Loud without the wind was roaring
Through the waned autumnal sky;
Drenching wet, the cold rain pouring
Spoke of stormy winters nigh.
– Emily Bronte
Twenty miles north of Manchester, Burnley lies on the low western slopes of the Pennine hills. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the town was a key contributor to Britian’s economy and one of the country’s major providers of cotton and coal. Burnley’s close proximity to Manchester and the damp climate attracted a number of cotton manufacturers and output grew rapidly from 1850 to the end of the century. As the demand for cotton grew, so did the population, reaching a peak of 106,765 by 1911. In 2009, a former Burnley manager commented that the town’s population would now fit inside Old Trafford. Such had the town changed. In 1911, the working population lived in tightly-knit communities in mainly two-up, two-down terraced houses, in streets that fanned out from the mills and factories. Homes were gas lit, warmed by coal fires and were without electricity, hot running water or inside toilets.
The cotton mills, pits and factories ran repeating shifts, a six day working week that finished at 1:00pm on Saturdays. After a backbreaking 48 hour week, the workforce could then unwind. To quench the workers thirst, Burnley had six brewers supplying, 49 private clubs, 73 beerhouses, 87 hotels and taverns and 91 off-licences. In addition to a multitude of drinking establishments, Burnley had a variety of facilities for indoor and outdoor sport and recreation. From the mid to late 19th century, Burnley had held its own regular race meeting, The Burnley Stakes on Towneley Holmes. The 1912 Ordnance Survey shows a fine athletics stadium with a grandstand, a cycling and running track, in the Fulledge ward of the town. The town had 15 cycle shops, six billiard halls, three cycling clubs, two tennis clubs and two prominent cricket clubs (Burnley and Lowerhouse) that played in the Lancashire League. There were scores of amateur football leagues with teams from mill and works teams, churches and lads clubs that played on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. And representing the town, one professional football team, Burnley Football Club.
Burnley Football Club were one of the twelve founding members of the Football League which began in 1888. With the start of the League, football matches got a more competitive edge and the local population started taking more interest in Burnley’s fortunes against other League clubs. The start of the Football League raised attendances at matches and with Saturday afternoons off and an excellent railway network, Burnley’s supporters could travel up and down the country cheaply and follow their team with ease. But despite the League’s arrival, and the fact that there was a League Championship trophy at stake, the League never set the pulse racing like the FA Cup did as a competition. The older Football Association Challenge Cup to give it its full title was the premier competition, football’s holy grail and the one trophy all football clubs wanted to win.
Burnley’s first entry into the Cup (commonly named the ‘English’ Cup in the newspapers) was in 1885, some fourteen years after the competition began in 1871 and three years before the birth of the Football League. Local village sides Padiham and Clitheroe had both entered the Cup competition several years before Burnley. Burnley’s entry into the First Round on the 17th of October 1885 should have been a special day for the Turf Moor club who were drawn away against Darwen Old Wanderers. Because of the Football Association’s rules of which prohibited professionals from playing, Burnley had to send a makeshift reserve team. Darwen Old Wanderers, (not to be confused with Darwen F.C. or Lower Darwen F.C. who were also drawn in the First Round), were an experienced Cup fighting outfit. From the result it looked like Wanderers must have done all the fighting. The match finished Darwen Old Wanderers 11, Burnley 0. As bad as that result was it wasn’t the worst defeat of the day. Rotherham took that honour after a 15-0 thrashing by Notts County. It must have been a hard lesson for all those who played that day and for the football club. The following season the Football Association relaxed its rules and allowed professional footballers to enter.
Despite reaching the Third Round if the Cup in 1897-98, up to the 1908-9 season, Burnley struggled in the competition and were regularly knocked out at either the First or Second Round stage. Burnley had some notable First Round victories to their credit. A 6-1 win over Arsenal in 1895-96, followed by a 7-1 win over Newton Heath in 1900-01 (shortly thereafter changing their name to Manchester United) and an emphatic 8-0 win over Keswick in 1903-04, but it wasn’t until the 1908-09 competition did people sit up and take notice of Burnley’s progress. One reason for the poor form in the Cup co-incided with Burnley’s decline in The League.
In April 1900 after a poor season in Division One, Burnley were relegated. Following relegation the club got into quite serious financial difficulties. In 1901, one young Burnley supporter, Harry Windle, who worked as a clerk for Abraham Altham, a Burnley tea merchant and travel company, began a fundraising campaign to fund a new player. Windle’s efforts managed to raise £50 for the club. It helped, but with falling attendances and rising debts, the club directors had to dig into their own pockets to keep the football club afloat. On the pitch things got worse as Burnley dropped down the Second Division. At the end of the 1902 - 03 season, Burnley hit rock bottom, ending the season seeking re-election to the Football League. The Athletics News describes how bad things had got,
“There was a time when Burnley were without money, when they discharged their players, trainer and groundsman and the secretary alone remained because he was content to work without drawing a salary. That secretary was Ernest Magnall who was amazed if such a sum as £50 was taken for a League match. There was one occasion when to raise funds, Turf Moor was hired to a travelling wild beast show for £20. The club only received £10 because the elephants couldn’t pull the caravans onto the pitch. That situation was only ten years ago.” (Athletics News, 16/3/1914)
Magnall stayed on at Turf Moor through the bad times until October 1903 before he resigned after being appointed manager at Manchester United. The Burnley board appointed the 32 year old, Spencer Whittaker from Accrington, as their new manager. Around the same time as Whittaker arrived, the Burnley board formally invited Harry Windle to chair a fundraising committee. Four years later in July 1907, Windle was invited onto the board as a full director. The average age of the Board was 50. Windle was 33, a young man with modern ideas of how the Club should be managed. The ambitious, business-minded Windle became Vice Chairman in 1908 and on June 11th 1909 he was elected Chairman.
With Windle and Whittaker in the football club, things began to move forwards. The football team steadily climbed the Second Division table. An 11th place finish in 1905, 9th place in 1906, 7th in 1907 and again the following year. Attendances increased and the sixpences rolled in through the Turf Moor turnstiles. Windle turned the club finances around and by 1909 Burnley was back in the black. In 1907, Whittaker found a promising young goalkeeper, Jeremiah Dawson, the son of a Cliviger blacksmith. Dawson was so good he went straight into the Burnley first team. Whittaker signed more youngsters including Tommy Bamford a full-back from Darwen, Richard Lindley an inside-forward from Oswaldtwistle Rovers and Billy Watson a centre-back from Southport Central. The talented trio would begin in the reserves before breaking through into the first team.
