1910 Part One January to May - mostly Arsenal but I’ve included all the engagements that I can find that were undertaken by Henry Norris that year, to illustrate just how hectic his life was at that time.

Last updated: May 2008

Two general elections in the UK (Jan and Dec) while the Liberal Government tried to resolve the constitutional crisis caused by its budget; second one got 42 Labour MP’s and 84 Irish Nationalists elected and produced a majority for 1) restricting powers of the House of Lords; and 2) independence for Ireland. Dr Crippen killed his wife; tried, convicted. Killing of three policemen during a jewellery robbery; which led to Sydney Street siege (Dec). The Suffragettes got violent. Founded/opened: Westminster Cathedral; Girl Guides’ Association; London Palladium; first labour exchanges. Published: Howard’s End (E M Forster). First performed: Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis (Ralph Vaughan Williams), Der Rosenkavalier (Richard Strauss). First seen in England: post-Impressionist paintings. Two comets: the Great Daylight (January), Halley’s (April, May).

1910 marked a new departure for the Allen and Norris partnership: they had bought land for housing on the Southfields estate in Wandsworth. During the year the London Borough of Wandsworth passed the following applications to build, made by Allen and Norris:

12 houses in Wimbledon Park Road to the corner with Pulborough Road

4 houses in Standen Road, to the corner with Pulborough Road

a second lot of 8 houses in Wimbledon Park Road between Gatwick Road and

Hambledon Road

another set of 12 houses in Wimbledon Park Road, adjoining the original 12

29 houses in Gatwick Road, both sides of the road and reaching the corner with Wimbledon park Road

During the year Allen and Norris set up another office on the site, at 130 Wimbledon Park Road; with a garage (note that it’s not stables) to the rear.

Sat 1 January 1910 Henry Norris had an appointment in the evening which prevented him from going with the team to Derby County 3 Fulham 2.

Mon 3 January to Fri 14 January 1910 public meetings in Fulham as part of the General Election campaign; held by Hayes Fisher (Conservative) and Hemphill (Liberal). Henry Norris went to several of these, both Tory and Liberal, but as an interested citizen, he did not make speeches for either candidate.

Morning Tue 4 January 1910 as Mayor of Fulham Henry Norris opened a soup kitchen organised by the borough for the local unemployed. Edith also attended the ceremony.

Eve Wed 5 January 1910 the mayors and mayoresses of all 28 London boroughs, with their children, were amongst 1100 guests at the Mansion House (in the City, the official residence of the Lord Mayor of London) for a children’s fancy-dress ball.

8pm to aft 1am Thur 6 to Fri 7 January 1910 Henry Norris and Edith held a reception at the Fulham Town Hall in Walham Green, the first of several such occasions during the ten years he was mayor. Typically, such an evening would begin with a dinner, with speeches; and then open out into a reception with dancing. This first one organised by Henry and Edith had food from Harrods and the Imperial Orchestra for the dancing. In addition to the mayors and mayoresses of all 28 London boroughs, the guest-list included Lord Kinnaird the President of the Football Association and a genuine member of the Scottish peerage; the current (Liberal) MP for Fulham, Timothy Davies who owned the local department store; Hayes Fisher, past and future Tory MP for Fulham; all the councillors (of whatever political party) at the London Borough of Fulham; Phil Kelso; Edwin Armfield, who later became chairman of the local Tory Party; Henry Norris’ brother John Edward and his wife Helen; and Henry Norris’ sister Ada.

2.30 Mon 10 Jan 1910 there was a charity match at Craven Cottage between a Fulham FC XI and the cast of the pantomime currently running at the Lyric Hammersmith; played in fancy dress! I think Henry Norris attended this event.

Either Tue 11 January 1910 or Tue 18^th. Henry Norris and Edith attended a Sunday-school prize giving at the Fulham Town Hall. Edith gave out the prizes.

In an important departure from the views of the majority of football fans, on Fri 14 January 1910 (the eve of the General Election), in his football column in West London and Fulham Times Henry Norris told his readers that voting was more important than going to the football.

Sat 15 January 1910 it’s possible Henry Norris didn’t vote in the General Election himself, though he was certainly eligible: his account of the FA Cup tie Chesterfield 0 Fulham 0 reads as though he was there in person. The Liberals won the General Election but by a very small majority. In Fulham, ex-MP Hayes Fisher (who’d lost in 1906 after being implicated in a financial scandal) got back in; he continued as MP until being given a peerage in 1919, serving at the Local Government Board during World War 1.

By Mon 17 Jan 1910 in the ongoing saga of the maximum wage, the FA had issued a circular suggesting that it and bonuses should be abolished at the next AGM.

Afternoon Wed 19 January 1910 Henry Norris was probably present at the FA Cup replay Fulham 2 Chesterfield 1 after the away side had scored first.

