In a recent newsletter we reported on the birth of West Norwood FC (WNFC) in 1895 and their home at High View Park ground near the present day Royal Circus). Now in part two of their article, our friends from the Norwood Society report on the international tours undertaken by the club. It is hard today to contemplate such exploits by an amateur club.
One of the earliest tours was in 1898 to Scotland where WNFC played against the wonderfully named, Ancient City Athletic of St Andrews, Vale of Grange, who played at Drum Park Falkirk, and Dairy Primrose an Edinburgh club. In 1904 they went west to play Wells City, Cornwall County and Plymouth Argyle. Easter 1906 saw them embarked on a three game tour of Scotland. They opened with a 3-0 defeat against Glasgow Rangers on Good Friday and drew 0-0 the next day with Albion Rovers. On Easter Monday they played at Pittodrie in heavy sleet, combined with a bitterly cold wind, which made conditions difficult. Aberdeen were 4-2 winners.
The scorer of the first goal in Aberdeen was West Norwood’s Tom Fitchie. He has the distinction of being the only man to sign five times in a match for Arsenal. He scored 30 goals for the Gunners in 63 appearances. He played four times for Scotland, firstly against Wales in 1905. Fitchie was an amateur but did play for a number of professional clubs including Woolwich Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspurs, Fulham, Norwich City, Glossop, and Brighton & Hove Albion. He also played for top amateur teams including WNFC, London Caledonians, and Queen’s Park in the Scottish League. Jacques & Co., the sports goods manufacturers, employed him - they approved of his football career as it gave them access to various top players and their clubs. Tom Fitchie was a prolific goal scorer. Athletic News credited him around the time of his wedding, to Robina S. Metcalfe at the Parish Church in Clapham on 20 September 1910, as having scored over 300 goals for WNFC.
In 1911 WNFC toured the Netherlands drawing with HBS Den Haag and Rotterdam, both 1-1, and losing 3-0 against Wilhelmina.
In both 1913 and 1914 they travelled twice to Europe. Overseas tours were very much in vogue for amateur football clubs. In 1914 Dulwich Hamlet, Ilford and Nunhead all visited Germany, whilst London Caledonians went to Budapest.
In 1913 WNFC played Athletico Bilbao winning 4-2 and drawing 2-2. The first game was played at the Royal Sports ground in the mountains a thirty-minute train ride from Bilbao. L A Louch, the centre forward, scored a hat trick for WNFC. He was an amateur England international and also played for Middlesex and London.
In May 1913 the club won the Amsterdam Cup. They beat Cercle S Brugeois 3-0 and then Ajax Amsterdam in the final 1-0. In 1914 they successfully defend the trophy beating GVC Wageningen 5-1 in their first game and again defeated Ajax in the final, 3-1.
In June 1914 WNFC returned to the Basque country, losing 2-0 and winning 4-1 against Athletico Bilbao. They renewed their friendships with the Bilbao club in a further visit in 1922.
You can support the current West Norwood Football Club here. Next fixture is Sunday 6 September 10.30 away at Burgess Park SE5 7JW.
Come on the Black and Blue Army!
Tom Fitchie (1881-1947) - West Norwood FC's Scottish international