History > Articles > Leamington - twice winners of long-forgotten Chatrian cup

Looking Back with Club Historian, Paul Vanes

Some considerable time ago, Leamington Courier sports editor Simon Steele asked me – what do you know about the Chatrian Cup? Emm, actually more than I did when the question was originally asked but I recently emailed Mr. Birmingham himself, Professor Carl Chinn and his swift reply was – never heard of him! Heavens above, do I know more about Emile Chatrian than Carl does? Looking Back returns to the early days when Leamington Town reached many cup and semi finals of competitions long gone, this is the Magpies part in the story about one of them.   

As far as I can trace, Emile Chatrian was the proprietor of the Old Royal Hotel in Perry Barr, Birmingham and he had a handsome Silver Challenge Cup made to be presented to the winners of a football competition organised by the Football Association (London or Birmingham?) which was confined to selected junior clubs of the Birmingham District and the whole of the proceeds are devoted to the building fund of the new General Hospital.

The semi final of the Chatrian cup was played in Leamington on 11 April 1896 against Studley Rovers. With Leamington Town going in at the interval leading 7-0, the full time score was 9-1 according to the Courier and 9-0 in the Midland Daily Telegraph. The Magpies - not the Brakes then , that was a long tome in the future - had Walters in goal; Evans and Waters; Taylor, Gee and A. Haynes; Spencer, Asbury, W. Haynes, Millward and Lockyer. The final was played at Aston Villa’s ground in Perry Barr between Aston Old Edwardians and Leamington Town nine days later. The teams were left in the final round, and a capital match resulted, the elevens were pretty evenly balanced, and the play was characterised by great earnestness. In the first quarter of an hour the Old Edwardians scored a goal, and though the Leamington team stubbornly contested every inch of ground, they could not draw level, the game ending in a win for the Aston Old Edwardians by 1 goal to 0. In the evening, on the invitation of Mr. Chatrian, the teams dined together at the Old Royal.

In Bill King's excellent book “Bromsgrove Rovers Centenary 1885-1985” a check of Rovers year by year summary reveals that the club won the Chatrian cup in 1896/97 and finished runners up the following year, sadly no details of their opponents or any results so more research is needed, no don’t bother see below. What we do know is on February 27th, 1897 Leamington were drawn away in the first round and lost 2-0 to Erdington in Birmingham using this team – Spencer; Waters and Spencer; Harper, W. Haynes and B. Lockyer; A. Haynes, Standbridge, Gee, Kenyon and Smith.

Next season's semi final between Warwick United and Leamington Town was played at Emscote on 19 February 1898 watched by 2,000 with Husband opening the scoring for United and Reeves levelling before the break. That was the way the game ended; these were the sides - United; Cox; Buckingham and Woolaston; Merry, Walton and Horne; Husband, Bentley, Brazier, Saunders and Wilkes with Town fielding Partridge; Ward and Waters; Tomlinson, Warburton and Harper; Smith, F. Bodley, H.C. Bodley, Standbridge and Reeves. Lockyer turned up to play but was left out as a protest, Mr. Bytheway from Aston Old Edwardians was the referee and the gate amounted to £14-4-9d being split three ways. In the replay a week later in Leamington Town were unchanged but United had Bentley at right half and Brampton at inside right and the only goal of the game was scored by Standbridge in the first half.

In the other semi final, Bromsgrove Rovers defeated Aston Old Edwardians by four goals to three on April 16th for the right to meet the Magpies in the final at Leamington a fortnight later. In teh final the Magpies had Partridge in goal; Ward and Waters; Tomlinson, Warburton and Gee; Smith, Pilsbury, H.C. Bodley, Standbridge and Reeves whilst Rovers sent out – Styles; Caldicott, Able; Nicholls, Ross and Giles; Bateman, Wallace, Wilcox, Mole and Grice. Once again, there was but a single goal and again it went to Leamington only this time it was Smith who scored the all important strike and the team paraded the cup through the town on a four wheeler.              

Flash forward to March 1899 and a couple of lines told the Courier readers that in the final of the Chatrian Cup, Leamington Town met Aston Old Edwardians at the Old Warwick Road ground on Good Friday with Leamington winning by 8 goals to 1. Short, sharp and sweet - however neither the Midland Daily Telegraph or the Sports Argus mentioned the game. Contrary to popular belief, we actually won this cup twice.

So now you know! Leamington Town, twice proud winners of Mr Emile Chatrian's Cup!

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