Whittaker’s biggest coup was the capture of two former England internationals, the 36-year old veteran Alec Leake from Aston Villa in 1907 and 32-year old Walter Abbott, a £200 transfer from Everton in 1908. Leake had won a Cup Winners medal with Villa in 1905 and five England caps in the same year. Abbot had also won a Cup winners medal with Everton the following year in 1906. Whittaker was building a Burnley team with a blend of youth and experience. Despite making progress up the Second Division table, in the Cup, Burnley’s performances had not been so successful, but that was all about to change the following season.
Figure 3: Burnley Football Team 1908-09
The 1908-09 FA Cup
The First Round of the 1908-09 FA Cup kicked off on the 16th January 1909. Burnley travelled to Bristol to play Southern League side Bristol Rovers. The team travelled down to Bristol by train on the Friday afternoon, staying overnight in Cheltenham before continuing their journey on Saturday morning. While out for a Friday evening stroll, the Burnley centre-forward Dick Smith found a horse-shoe in the street. Footballers being a superstitious bunch, Smith collected the shoe and gave it to one of the Burnley directors and claimed the shoe was a good luck omen. In addition to the lucky shoe story, the Burnley Express’s Sportsman in his football column told the tale of a Burnley Lane resident who had had a ‘vision’ three days before the Bristol game. The Burnley Lane man claimed Burnley would beat Rovers with a scoreline of 4-1 and Ogden would be among the scorers.
Bristol Rovers v Burnley FA Cup Round One, Eastville, 16th January 1909 Kick-Off 2:30 pm
The teams lined up
Bristol Rovers: Cartlidge, Appleby, Floyd, Smart, Strang, Higgins, Peplow, Gerrish, Corbett, Roberts, Dargue.
Burnley: Dawson, Barron, McLean, Cretney, Leake, Moffatt, Morley, Ogden, Smith, Abbott, Smethams.
Referee: Mr G. H. Muir (Southampton)
It was a sunny afternoon in the West Country but the ground was heavy after rain during the week. The conditions favoured the visitors, playing in their familiar green shirts. Burnley captain Alec Leake won the toss and played with the wind. Burnley took the lead through Dick Smith on 22 minutes whose run and shot hit the roof of Rovers net. Despite pressure from the home side, the score remained 1-0 to Burnley at the interval.
In the second half, Rovers attacked and Dargue had beaten Dawson and put the ball in the Burnley net only to be ruled offside. Fifteen minutes into the half a Smethams centre found Ogden to score the second goal. Two minutes after that Burnley made the game safe with a second goal for Ogden. Mid-way through the second half the Smethams – Ogden combination worked again. Smethams cross finding Ogden’s head to give the inside-forward his hat-trick. Ten minutes from time, a long shot by the Rovers’ Strang, caught the wind and flew into Dawson’s net to give the home side a consolation goal.
At Full Time: Bristol Rovers 1(Strang), Burnley 4 (Ogden 3, Smith)
Attendance: 7,000
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The lucky horse-shoe had worked its magic and the chap from Burnley Lane had his vision fulfilled. In Round Two, Burnley were drawn away again, this time against another Southern League side, Crystal Palace. It was Burnley’s first ever visit to huge the arena of The Crystal Palace, home of the Cup Final. Burnley travel companies, Abraham Altham’s and Whittaker’s, were both running excursions to London for the Cup tie. The Burnley team and directors travelled down on the Friday morning. The lucky horse-shoe mascot travelled with them. Sportsman reported that the journey from Burnley to London was the fastest time he had ever experienced, arriving at Euston in 5 hours 14 minutes after setting off from Burnley Bank Top station. It was a frosty dawn on the Saturday morning in Sydenham but once the sun rose above the giant bowl-shaped stadium, the pitch thawed. By kick-off time the manicured surface looked more like a cricket pitch. There was a good home crowd and a number of travelling supporters cheering on Burnley when Alec Leake’s men appeared shortly before the 3:00 pm kick-off. Burnley fielding an unchanged team from the First Round tie at Bristol.
Crystal Palace v Burnley, FA Cup Round Two, The Crystal Palace, Sydenham,
6 February 1909. Kick-Off 3:00 pm
The teams lined up
Crystal Palace: Johnson, Needham, Collyer, Innerd, Ryan, Brearley, Garratt, Lewis, Bauchop, Lawrence, Woodger.
Burnley: Dawson, Barron, McLean, Cretney, Leake, Moffatt, Morley, Ogden, Smith, Abbott, Smethams.
Referee: Mr J. W. Bailey (Leicester)
Alec Leake won the toss and Burnley playing in their regular strip, all green shirts and white shorts and played with the wind. The Southern League side began well and Woodger gave Jerry Dawson plenty to do in the first 15 minutes. Burnley came more into the game once they learned what their opponents were capable of. On 30 minutes, Burnley’s Ogden had a goal-scoring opportunity. Johnson in the Palace goal managing to clear off the line. A Crystal Palace penalty claim when Fred Barron brought down Lawrence, was turned down by Mr Bailey.
In the second half, the Burnley travelling crowd started singing their songs, “Oh Antonio” and “Cock Robin” to try and lift their side. Morley and Smethams for Burnley had chances but their efforts were thwarted by Johnson. Jerry Dawson played well all afternoon according to Sportsman and the game drew to a goalless conclusion which was a fair result in the end. As soon as the final whistle went, part of the Burnley crowd invaded the pitch to try and ‘chair’ the players. The crowd caught hold of Dawson and shouldered him all the way to the dressing room.
At Full Time: Crystal Palace 0, Burnley 0
Attendance: 20,000.
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The Burnley team returned to their hotel for tea before visiting the Tivoli and afterwards caught the midnight train from Euston back to Burnley, arriving home in the early hours of Sunday morning. Sportsman gave the opposition a lot of credit, and thought that “for a Southern League side,” they were, “a quite good side”.
The two teams met again the following Wednesday afternoon at Turf Moor. Burnley fielded the same side while Palace had one change, Collins coming in at full-back and replacing Lewis. The referee was also changed from the previous encounter. Mr Herbert Bamlett from Gateshead turning out at Turf Moor to replace scheduled referee Mr Bailey.
