A Fragment Of A Match Lost In The Mists Of Time

A few years ago, whilst tidying my grandparent’s attic, I came across an unusual piece of Norwich memorabilia. A ‘souvenir menu’ from a dinner held to mark a match between Norwich City and Bolton Wanderers at Carrow Road on 9 May 1949, contesting the Norfolk and Norwich Charities Cup. By exploring its details, it is possible paint a picture of Norwich, both as a club and city, in a bygone age.

The menu, printed by local press Soman and Wherry, displays a yellow Canary on the cover, perched on a branch within a green oval. On two corners of this cover, neat little bows have been affixed displaying the club colours of both clubs; yellow and green for Norwich, White and Navy Blue for Bolton. Most of the Booklet is taken up with food to be served and the order of ceremony for speakers. On the last page is a rather charming request to ‘let the evening’s enjoyment bear the morning’s reflection’.

The match itself, a 0-2 loss in front of a crowd of 12,484, has made very little impact on annals of the Club’s history. It is not mentioned in the club’s recently published Official History, Roger Smith’s 2004 Canary Companion, or Ted Bell’s 1972 Illustrated History, which demonstrates how relatively insignificant this meeting is within the club’s timeline. Moreover, in searching through various newspaper digital archives, it would appear that the match did not turn the heads of the national press, and was of little interest to the wider footballing public of the late 1940s.

But this artefact, like a single piece of a jigsaw puzzle, does provide a tantalising glimpse into an era of the English Game that is a world apart from the shiny, multi-million pound giant it is today.
The end of the Second World War marked the beginning of an era where British teams could lay claim to be amongst the best in Europe, culminating in England’s World Cup triumph in 1966 and the success of Celtic’s ‘Lisbon Lions’ in the 1967 European Cup. This period also saw the rise of some of the most revered managers of the Twentieth Century; Matt Busby, Don Revie, Brian Clough, Jock Stein and Bill Shankly to name but a few.

Off the pitch, football was an important part of the social fabric, and it was at this time that many clubs would record their highest attendances. The game was also seen as an important element of post-war reconstruction. For example, Dynamo Moscow were invited to tour Britain at the dawn of the Cold War in 1945, playing the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Cardiff and Rangers. These matches captured the imagination of the British public and saw massive crowds (including an estimated attendance of over 100,000 for the match against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge). Prior to their arrival, the Russian team held their opponents in such high regard that one of Dynamo’s half-backs remarked that they believed English players could carry the ball across the field on their heads. Perhaps more than any other player, this era is embodied by Stanley Matthews, arguably the first ‘modern’ footballer and the inaugural winner of the Ballon D’or.

Against this backdrop, Norwich had just finished tenth in the Third Division South at the conclusion of the 1948-49 season, their third full season following a resumption of regular fixtures after the Second World War. The Canaries had never played in the top flight, their highest finish at date being eleventh in Division Two in 1936.

In contrast to their current yo-yo status, Norwich were regular tenants of what was at the time the lowest rung of the Football League, with the club’s final match of the season being a 0-0 draw at home to Torquay United, two days prior to the Bolton meeting. Perhaps the most notable incident of this season came towards its conclusion, as Irish forward Johnny Gavin made his debut against Bristol Rovers on 30 April, the penultimate match of the campaign. Gavin would go on to become the Club’s all-time top scorer with 132 goals in 338 appearances, earning himself a place in the inaugural Hall of Fame. In spite of this lacklustre season, the Club still enjoyed an impressive average home attendance of 24,334. This can perhaps be partially explained by a post-war optimism, with Norwich, like many other bomb-damaged cities, seeing rapid growth after the Second World War through the construction of new estates to replace dilapidated Victorian terraces.

By contrast, despite a lowly fourteenth placed finish in the 1948-49 season, Bolton Wanderers were a veritable Giant. They had been ever-present in the top flight since 1935, were three times FA Cup winners and regulars in the latter stages of the competition. In the era before regular television coverage, a friendly match such as this would have provided a rare opportunity for the people of Norwich to see top-flight talent grace the pitch. The only other occasion being the chance of a glamorous FA Cup tie, but City had not drawn a First Division side in over a decade. Arguably, the club had not been drawn against a truly monolithic team since they played Sheffield Wednesday at the Nest in 1935, who went on the lift the famous trophy that year. Whilst this friendly match did not quite possess the grandeur of a competitive cup tie (or indeed the Norfolk and Norwich Charities Cup match against Tottenham Hotspur two years previously, which saw an attendance of 18,687), it was still able to attract a respectable crowd.

