CHIRK TO SLOUGH-A SWIFT JOURNEY

I watched Shrewsbury School host Queen Ethelburga's, York, in a semi-final tie of the Boodles' Independent Schools' FA Cup. The visitors won 3-1. Nice game, an enthusiastic Under 18s contest watched by a lively schoolboy/girl crowd and a few old retainers like me. I was surrounded by some very prestigious amateur footballers, famed for playing with the FA Amateur XI, Corinthian Casuals, Pegasus and Oxbridge Universities.

Leaving Shrewsbury, whose football club as you know has featured recently in the FA Cup, I ventured upon Chirk, a small town of 4,500, in Denbighshire (on the Welsh border) sited on the A5.
Why did I stop there? Erdigg Castle, Offa's Dyke, the Chirk Aquaduct, Pontycysllte Aquaduct, both World Heritage Sites, supporting the Llangollen Canal built by Thomas Telford in 1801.

I knew that Chirk "rang a bell" and indeed I have seen the name in the 1880s FA Cup Rounds playing in the earlier stages. Founded in 1876, Chirk FC (now Chirk AAAFC) relied on local players, some of whom worked in the region's Black Park Colliery and other lads of course. Good badge!!


and in honour of the great Gary Speed, the stand at Chirk.

In the 1885-6 FA Cup, Chirk were beaten by Burslem Port Vale 3-0 in the First Round.
This was an extraordinary cup competition with Burslem PV continuing into Round Two beating Druids after a draw.
Round 3 they got a walk/over against Leek (note the regionalisation of the draw even in that day).
In Round 4 BPV got a BYE
In Round 5 they were drawn against Brentwood winning 2-1 but there was a protest by Brentwood and the game had to be replayed; so Brentwood hosted BPV and there was a 4-4 draw and extra time.
The next game ended in a walk over as BPV obviously fed up with travelling, gave them a walk over.

Brentwood hosted Blackburn Rovers in Round 6 and lost 1-3. Rovers reached the final overcoming Swifts (who??) in the semi-final while West Bromwich Albion beat Small Heath Alliance (now Birmingham City) 4-0. Rovers beat Albion 2-0 in the final after a 0-0 draw.

The Swifts were the classic pub side who got together in 1868 at a pub in Slough called The Dolphin. Eventually the Swifts became Slough Town FC, who now play in the National League South. The,Swifts' Bambridge brothers, were notable players all of whom played for England, Charles 18 times.