Attention: Please take a moment to consider our terms and conditions before posting.

The Clark/e family football team of Blackheath

Henry Irving
Henry Irving Posts: 85,281
edited July 2012 in Not Sports Related
On BBC London they are looking for stories about a family from Blackheath who had so many sons that they had their own football and cricket teams.

Anyone remember or know them

Ring 0207 224 2000 if you do

Comments

  • sam3110
    sam3110 Posts: 21,345
    Why, are the Sodje XI looking to set up a match?
  • SoundAsa£
    SoundAsa£ Posts: 22,499
    There was a big family from there called the Penfolds if I remember rightly?
    Not pikies by the way.
  • BlackForestReds
    BlackForestReds Posts: 17,952
    The Edrich family used to have an Edrich cricket XI.
  • O-Randy-Hunt
    O-Randy-Hunt Posts: 10,709
    My birds mums side of the family are penfolds and live blackheath way.
  • CharltonPete
    CharltonPete Posts: 353
    http://www.britishpathe.com/video/family-football/query/Blackheath+football
    Is this who you mean
  • SoundAsa£
    SoundAsa£ Posts: 22,499
    edited July 2012
    Typical match commentary from one of their games.

    And Clarke gives it to Clarke who squares it to Clarke...Clarke crosses Clarke heads on for Clarke to back heel it into the path of Clarke to slam it into the net off the outstretched leg of his team mate Clarke.
    Difficult for the referee Clarke to decide who to give that goal to....it could have been Clarke or Clarke.
  • Baldybonce
    Baldybonce Posts: 9,670
    There was a big family from there called the Penfolds if I remember rightly?
    Not pikies by the way.
    I think Mark Penfold was one them. Still a lot of Penfolds around the Charlton area.
  • Oggy Red
    Oggy Red Posts: 44,962
    One of them showed a brilliant 'Jason Euell' first touch, as it ricocheted off his shins.
    And the rather unathletic keeper, with his snow white jersey. Priceless.


    I see the film was made in 1930, so doubtful if any are still alive today.
    Perhaps they have living descendants who can tell the story?

  • phillondon
    phillondon Posts: 1
    Hi, I know this was posted a while back now but I just came across it. The football team was made up of my Grandad, his brothers (my great Uncles), my Great Grandad (The keeper) and Great Great Grandad (The Coach). My dad told me about the team a few years ago and I managed to find the video on the Pathe News website. I think they were called something like the 'Southern Stars'?? I remember my dad telling me that if one of the brothers couldn't make a game they would stick a cousin in the team and no-one would know any different!
    Apparently they were a pretty good team, although I think my Great Grandad didn't look like the best keeper in the world!
    Football ran well in the family and my dad went on to play for the second team at Charlton Athletic; I think he managed to get a few first team games during his time there. He also played for Crystal Palace and Carshalton. It's fantastic to have a bit of filmed history to show people. My son (9) watched it recently and thought it was hilarious! They don't make footballs like that any more!
    My Grandad had a shop on Royal parade in Blackheath. I believe it's now a Mexican restaurant. I seem to remember my dad saying it was a grocers which did milk deliveries on horse and cart.
    Hope this helps to put something back into a historically rich part of the country.
    Phil Clarke
  • red_murph
    red_murph Posts: 2,460
    phillondon said:

    Hi, I know this was posted a while back now but I just came across it. The football team was made up of my Grandad, his brothers (my great Uncles), my Great Grandad (The keeper) and Great Great Grandad (The Coach). My dad told me about the team a few years ago and I managed to find the video on the Pathe News website. I think they were called something like the 'Southern Stars'?? I remember my dad telling me that if one of the brothers couldn't make a game they would stick a cousin in the team and no-one would know any different!
    Apparently they were a pretty good team, although I think my Great Grandad didn't look like the best keeper in the world!
    Football ran well in the family and my dad went on to play for the second team at Charlton Athletic; I think he managed to get a few first team games during his time there. He also played for Crystal Palace and Carshalton. It's fantastic to have a bit of filmed history to show people. My son (9) watched it recently and thought it was hilarious! They don't make footballs like that any more!
    My Grandad had a shop on Royal parade in Blackheath. I believe it's now a Mexican restaurant. I seem to remember my dad saying it was a grocers which did milk deliveries on horse and cart.
    Hope this helps to put something back into a historically rich part of the country.
    Phil Clarke

    That's brilliant Phil. Great story!

  • Sponsored links:



  • Rob
    Rob Posts: 11,843
    Yes, that is a great story phillondon
  • bristoladdick
    bristoladdick Posts: 1,149
    Wonderful story!
  • Siv_in_Norfolk
    Siv_in_Norfolk Posts: 4,061
    yeah... weaving some social fabric

    nice one
  • Pea
    Pea Posts: 1
    I have just seen the post about the Clarke brothers football team. My grandfather, Cyril Wellesley Clarke, was one of the brothers and featured in the Pathe News film mentioned above (see CharltonPete, July 2012). There were originally twelve brothers but one was killed in The Great War. As well as playing football the brothers and their sons played cricket and competed against local sides. I have a picture of them lined up behind each other in their cricket whites, as well as one in their Southern Stars football kits. I have a number of newspaper articles about their games. The family owned and ran a dairy business in Royal Parade, Blackheath and Old Dover Road, and were minor local celebrities at the time (1930's). One of the brother's sons, Walter (Wally) H L Clarke, played for Crystal Palace in the 1933-34 season. Wally played 20 times for Palace. His games included a 7-0 thrashing by Arsenal at Highbury in the 4th round of the FA Cup in January 1934.

Categories

“Marketplace”