The cold weather in Burnley had thawed over Monday and Tuesday making the Turf Moor pitch heavy, quite different to the cricket-pitch like conditions Palace had enjoyed at Sydenham. Sportsman gave the pitch and the strange surroundings as two reasons that troubled the visitors on their journey north. Rain early on Wednesday morning made the pitch even heavier. Before kick-off the skies around Burnley were a grey-black. It was cold, windy and teeming rain fell that continued throughout the first half.
Burnley v Crystal Palace FA Cup Round Two Replay Turf Moor, 10th February 1909 Kick-off 3:00 pm
The teams lined up
Burnley: Dawson, Barron, McLean, Cretney, Leake, Moffatt, Morley, Ogden, Smith, Abbott, Smethams.
Crystal Palace: Johnson, Collins, Collyer, Innerd, Ryan, Brearley, Garratt, Lawrence, Bauchop, Woodger, Needham
Referee: Mr H. S. Bamlett (Gateshead)
Mr Bamlett brought the two captains together and Alec Leake lost the toss. Palace played in their claret and blue shirts toward the Bee Hole End. In the first half, Sportsman counted that Palace had only three attacks in the first 45 minutes. The play having been mainly at the Cricket Field End as Burnley adapted far better to the wind, the rain and the mud. On five minutes, centre-forward Dick Smith opened the scoring for Burnley. Fifteen minutes later, Smith struck again and made it 2-0, nodding in a cross from Ogden. Three minutes later Moffatt made it three-nil. On 35 minutes, Burnley attacked again down the left flank, Morley centred and Abbott volleyed the ball past Johnson to make it 4-0. With a minute to go before the interval, a superb long-range strike by Cretney flew past a statuesque Johnson to make it Burnley 5, Palace 0 at half time.
Many teams, having scored heavily in the first half, rarely repeat their form in the second period. Changes of tactics by the opposition, fading strength and desire, tired legs all being factors. If that was some sort of text-book rule, then Burnley had not read it. The Palace defence managed to hold Burnley’s forwards at bay for 21 minutes. Even though the rain had ceased, the goals came thick and fast. Abbot made it 6-0 on 66 minutes. On 71 minutes, Smethams got on the score-sheet scoring number seven followed shortly by another from Cretney by which time the crowd and Palace were simply stunned. Eight-nil. A dejected Palace were hoping Bamlett would blow the whistle. But Burnley were not finished. Burnley went on the attack as Dick Smith twisted the knife in deeper. Smith sensing his hat-trick, got it with minutes remaining to make it 9-0. And shortly after referee Bamlett blew his whistle and finally put Crystal Palace out of their misery.
At Full Time: Burnley 9 (Smith 3, Abbott 2, Cretney 2, Moffatt, Smethams), Crystal Palace 0
Attendance: 12,161 (Gate receipts of £393 15s 5d)
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It had been an amazing afternoon for the twelve thousand who witnessed it. Sportsman had never seen a performance like it, “…even the most ardent admirer of Burnley never dreamt of anything approaching either the brilliancy of the exhibition or the heavy scoring. Dick Smith probably played the game of his life!”
Burnley had been drawn away again for Round Three. It was another long trip to the capital, this time to play fellow Second Division side Tottenham Hotspur. This would be a much stiffer test. Tottenham had gone all the way and won the Cup in 1901 when they were a Southern League side. Burnley had already played at White Hart Lane in December in the League and had come away on the wrong side of a 4-2 scoreline. With home advantage, the London newspapers were confident of a Tottenham victory at White Hart Lane.
The Burnley team arrived at London Euston early on Friday evening in high spirits. The team, directors and wives made the short journey to Smithfield and their normal base when they played in the capital, the Charterhouse Hotel. After dinner, the Burnley party went to the Adelphi Theatre for an evening of light entertainment and saw, ‘Cinderella’ starring Dan Rolyat, John Humphries and Phyllis Dare.
Around 700 travelling Burnley supporters on one special train, made the journey, arriving in London just before noon. According to Sportsman, “the Burnley spectators were not ashamed to make themselves known by voice and badge. During the morning I saw a few excursionists, wearing, ‘Of the Green’ in the Strand and they were evidently proud of the fact.”
While one Burnley group were taking in the sights of London, a horse attached to a vehicle threw a shoe. A Burnley supporter spotted it and picked it up and gave it in to the club whose lucky horse-shoe collection now equalled four shoes. ‘Lucky’ Burnley were again unchanged from the side that had so easily disposed of Crystal Palace.
Figure 4: Tottenham Hotspur Team 1908-09
Tottenham Hotspur v Burnley FA Cup Third Round, White Hart Lane,
20 February 1909 Kick-off 3:30 pm
The teams lined up
Tottenham Hotspur: Hewitson, Coquet, Burton, Morris, D. Steel, Darnell, Walton, Minter, V. J. Woodward, B. Steel, Middlemiss.
Burnley: Dawson, Barron, McLean, Cretney, Leake, Moffatt, Morley, Ogden, Smith, Abbott, Smethams.
Referee: Mr A. Adams (Nottingham)
D. Steel the Tottenham captain led out the Spurs team wearing their cream jerseys and dark blue knickers followed by Alec Leake leading out ‘The Greens.’ At 3:31 Mr Adams got the match underway.
The pace of the game was fast and furious. The intention of the home side was clearly to put the visitors on the defensive. Woodward, the Spurs centre-forward and celebrated amateur England international, tested Jerry Dawson early on but Leake was equal to the England man in defending. Burnley eventually settled and managed the occasional attack of their own. Following a foul by Darnell for elbowing, Morley had a goal opportunity that Hewitson only just managed to save.
Alec Leake managed his forces well, breaking up Tottenham’s short-passing game plan, marking close and not allowing the opposition to put their combinations together. After ten minutes of stalemate, Sportsman picked up on the restless home crowd who thought their side should have been in front. Burnley continued to repel the Spurs attack. Middlemiss did manage to put the ball past Dawson, for the crowd to roar GOAL! Only to discover that a Spurs player was offside. For the next fifteen minutes Burnley took the game to their hosts. Dick Smith had a run on goal. He passed to Morley on the left, Smith running on and receiving Morley’s return pass. It was a clever move but the Tottenham full backs cleared the danger and at the interval the scores were level at 0-0.
