CLUB HISTORY

Cray Wanderers FC is the senior football club in the district of the Crays, Bexley, Orpington and Sidcup. Cray Wanderers hold the distinction of being the second oldest football club in the world, and the oldest in London. (Sheffield, in 1857, is the oldest club; Hallam in 1860 are joint second-oldest, with Cray. Notts County, founded 1862, is the oldest Football League club).

The first origins of Cray Wanderers are linked to the construction of the London, Chatham & Dover railway line during 1858 to 1860. During their leisure time, workers kicked a ball around, and that is how the club originated in the St Mary Cray village. The pitch at Star Lane is now a cemetery, and is located beneath the nine-arch railway viaduct that spans the Cray Valley. The industrial belt of the River Cray, especially the paper mills, provided much of the club's support up till the 1950s.

Cray Wanderers were a strong force in senior county football at the turn of the century. After being Kent Junior Cup semi-finalists and finalists in 1890/91 and 1891/92 they entered the first ever FA Amateur Cup competition in 1893/94. They had a spell as a professional club between 1895 and 1907. They were a nursery club for Woolwich Arsenal during part of this period. They were one of the founder members of the Kent League in 1894/95, and they won the championship in 1901/02. Other honours included Southern Suburban League champions in 1898/99, West Kent League champions in 1903/04, and Kent Senior Cup runners-up in 1899/1900.

After World War One, Cray switched to the London League where they remained till 1934. In 1930/31 they won the Kent Amateur Cup. Cray rejoined the Kent League in 1934/35, but their four year stay came to grief when 1936 saw the loss of the Fordcroft ground in Cray Avenue, their home since 1898. Cray were forced to drop into a lower level of football, drifting from one temporary pitch to another while the club committee dwindled to a perilously small number. The team struggled badly in the South London Alliance and the Kent Amateur League.

1951/52 heralded a new era, and an upturn in the club's fortunes, when local businessman Mick Slater took over at the helm. The club was elected to the London League and regained its senior status. Cray moved to a new ground at Grassmeade in 1955. Their stay there was a very successful period in the club's history. Drawing extra support from the commuter town of Orpington, they played in the London League and then the Aetolian League. They were three times crowned champions, won the League Cup twice, and also won the Kent Amateur Cup three times.

Cray switched to the semi-professional Metropolitan League for five seasons commencing in 1966/67. Playing against the "A" teams of Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham, they encountered budding young stars such as Charlie George and Trevor Brooking. Cray won the Metropolitan League Cup in 1970/71. In 1971/72 the Met London League was created by a merger of the Metropolitan League and the Greater London League.

Cray moved to Oxford Road, on the borders of Bexley, Footscray and Sidcup, in 1973/74. Johnny Biddle and Jimmy Wakeling proved to be successful managers. In 1974/75 Cray won the Met London League and League Cup, scoring 170 goals in all matches that season. In 1976/77 and 1977/78 Cray won the London Spartan League championship.

Cray decided to return to the Kent League in 1978/79. Success came quickly because Cray won the championship in 1980/81, having been runners-up the year before. Their powerful new team under manager Harry Richardson reached the FA Vase quarter-final and 5th round in those two seasons.

After that, the 1980s decade brought only one more piece of silverware, the Kent League Cup in 1983/84. After finishing Kent League runners up in 1990/91, Cray had a lean period during most of the 1990s, with the exception of 1992/93 when they won the Kent Senior Trophy.

A new club chairman Gary Hillman arrived in 1994/95 and the club has prospered ever since, although they had to overcome a serious crisis in 1998/99 when the Kent League enforced their new rule that all Premier Division member clubs must have floodlights. Like many of their neighbouring clubs in the built-up metropolis of North Kent, the Wands couldn't comply. A ground share with Bromley FC at Hayes Lane was arranged, and so began another new era for a club whose name of 'Wanderers' seems to be very appropriate!

Ian Jenkins, a Cray player since 1993, was appointed manager in 1999 and is now in his twelfth year in the role, with assistant manager Joe Francis marking his tenth year with Cray this current season 2011-12. As champions of the Kent League in 2002/03 and 2003/04, also reaching the FA Vase quarter-final, the Wands achieved promotion into the Ryman League Division One. Five years later at the end of season 2008/09 came further promotion into the Ryman Premier League.

Last season 2010-11 Cray celebrated their 150th anniversary season with a number of special events, including a charity ball, friendly matches versus the Leyton Orient first team and the Guyana full international team, and winning the ‘Heritage Tournament’ featuring Sheffield (1857), Cray (1860) and Hallam (1860) the three oldest clubs in football.

The Wands additionally staged a 150 years history exhibition at the London Borough of Bromley museum, and they published a new club history book ‘Forever Amber’. This season 2011-12 will see Cray revert to their modern amber & black colours, after last year’s wearing of a special “Victorian Retro” kit in the original colours of chocolate.

After two years of establishing themselves in the Ryman Premier, finishing 15th and 9th in the table, Cray are looking to further themselves on and off the field. The Wands want to return to their original area and are trying to obtain permission to develop a site in St Paul’s Cray to build their own stadium at Sandy Lane in 2014.