Due to all of these factors, this match was quite the occasion for the club. This is reflected in the menu, with a lavish meal laid on for the guests:

Starter – Soup
Main – Roast Chicken, peas, cauliflower and potatoes
Afters – Ice cream, cheese and biscuits
Coffee

Whilst rationing had begun to be wound down, many items were still subject to restrictions, for example, sugar and butter were controlled until 1953, whilst meat and bacon would be rationed until 1954. Therefore, we can infer that this meal would have been highly opulent to the attendees. This sense of grandeur would only have been added to by the venue, Samson and Hercules House on Tombland, which was at the time a premium venue, often frequented by US servicemen in the wartime years.

After the meal, toasts were made. The first to the King, the next in honour of the Canaries esteemed opposition, proposed by The Lord Mayor of Norwich, Alderman W. G. Cutbush. A response would then have been provided by P. Duxbury esq., Vice Chairman of the Trotters. This was followed by a few remarks from the Chairman of Norwich City, J. L Hanley esq. Such sporting formalities can trace their lineage back to the earliest days of the game, with its links to the playing fields of England’s public schools where some of the earliest codified forms of football emerged as a means of instilling the attributes and ideals of the Victorian gentleman.

The high profile status of these individuals indicates the importance of this match to Norwich’s sense of Civic Pride. Indeed, the likes of Cutbush were involved in the City’s post-war construction projects. The importance and connection of the Club to the community is also demonstrated by the arrangement of this match for a charitable cause, something reflected today by the Hospital Cup and the Community Sport Foundation.

But this was also a memorable occasion in its own right, with the menu itself prominently declaring itself a ‘souvenir’, and featuring a page for attendees to collect player’s signatures. Three names appear here:

The first appears to read as ‘M W Barrass’, for Malcolm Williamson Barrass, the centre half of Bolton Wanderers. Of fine footballing pedigree, Barrass’s father was also a professional player, turning out for Blackpool, Sheffield Wednesday and Manchester City. His son, Matt, would also go on to be a footballer. He married his fiancé less than a month after the match against Norwich, in June 1949. In over a decade at Bolton, Barrass would make nearly 300 appearances for the club. Most notably, he formed part of Bolton’s backline at Wembley when they met his father’s old club, Blackpool, in the legendary ‘Matthews Final’ of 1953. In this match, he was tasked with marking Stan Mortensen, who would score a hat trick that day. It was around this time that he would earn three England caps; away to Wales, at home to Ireland and at home to Scotland. Barrass later made appearances for Sheffield United and Wigan Athletic (where he acted as a player-manager). Despite not yet achieving his career highs, his signature still suggests the calibre of opposition Third Division Norwich would have faced.

The second signature is of Norwich’s Albert Foan, a centre half who played for the club between 1947 and 1950. After leaving the Canaries, London-born Foan would play for West Ham United for seven years. He would also enjoy a successful non-league career, playing for Margate, Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth. Perhaps his greatest achievement from this period was with Lowestoft, where he appeared in the FA Cup first round proper, in a 2-1 loss away to Leyton Orient. After retiring as a player, Foan would return to the Fine City and take up a coaching role.

The final name is perhaps the most recognisable to Norwich fans. Ken Nethercott would go on to be included within the inaugural Hall of Fame and make 416 appearances. His final match would come against Sheffield United in the FA Cup Quarter Final of 1959. Despite dislocating his shoulder whilst 1-0 down at Bramall Lane, Nethercott remained on the field the rest of the match, eventually helping to earn the team a 1-1 draw. His contributions helped to bring then Third Division Norwich City to national attention on that famous 1959 cup run – his saves keeping out shots from the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Matt Busby’s Manchester United, before City eventually succumbed to Luton Town in the Semi-Final.

With the advent of the ‘Premier League Era’, the stars and matches of this earlier age have slowly faded from memory. Stanley Matthews would be unlikely to feature in many people’s list of greatest ever players today, and closer to home, Johnny Gavin is far less of a household name when compared to Holt, Roberts and Pukki.

At first glance, this program shows a dinner that took place following an inconsequential match for an obscure pre-season competition over seventy years ago. On closer inspection, it offers a glimpse into the halcyon days of English football, when Norwich were a very different club to the one we have become accustomed, one that had not yet tasted the successes of later decades, or revelled in the topflight spotlight. Yet, this small fragment of our club’s history also presents us with the recognisable touchstones of a City and Club inextricably linked, of players who have gone down in our collective folklore, and of a focus on community that defines us to this day.