The second period began with another quick burst from Vivian Woodward and the Spurs forward line. Dawson saved splendidly from Minter, finger-tipping the ball over the crossbar. Burnley had chances of their own, mainly from Smith and Ogden. Some good combination work between the front Burnley pair drew applause from around ‘The Lane.’ One clever Burnley effort led to Smith stepping over the ball hoping Ogden who was behind him would have a crack at the Spurs goal, only for the defence to clear. It became an afternoon of chances missed for both sides and Burnley had had enough of their own to have won the contest. The match became a 0-0 stalemate, Burnley came away from White Hart Lane the happier team and the teams would meet again the following Wednesday at Turf Moor.
At Full Time: Tottenham Hotspur 0, Burnley 0
Attendance: 21,372 (Gate receipts of £1,390)
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On the day of the replay, a number of Burnley firms had decided to close at lunch-time. Stuttard’s gave their workers a vote to either work or watch the match. The mill engine was stopped shortly after. The same happened at Valley Mills and at Nelson’s which closed on Wednesday dinner-time. Trainloads of spectators arrived in Burnley from as far as Bolton, Leeds and Bradford. One Southern group of Burnley supporters who had followed the team at Crystal Palace, had travelled all the way to Turf Moor from Southampton. At 2:30 pm, Turf Moor was bulging and a decision was made to close the turnstiles with thousands locked outside. Inside the ground there were banners, flags and one Burnley spectator managed to get a 20-foot green and white striped pole through the turnstiles and was waving it in the air.
A number of other Football League clubs were represented at the match. The Manchester United team who would meet the winners of the replay were present; Billy Meredith and his team mates sat on benches along one touchline. The weather was a perfect afternoon for football. It was cold and bright, but with no wind or rain. The pitch was on the soft side and had been sprinkled with sand in the goal areas and the centre-circle. Burnley were once again unchanged while Tottenham had one team change, Brough replacing Morris at half-back.
Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur FA Cup Third Round Replay, Turf Moor, Wednesday 24 February 1909 Kick-off 3:00 pm
The teams lined up
Burnley: Dawson, Barron, McLean, Cretney, Leake, Moffatt, Morley, Ogden, Smith, Abbott, Smethams.
Tottenham Hotspur: Hewitson, Coquet, Burton, Brough, D. Steel, Darnell, Walton, Minter, V. Woodward, B. Steel, Middlemiss.
Referee: Mr A. Adams (Nottingham)
Mr Adams once again got proceedings underway as the Spurs captain, Vivian Woodward, won the toss and elected to play toward the Bee Hole End.
Like the first game, Spurs began with their short quick-passing moves while Burnley were happy to spread the play out and go long, bypassing the midfield. The opening exchanges were fairly even. Hewitson in the Spurs goal was called on first, saving a Dick Smith effort. Eleven minutes into the game, Smith found Smethams on the right whose forward run won Burnley their first corner. Smethams centre into a packed penalty area found Walter Abbott who scored with a glancing header to give Burnley the lead to wild cheers around Turf Moor. Burnley held onto their advantage and Dawson had little to do, the half-backs keeping Spurs at bay. Then Smith won the ball in the Spurs half and rounded Coquet. Smith only had Hewitson to beat but the full-back (Coquet), “committed one of the most glaring offences of the game,” said Sportsman. Mr Adams awarded Burnley a free-kick which should have put them further ahead but the ball was cleared. Burnley’s Barron and McLean were called on close to half-time and safely cleared the danger. At the interval, ‘the Greens’ led the Spurs by Abbott’s early goal.
The second half began with Spurs winning a quick corner at the Cricket Field End, the centre cleared by Fred Barron. Burnley came forward, attacking the Bee Hole End. Smethams fed Smith whose shot flew inches off the floor, just wide of Hewitson’s post. But what happened next was something special according to Sportsman.
“Dick Smith received the ball from the right and though Hewitson did all he knew to cover his goal leaving Smith a task something approaching the threading of a needle, he was equal to the task and amid a scene which will not be forgotten for a long time by those who witnessed it, he found the net with a brilliant shot after four minutes.”
Straight from the restart, Burnley’s midfield challenged the Spurs attackers and won the ball back. The ball came out to Ogden who lost his half-back, ran in on goal and shot low past Hewitson and make it 3-0 to Burnley.
“Burnley were all over their opponents,” said Sportsman. Shortly after the third goal Morley should have made it 4-0 but skewed his shot wide. Spurs eventually came more into the game but continued with their short-passing style which Burnley easily broke up and robbed them of the ball on the now churned up surface. With twelve minutes to go, Moffat the Burnley defender was judged to have pulled up Minter inside the penalty area. Coquet took the penalty kick for Spurs who shot straight at Dawson who got a hand to the ball but couldn’t prevent it going in. Spurs attacked in the final ten minutes but had left it too late to pull any more goals back. The Greens deservedly won 3-1 and entered the Fourth Round of the Cup for the first time.
At Full Time: Burnley 3 (Abbott, Smith, Ogden), Tottenham Hotspur 1 (Coquet pen)
Attendance: 23,000 (Record gate receipts of £1,152 for a Turf Moor Cup Tie)
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The Quarter-Final draw now read,
Burnley v Manchester United
Derby County v Nottingham Forest
Newcastle United v Sunderland
Glossop North End v Bristol City
It would be an interesting contest at Turf Moor for reasons other than football. Throughout the match, sat on the touchline, was United’s Billy Meredith, the Wales international. Meredith had kept a keen eye on one player in particular, Burnley’s captain, Alec Leake.
The two men had a mutual loathing and hatred of each other.
Figure 5: Alec Leake and Billy Meredith
Their mutual dislike of each other stemmed from an incident that had taken place between the two men four years previously in 1905. Leake was then captain of Aston Villa and Meredith captain of Manchester City. In the final game of the 1904-05 First Division season, Aston Villa played Manchester City at Villa Park. If City won the match, they could pip Newcastle United to the Championship.