Sat 22 January 1910 Henry Norris had an appointment in London and so missed Glossop 0 Fulham 1.

Eve Sat 22 January 1910 I’m not suggesting that Henry Norris knew a thing about these, let alone that he attended them, but two meetings took in a pub in Woolwich. The first was a half-yearly meeting of shareholders in Woolwich Arsenal FC Ltd, at which the club’s dire financial situation was made very clear; the second set up a committee to set about raising money to help. The meetings were probably called by George Leavey, who was a loyal supporter but also the club’s biggest creditor.

Eve Mon 24 January 1910 Henry Norris went to South Fulham Constitutional Club - not something he seems to have done very often. The evening was to celebrate Hayes Fisher being elected as MP for Fulham East.

Fri 28 January 1910 in his column in West London and Fulham Times Henry Norris expressed concern at the financial situation of Woolwich Arsenal FC, describing it as “the Senior Club in London”; but it was clear from what he wrote that he had NO interest in getting involved himself.

2.30pm Fri 28 January 1910 Henry Norris was still eligible to serve on the Metropolitan Water Board; this meeting was the first he’d attended since becoming mayor.

Sat 29 January 1910 Henry Norris was at Craven Cottage for the start of Fulham 0 Birmingham City 0 but had to leave 20 minutes before the end to keep another appointment; he had the result relayed to him by telephone. In West London and Fulham Times he mentioned that the fans had barracked one particular Fulham player who’d been having a bad game.

Mon 31 January 1910 Athletic News had several news items highlighting the financial trouble Woolwich Arsenal FC were in. Henry Norris seems to have read Athletic News regularly so if he didn’t know about their problems already he would have found out today. George Allison (The Mate) reported that a rescue committee had been formed in Rotherhithe to organise some charity events to raise money for the club.

7pm Wed 2 February 1910 the public gallery was open again (see November/December 1909 for why it had been shut) when London Borough of Fulham held its first full meeting since Christmas. After that was over, Henry Norris and Edith attended a whist drive in the town hall organised to raise money for a local cricket club.

Eve Fri 4 February 1910 Henry Norris and Edith attended the seventh annual supper of South Fulham Constitutional Club’s Provident Society, held at the King’s Hall. According to newspaper accounts of this, Norris recited a poem during his speech! Not one of his own, I think!

Sat 5 February 1910 a bad FA Cup day in London: Newcastle Utd 4 Fulham 0; Everton 5 Woolwich Arsenal 0; and Chelsea 0 Spurs 1. Henry Norris was at the reserve game at Craven Cottage, rather than in Newcastle; he expressed surprise (which the local press didn’t) at the scale of Fulham’s defeat.

Afternoon Mon 7 February 1910 Henry Norris attended another reserve game - I think he was the director with responsibility for the reserve team: Fulham Res 1 Leyton Res 3. He described Fulham’s performance as dire. In the evening, he and Edith were at Fulham Town Hall for a dance organised by the Fulham branch of the Primrose League (the women’s wing of the Conservative Party and - in Fulham - dominated by Mrs Hayes Fisher).

Tue 8 February 1910 the Mayor of Lambeth, Tory councillor Mr E Johnson, paid a visit to Fulham. Apparently as a result of this visit, on Fri 11 February 1910 the West London and Fulham Times reported that Henry Norris had agreed to stand in North Lambeth in the coming London County Council elections. He would be a Moderate Party (Tory) candidate of course; North Lambeth was a well-known Progressive (Liberal) stronghold.

5pm Tue 8 February 1910 Henry Norris and Edith took charge of and probably organised a party at Fulham Town Hall for 1000 local children. Their eldest daughter Joy made her first public appearance there, doing a dance while Edith played the piano for her. Henry Norris helped distribute the cakes.

4pm Thur 10 February 1910 Henry Norris acted as chairmen when representatives of all the nearby boroughs met at Fulham Town Hall (probably at his instigation) to discuss what could be done to reduce the heavy traffic on the local roads. Plus ça change!

Sat 12 February 1910 George Allison was at the Manor Ground to report on Woolwich Arsenal FC 0 Blackburn Rovers 1. This was a benefit match not for any one player but for the club as a whole. The directors were asking people to pay 1shilling rather than the usual 6d. But Allison saw very few people paying the extra. The crowd was not more than 9000.

Eve Mon 14 Feb 1910 Henry Norris’ decision to stand for the LCC in another borough had caused some resentment and anxiety in Fulham so beginning this evening he undertook a damage limitation exercise. He attended a concert at the Fulham Constitutional Club in Shorrolds Road - something he did not do very often - and used his speech to reassure his audience that he would continue to put Fulham first. However, until 5 March 1910 he campaigned in Lambeth, attending campaign meetings there.

