselves and by the Committee that it was the right time for a change. By mutual consent, they left the Club, to take up appointments with our near neighbours Gedling Town. We wish them well in whatever they do and thank them for all the time and effort they put into raising the standards of Gedling Miners Welfare FC.

Graham Walker was then appointed as our Manager and in his second year in charge of Gedling finished a creditable fourth position in a Season where the top four were covered by four points and it was only in the last game that Gresley gained promotion. Graham for his own reasons then decided to join up with Bret Marshall at Retford Town at the start of this our fourth Season in the EMCFL. This led to the promotion from within our First Team Coach Leigh Boulton to the position of Manager and he in turn appointed Kuki Morley as his Assistant. After several results and early exits from the FA Cup and Vase it was obvious it was not working and so the Committee brought in Ex. Arnold Town Manager Andy Muldoon. Andy has now brought in the Ex. Forest duo of Bryn Gunn and Calvin Plummer of the Brian Clough era, to assist him. The training sessions have now never been so well attended and progress is being made, but it will take time to get where we want to be. So this is a period of change at Gedling and of rebuilding a Team to be proud of and we are confident that Andy and his team of Bryn and Calvin will deliver. They will be backed up by Steve Towle as Coach, and Kevin Nothage as Physio, as well as the Committee who will give them every assistance. There is a mood of optimism in the Changing Rooms...


Norman Hay -- Secretary -- GMWFC



Edited 18 time(s). Last edit at 03/03/2013 05:52PM by dave.