The press reports stated that the game was quite a vicious affair. City’s Sandy Turnbull and Villa’s Alec Leake came to blows during the match (which City lost 3-2) which the Football Association later investigated. During the proceedings Leake claimed that Meredith had offered him a bribe of £10 for his team to throw the match. The Football Association began a further investigation, (Harding, 1998)
“The Football Association banned Meredith from August 4, 1905, to April 30, 1906, which constituted a season-long absence. The player told the Daily Mirror shortly after the ban was imposed that he was “perfectly innocent” and added: “Would any man risk his reputation for a paltry £10? Certainly not. I should not be such a mug to ruin my future and blight my character. If I had not been a Welshman it would have been all right.” (Hackett, 2011)
“During his suspension, Meredith persistently and improperly requested that City pay him his £6 weekly wages - £2 above the salary cap - in addition to any win bonuses. Meredith threatened the club of the consequences should they fail to meet his demands but, in February 1906, City notified the FA of the player’s blackmail attempt. It was an unwise strategy, and Meredith was to claim that he had made the £10 bribe on behalf of the club’s secretary-manager, Tom Maley, and with the consent of several players. “I was only the spokesman of others equally guilty,” he wrote in a letter to the Athletic News. He also credited City’s success to “the fact that the club put aside the rule that no player should be paid more than £4 a week”. (Hackett, 2011)
Meredith’s whistle-blowing sent shockwaves through the Football Association. As a result, the Manchester City manager Tom Maley, and a former chairman were both banned from English football, sine die. Five City directors were dismissed, two directors were suspended for seven months and 17 City players were banned for six months (including Sandy Turnbull). For his trouble, Billy Meredith received the longest ban of all. He was banned from playing football for a total of eighteen months (extending his season-long ban by six months).
A year after the FA’s inquiry, Meredith signed for neighbours Manchester United in May 1906, but he couldn’t play again until his ban was lifted on New Years Day 1907. There he made his debut in a United shirt alongside Sandy Turnbull who had also signed for the Reds. A Meredith inspired United won the Football League Championship the following season. In the 1908-09 FA Cup, United had beaten Brighton in the First Round (1-0), Everton 1-0 in Round Two and Blackburn Rovers 6-1 in Round Three to reach the Quarter-Final. Turf Moor was all set for a showdown between Meredith, Turnbull and Leake.
Following the victory over Tottenham, to squeeze in more spectators for the Quarter-Final, the Burnley Board sanctioned some much needed ground improvements.
The wood and corrugated tin built Star Stand was dismantled and moved back from the pitch 15 yards to create an enclosure for 2,000 people. The stand was then re-built and extended to create additional covered seating for 1,700 more people. Hundreds of tons of mill ashes were brought into the ground to raise the banking all round the stadium while an extra twelve turnstiles were added at the Belvedere Road end. Work went on around the clock to get Turf Moor ready for the visit of United. The admission prices were raised, doubled in fact. Ground admission for adults up from sixpence to a shilling with sixpence for boys and ladies.
Despite two of the harshest winter months having passed, from mid-day on Friday to Saturday morning before the game, an arctic cold-front swept south across Britain. Temperatures fell below freezing and snow came to the high-ground in blizzards. With deep drifts in the Peak District, the first Quarter-Final called off was the Derby County v. Nottingham Forest tie. The pitches at Newcastle and Glossop were cleared and would go ahead. (With poor weather conditions right across the country, out of 23 League One and Two matches that kicked-off on that Saturday, only 13 managed to play to a finish.)
Burnley v Manchester United FA Cup Quarter Final, Turf Moor Saturday 6 March 1909 Kick-off 3:30 pm
The Turf Moor turnstiles opened quite early at 11:30 on Saturday and from then on a steady stream of spectators from Burnley, some wearing the green and white and a number from Manchester in their red and white favours, filled the ground. Before the start, match referee Herbert Bamlett came out to inspect the Turf Moor playing surface. He was accompanied by Charlie Roberts the United skipper and Burnley’s Alec Leake. The pitch was already covered in snow and Bamlett asked the ground staff for the side lines to be swept clear. He was satisfied the match could begin at the scheduled time. The Daily Graphic of 13 March 1909 carried a photograph showing the Turf Moor crowd in jovial mood with little sign on the terraces of how poor conditions on the pitch actually were. Snow continued to fall, and as 3:30 pm approached the temperature dropped further as the teams lined up to kick-off. Burnley were once again unchanged from the side that had beaten Spurs and it was clear early on that the awful weather had kept a lot of people away.
The Teams lined up:
Burnley: Dawson, Barron, McLean, Cretney, Leake(c), Moffatt, Morley, Ogden, Smith, Abbott, Smethams.
Manchester United: Moger, Stacey, Hayes, Duckworth, Roberts(c), Bell, Meredith, Halse, Turnbull J., Turnbull A., Wall.
Referee: Mr H. S. Bamlett (Gateshead)
Alec Leake beat Charlie Roberts to the toss and the Green’s played with the wind at their backs toward the Cricket Field End. It was clear that the players on both sides were struggling to stay on their feet, but Burnley seemed to cope with the conditions slightly better than United. Burnley won the first corner of the game only for Stacey to clear. Following some early action by Dawson, Burnley attacked through the centre with Dick Smith who headed a Smethams cross just over the United crossbar. Then Cretney had a goal chance that was dealt with by Moger. On 15 minutes, Smethams got a good centre into the United box, Ogden won the ball and his shot flew past Moger and into the United net! Burnley were in front and through no fluke. Ogden’s goal had stunned Meredith’s men. Straight after the re-start, Burnley won the ball in midfield and pressed forward again down the left. Moger was called on three times in succession. First an effort from Smith, and then Ogden twice, whose second attempt on 20 minutes should have put Burnley 2-0 ahead, his shot striking the inside of Mogers’ post, the ball re-bounding to safety. Burnley won two successive corners and maintained the pressure, looking for that second goal.
Sportsman declared that, “play was pretty vigorous” and Ogden was badly fouled near the edge of the United penalty area. Shortly after, Dawson rushed out from his goal to stop an attack from Alec (Sandy) Turnbull. The two players collided, with Turnbull needing attention from the trainer. Dawson saved a Halse effort with a superb diving save, getting his fingers to the ball and sending it out for a corner and shortly after, referee Bamlett signalled for half-time, with Burnley leading 1-0.
United started the second half and now had the advantage of the wind and the snow behind them. Sportsman on the state of the weather at the start of the second half, “The snowfall was heavier now than before and in the course of a few minutes the fleecy flakes descended more copiously than ever and approached a blizzard.” Play continued regardless. Ogden once again found himself fouled on the edge of the United penalty area – but where was the line? Bamlett rejected the Burnley forwards’ appeal for a penalty. Burnley appeared the more confident, and on occasion showed neat footwork despite the falling snow and slippy surface. Shortly after, Barron and McLean were both injured. Barron limping away from a challenge while Mclean was winded in a tussle with Billy Meredith who had been fairly inconspicuous throughout the game. “Send him off” was shouted from the crowd. McLean got up and just got on with matters. “After attention he was as lively as ever for after defeating the Welshman once he intercepted him again, but in his rush he [Meredith] slid along the ground for half a dozen yards, ‘barking’ his shoulders in the process,” said Sportsman. After this incident, the Burnley goal was under siege for about 15 minutes according to Sportsman. The intensity of the snowstorm increased. United were on the attack but the Burnley players stood fast. A frozen Jerry Dawson, his blue jersey crusted in snow, pulled off a series of fine saves which the crowd loudly cheered. The match had gone past the three-quarter mark when with eighteen minutes left, Mr Bamlett was approached by Charlie Roberts.
“The stubborn nature of the defence evidently broke the hearts of the besiegers and overtures were made by the United captain [Roberts] to the referee to stop the game. Burnley, getting relief, carried the war into the enemy’s camp on two or three occasions. Referee Bamlett then sounded a cessation and consulted his linesmen re the abandonment of the game. Burnley were in the United half when the game was stopped and leading 1-0.” (Burnley Express)
Result: Match Abandoned on 72 minutes (snowstorm) with Burnley leading Manchester United 1-0 (Ogden)
Attendance: 15,471 (Gate Receipts of £1,089 5s)
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The home crowd were stunned at Bamlett’s decision. To have allowed the match to first of all start but then to see it though to half time where he could have evaluated the situation, and then for the sides to appear again for the second period was unbelievable. It was clear that United captain Charlie Roberts had appealed to Bamlett for the game to be abandoned while Burnley’s Alec Leake wanted to play on.
The Daily Mail’s reporter at the match said,
“The Cup-tie at Turf Moor was abandoned with 18 minutes to go because of the blizzard which had raged from the previous midnight becoming worse than ever. The sleety storm was bad enough to have justified the referee in refusing to begin at all, and, curiously enough the weather improved ten minutes after the teams had retired to the extent which would have enabled the game to be played out in comparitive comfort... Mr Bamlett explained to a Daily Mail representative that the increase in the gales severity and the fact that officials and players were benumbed by the cold dictated his action. Burnley took the game to United and with the wind at their backs outplayed the League Champions in the first half. Young Dawson in the Burnley goal displayed a wonderful resource and was never in difficulties.”
(Daily Mail 8/3/1909)
After Burnley scored and as the second half the conditions worsened, Charbel Boujaoude alleges in his book, Manchester United - Legends of a Bygone Era,
“Referee Bamlett was so cold he couldnt blow the whistle. So Manchester United captain Charlie Roberts felt in Bamlett’s pocket, pulled out his whistle and blew it for him and abandoned the match!” Strangely, the local reporter at the Burnley Express, Sportsman makes no mention of this incident anywhere in his match report. Nor did the national papers.
After the match, the captains were interviewed by Press journalists. According to Sportsman, an aggrieved Burnley captain Alec Leake said, “I think it is hard lines for Burnley, and I should say the same even if we had not been a goal ahead. The weather was bad, but after playing so long we ought to have finished the match. I am absolutely confident we should have kept them out to the end – they would never have scored. As for being fit, every man here was able and willing to see it out – weren’t you boys?” A chorus of “YES” confirmed his opinion. “We should have beaten them on merits,” he concluded, “ as we shall do in the end.” “We may have no’class’ players, as some critics say, but we are eleven triers, and don’t you forget it!”
Roberts burst out: “I think it was a shame to take us out at all on a ground like that – just a sheet of ice. Men’s lives were at stake, but nobody considers players as they ought to do when the elements are in question. It was not fit for a dog to be out, and all through the first half we could hardly see the ball for the snow in our eyes. I fancy Burnley players were just as thankful as we were to get off.”
(Burnley Express 10/3/1909)
It was clear that this contest wasn’t over by a long chalk. Burnley had led the League Champions for over an hour and were 18 minutes away from their first Cup Semi-Final. The match went down in Burnley F. C. folklore as the, “Stop The Game It’s Snowing” match. Both clubs had managed to enter the semi-final draw that took place the following Monday. Due to the weather postponements, abandonments and two draws, the draw couldn’t have been more complicated;
The FA Cup Semi-Final Draw
Burnley or Manchester United v Newcastle or Sunderland
to be played at Bramall Lane
Derby County or Nottingham Forest v Glossop or Bristol City to be played at Stamford Bridge.
The two teams met up again on Wednesday for the resumption of hostilities. United having spent a few days at their Cup training retreat in Cuddington, Cheshire. The snow had melted but the players tempers had not.
Burnley v Manchester United FA Cup Quarter Final, Turf Moor Wednesday 10 March 1909 3:30 Kick-Off
Burnley were forced to make one team change from Saturday. Full-back Fred Barron was suffering a leg injury that he picked up on Saturday. He was replaced by Howarth. It was the first team change Spen Whittaker had made in the Cup run since the First Round at Bristol. For the superstitious among the Burnley supporters, it was a bad omen. The attendance for a mid-week match was one of the best Burnley had ever experienced. “The pitch was clear but had held onto most of the melted snow,” as Sportsman saw the pitch he said it resembled, “a veritable quagmire.”
The Teams lined up:
Burnley: Dawson, Haworth, McLean, Cretney, Leake(c), Moffatt, Morley, Ogden, Smith, Abbott, Smethams.
Manchester United: Moger, Stacey, Hayes, Duckworth, Roberts(c), Bell, Meredith, Halse, Turnbull J., Turnbull A., Wall.
Referee: Mr. H. S. Bamlett (Gateshead)
A stiff wind was blowing down Brunshaw Hill as Leake and Roberts met once again in the middle to decide the toss. The wind and the pitch would prove to play a big part in matters. Roberts won the toss and United kicked off playing toward the Cricket Field End. Against the wind, Burnley pushed forward and attacked the visitors. The Greens got off to a great start and on 15 minutes Ogden opened the scoring. Smethams got away and put in a good centre into United’s goalmouth. The ball hit the crossbar and re-bounded into play finding Ogden whose shot gave Moger no chance. 1-0 and first blood to Burnley.
Sportsman noticed a change in Burnley’s style of play from then on. “If Burnley had kept up their attacking style of play all might have been well, but instead of following the style they adopted all through the ties, they went in for the short-passing method.”
A United attack from Sandy Turnbull saw his shot rattle Dawson’s crossbar. Then Moger was called on two or three times to stop Burnley scoring a second goal. On 24 minutes a United attack saw Halse coming forward with the ball. Burnley’s McLean slipped and fell on the wet ground. With only Dawson to beat, Halse bore down on the Burnley goal. Dawson came out of his goal but before he met the United forward it was too late and Halse made certain, chipping the ball over him. 1-1 and United attacked again. Three minutes later Meredith got away and crossed to Wall who centred, the ball coming to Sandy Turnbull who got his foot to it to steer the ball past Dawson. From the re-start Cretney dribbled his way into the United half and before he shot he was dispossessed by Hayes. Morley also had a good chance who should have shot when he had the opportunity. Like the first game there were a number of bad fouls, the worst of all committed by Sandy Turnbull on McLean who was cautioned by Mr Bamlett. Burnley continued to press for an equaliser and at the interval the teams went in for tea at Burnley 1, Manchester United, 2.
With the wind at their backs Burnley made several attempts to break through the United defence, the ball sticking in the mud more as the ground churned up and the game wore on. Two minutes in and Jerry Dawson pulled off a fine save from Wall, falling on the ball before getting it clear. He was the far busier goalkeeper and on 14 minutes the other Turnbull, Jimmy this time, received the ball in the centre and registered United’s third goal. Things didn’t look to be going Burnley’s way and for the next ten minutes United had much the upper hand. Jerry Dawson kept Burnley in the game. The second half wore on and in the last ten minutes Burnley saw more of the ball sensing United had settled at 3-1. Five minutes from time, Ogden received the ball from Morley and placed it past Moger to reduce the deficit. 3-2 Could Burnley find an equaliser? A frantic final five minutes saw several attacks from The Greens against a packed Red defence. And after a gallant attempt the final whistle came. Burnley’s Cup run had come to an end against a strong United side, losing 3-2 against the League Champions.
At Full Time: Burnley 2 (Ogden 2), Manchester United 3 (Halse, Turnbull A, Turnbull J.)
Attendance: 16,850 (Gate receipts, £1,036 6s 6d)
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Jerry Dawson had made a name for himself in this match and was not responsible for any of United’s goals. Burnley had done well and could feel proud of what they had achieved in reaching the last eight. Sportsman in the Express put Burnley’s failure down to their change of game plan, adopting an unfamiliar short-passing game to which he had not seen them play to effect. “An over-indulgence in dribbling and sticking to the ball instead of sending it out to the wings,” his comments concluded.
Mr Bamlett interviewed after the game said, “The game had been very strenuous and played amid great excitement and it had not been so pleasant as it might have been.” He didn’t say it was a dirty game but the number of fouls was excessive but commented that, “his lips were sore from too much whistle blowing.”
The Burnley captain Alec Leake said, “the meaning of the result was that United got the most opportunities and accepted them. Burnley possibly had not played the best game on the mud, but they had done their best and had nothing to regret.”
Manchester United went through to the Semi-Finals where they beat Newcastle United 1-0. In the Final at the Crystal Palace, United beat Bristol City 1-0 with a Sandy Turnbull goal. It was the first time the Cup had come to Old Trafford.
The 1909-10 Cup
In the First Round of the Cup the following season, as if by some twist of fate, Burnley were drawn against Manchester United again. Turf Moor would host a re-match of the previous years contest, Burnley taking on the Cup holders.
Apart from Green for Ogden, Burnley lined up with the same side that had played in the abandoned tie at Turf Moor the season previously. Dick Smith returned to the Burnley side after a three-month absence through injury, along with McLean who had also been out for six weeks.
It was election day in Burnley on the Saturday the match was played and the town was bristling with people in town to cast their votes. The weather on Saturday morning however was awful. The skies around Burnley were heavy and grey and from after lunchtime when Turf Moor opened for business, the clouds opened and a thin veil of drizzle fell, soaking those that ventured out to watch the ‘rematch’ of the previous year. As the teams appeared, it sounded as if they were in an unforgiving mood, certainly at the start.
“The hooting of a team [United] prior to the commencement of a match is just the kind of thing to make players lose their tempers.” (Daily Dispatch) The same comment was picked up the Athletic News reporter who said that, “the conduct of the crowd was disgraceful and of a character that no fair-minded sportsman would uphold.” The Turf Moor crowd would be influential and become Burnley’s 12th man.
Burnley v Manchester United, FA Cup First Round, Turf Moor, 15 January 1910 Kick Off 3:00 pm
The teams lined up:
Burnley: Dawson, Barron, Mclean, Cretney, Leake, Moffatt, Morley, Green, Smith, Abbott, Smethams.
Manchester United: Moger, Stacey, Hayes, Duckworth, Roberts, Curry, Meredith, Picken, Halse, Turnbull A., Wall.
Referee: Mr T. Field (Mexborough,) Linesmen: Messrs., T. H. Chicken and Mr D. Dickinson.
Alec Leake beat Charlie Roberts to the toss and Burnley attacked the Cricket Field End. The Greens got off to a good start, passing the ball well and taking the fight to the visitors. There were only three minutes on the clock when Cretney started a clever move on the right wing. Smith passed to Smethams whose cross found Morley who beat a defender and placed it for Green. As the ball was going in, it looked as if Moger might prevent it going over the line, but Abbott rushed in and bundled the ball into the net. “A tremendous shout rent the air,” said Sportsman, “the play was very fast, and considering the conditions, the exhibition of football by the Burnley men was wonderful.”
Burnley never gave United a moments respite. They were at their heels the whole match. At the other end Dawson had very little to do it was so one-sided. Dick Smith was brought down in the United area but Mr Field waved away his appeal for a penalty. An injury to Turnbull forced him to leave the field and United were down to ten men for the last five minutes of the half. The only United chance of note was a Meredith effort which was given offside, after he had put the ball in the net. And at half time a spirited Burnley led the Cup holders 1-0.
At the start of the second half Sandy Turnbull returned but he was clearly not fit. Straight after the start a United defender mis-kicked giving Morley a good chance to score but he also swung at the ball and missed. Good defending at the back by Barron and McLean kept Meredith and company at bay for a long period. Dick Smith once again was badly fouled in the United penalty area but again Mr Field turned down the penalty claim. The pitch was now quite slippy and first McLean skidded on his backside which was a source of amusement for the crowd. Then Roberts did the same when he was charged off the ball by Abbott. Roberts, clearly angered, grabbed a handful of mud and threw it in Abbott’s face, but the United skipper later apologised. Smethams received rough treatment from a United defender but overall, Sportsman said the game was “very clean,” apart from the mud-throwing incident.
Turnbull had the ball in the Burnley goal, but like Meredith’s effort in the first period, he too was offside. With 14 minutes remaining and no signs of a blizzard coming anytime soon, Burnley scored their second. Smethams looked at first to be offside but one of the United full-backs had played him on. The Burnley winger ran in and hit a low shot past Moger to great cheers from around Turf Moor. With time running out, United suddenly woke up and pushed forward. The Burnley back line fought well to hold onto their advantage and at the end of an exciting afternoon, Burnley defeated the Cup holders 2-0 and avenged their defeat of the previous year.
At Full Time: Burnley 2 (Abbot, Smethams), Manchester United 0
Attendance: 16,625 (Gate Receipts of £871)
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Burnley’s result was the biggest shock of the First Round. C.E. Sutcliffe wrote in the Daily Mail, “The pleasure of the victory from the Burnley point of view lay in the fact that the triumph was no fluke. The boys in green played with pluck and spirit from the commencement to the finish.” The week following Burnley’s victory, Manchester United funeral cards, and postcards were doing the rounds in Burnley.
Figure 6
Figure 7
Round Two: Swindon Town v Burnley
In the Second Round, Burnley had been paired against Southern League side Swindon Town. After knocking out the Cup holders, Spen Whittaker’s men were full of confidence as they set off early on Friday morning by train from Bank Top station for an overnight stay in Cheltenham.
Sportsman reported that around 450 Burnley supporters had made the journey to Wiltshire on a special train after setting off overnight. The party arrived before six o’clock to a deserted Swindon town centre. It was raining and the train back wouldn’t leave Swindon until 11:00 pm, some six hours after the match had ended. Despite that, Sportsman noted, “they were a very jolly party and made themselves heard before the commencement of the game. They carried with them the flag that had been raised at other grounds with the words, ‘SUCCESS TO GOOD OLD BURNLEY.’ Another travelling banner bore the words, ‘STICK IT JERRY,’ in reference to Dawson’s heroics in the Burnley goal.
Swindon Town v Burnley, FA Cup Round Two, County Ground, 5th February 1910 Kick-Off 3:00 pm
The teams lined up
Swindon Town: Skiller, Kay, Walker, Tout, Bannister, Silto, Jefferson, Fleming, Wheatcroft, Bown, Lavery.
Burnley: Dawson, Barron, McLean, Cretney, Leake, Moffatt, Morley, Green, Smith, Abbott, Smethams.
Referee: Mr J. W. Bailey (Leicester).
Alec Leake won the toss and Burnley in green shirts kicked off with the wind behind them. Swindon in red, were a good Southern League side and soon showed their skills on what was a heavy pitch. Not long after the kick-off the ball burst and another one called for. With the game re-started, the home side pressed forward and won a throw-in inside the Burnley half. The throw-in found Swindon’s inside-forward Bown, who took a crack at goal from 30-yards out. The ball caught in the wind and curved in the air. It arced away from Dawson’s outstretched arms and flew into the back of the Burnley net. Burnley were stunned by the goal. It was not until after 25 minutes that Burnley mounted their first attack. Green and Morley combining well but their joint effort was thwarted. Five minutes before the tea interval, Moffatt got away from his marker and almost scored the equaliser, the ball kicked off Moffatt’s toe at the final moment by a Swindon defender. At the interval, Swindon led 1-0.
Burnley started the better side in the second half. Apart from the Swindon goal, the best shot of the game came from Burnley’s Smethams, who struck the ball on the volley, the fast ball cutting a parabola in the air and looking like it would land under Skiller’s crossbar only for the Swindon keeper’ to save. The game swung end-to-end. Abbott’s chance 25 minutes into the second half led to a melee in the Swindon area. Several Burnley players had a swing at the ball and just couldn’t put it over the line. Ten minutes later, Swindon’s Bown and Lavery combined. Lavery’s pass found Fleming who ran in and side-footed the ball past Dawson to put Swindon 2-0 up and win their place in the Third Round.
At Full Time: Swindon Town 2 (Bown, Fleming), Burnley 0
Attendance: 10,000 (Gate receipts of £503)
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Swindon had played well and done their homework on Burnley Sportsman reported. ‘WHACKED IN WILTS’ ran his column headline in the Express the following Wednesday. Burnley were out of the competition again. The impressive victory over United counted for nought and Swindon became the surprise side of the 1910 FA Cup, going all the way to the Semi-Final where they were knocked out by Newcastle United. Newcastle United went on to win the Cup that year, eventually beating Second Division Barnsley, captained by Tommy Boyle, 2-0, in a replay at Goodison Park. For the Burnley supporters leaving the County Ground it had been another long day and an even longer journey with only ‘what-if’s’ to ponder on as they made their slow way back to Lancashire.
Burnley’s Great Loss
Two months after their exit from the Cup against Swindon, tragedy struck Burnley Football Club when the Burnley manager Spencer Whittaker, was killed in a train accident. On the night of 15 April 1910, Whittaker was travelling to London on the overnight express train to register a new player, Harry Swift so he could play for Burnley the following day. How Whittaker came to fall from the train carriage still remains a mystery. His body was found on the railway tracks near Crewe station. Whittaker suffered multiple injuries and died in the early hours of Saturday morning. He was just 38 years old and had a long career ahead of him. The inquest into Whittaker’s death provided no hard evidence as to how his death had occurred. The death of the popular Burnley manager was a huge shock and the entire town mourned his passing. The tragedy led the Burnley board to seek a new manager. John Haworth, the manager of neighbouring club Accrington Stanley applied for the post and took over as the new Burnley secretary-manager in the Summer of 1910. Spencer Whittaker’s death marked the end of an era at Burnley. With a new manager in place, a number of things would change.
Here’s to the boys of Leake’s brigade.
And the grand charge they made.
Oh when will their glory fade?
When the Emerald Green has lost its shade.
So drink to the health of Leake’s brigade
And may their glory never fade
Till they have lifted the Cup,
Midst the cheers and shouts and the flags that wave.
N.H. Burnley Express 10/3/1909
On the 6th of May 1910 there was another death, this time at Buckingham Palace. Following a long illness, His Majesty King Edward VII passed away aged 69. At his bedside was his second eldest son, now first in-line to the throne, George, the Prince of Wales. The Prince informed his father that his horse, ‘Witch of the Air,’ had won at Kempton Park that afternoon and Edward’s last words were, “Yes, I have heard of it. I am very glad.”
At fifteen minutes to midnight, George Frederick Ernest Albert acceded the throne and became King George the Fifth. The coronation of the new king took place the following year in June 1911.
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