Eve Wed 16 February 1910 A busy evening for Henry Norris. At the Fulham Town Hall he listened to the campaign meeting of the Progressive Party for a few minutes before (as Mayor)

chairing the first meeting of the committee which was organising an Army Pageant to be held in Fulham from 20 June to 2 July. He was later described by the West London and Fulham Times as “throwing himself heart and soul” into this event. Then he went to St Etheldreda’s church hall, Cloncurry Street for the Municipal Reform party’s first Fulham meeting in its LCC election campaign.

Sat 19 February 1910 a friendly was played: Woolwich Arsenal 2 Fulham 2 - indicating that the directors at Fulham were prepared to do a bit more than just express concern about Woolwich Arsenal’s financial troubles. I don’t know whether Henry Norris went to the Manor Ground for the game, but those Fulham directors who did go, no doubt heard the latest bad news first-hand. Local support for the match was dreadful: only £35 was taken in gate-money.

Eve Sun 20 February 1910 as Mayor, Henry Norris attended evening service at St Matthew’s Fulham to hear Rev Whitty preach his last sermon before leaving the borough for another job. Edith also went, with the wife of their friend Councillor Flèche.

Morning Mon 21 February 1910 Henry Norris was singled out in the Athletic News as a man whose activities contradicted the general belief that men involved in football didn’t bother to undertake public duties.

Afternoon Mon 21 February 1910 having made a big effort to get to a Fulham reserve game Henry Norris was rewarded with QPR Reserves 0 Fulham Reserves 0 and a “wretchedly small” crowd (his own description).

Eve Wed 23 February 1910 immediately after the usual meeting of the full Fulham council, Henry Norris and Edith attended a prize-giving ceremony at the Sherbrooke Road Evening Commercial Centre.

Afternoon Thursday 24 Feb 1910 Henry Norris did not see Barnsley 2 Fulham 1; he was in London. Thursday was his regular day for writing his Casual Notes column for West London and Fulham Times which always came out on Fridays. This particular column was published on Fri 25 February 1910 and expressed Norris’ pleasure at the deal on wages being reached between the Football League and the Southern League, saying that now players could be paid what they were worth. He made it clear that he thought many players were worth LESS than he was paying them at the moment.

Sat 26 February 1910 Henry Norris saw Fulham Reserves 3 Crystal Palace 0 in the South Eastern League.

End February 1910 Henry Norris was criticised in Fulham’s press for attending political meetings - some local commentators suggested that as mayor he should be more impartial. On Eve Wed 2 March 1910 Norris responded to this at the end of the usual Fulham Council meeting, making an unscheduled speech saying that his critics had not done enough to distinguish between his role as mayor and his rights as a private citizen.

Fri 4 March 1910 in his column in West London and Fulham Times Henry Norris noted that the chances of Woolwich Arsenal avoiding relegation from Football League Division One were small.

Sat 5 March 1910 was polling day in the London County Council elections; so Henry Norris did not see Fulham 2 Burnley 1, being out hustling for votes in Lambeth. He lost, though he cut his Progressive rival’s majority to only 150 votes.

If Henry Norris was still on the management committee of the Southern League, he would have attended a meeting on Mon 7 March 1910 with the management committee of the Football League which hammered out an agreement on bonuses and wages which both thought their members could agree to.

Henry Norris would almost certainly not have known this but around Tue 8, Wed 9 Mar 1910 Woolwich Arsenal FC ran out of money to pay the players’ wages; not for the first time, apparently, but for the first time during a football season rather than after the end of it.

During the evening of Wed 9 Mar 1910 Edith Norris was one of several people adopted as Conservative and Unionist Party candidates to stand in Sand’s End (where Henry Norris was a councillor) in the forthcoming elections to the Fulham Board of Guardians. Henry Norris was probably not at the meeting to give his wife personal support, because that evening, Wed 9 March 1910 at the Criterion Restaurant, Piccadilly, was the main meeting of the year for Kent Lodge number 15, the one at which the officials for the next twelve months took office; so he may have preferred to go to that. William Hall was elected Junior Warden at the meeting, the first step on the way to serving as the lodge’s master.

Afternoon Thur 10 March 1910 benefit match at Craven Cottage for Fulham FC’s trainer, Jock Hamilton, who’d also played for the club in previous years: Fulham v Chelsea. I couldn’t discover the score (not that it really mattered).

By Fri 11 Mar 1910 people in Woolwich would have been aware that a meeting of Woolwich Arsenal FC Ltd had been called, to put the company - and thus the club - into voluntary liquidation. On that Fri a news item even appeared in the Times about it.

2.30pm, Fri 11 March 1910 Henry Norris attended the regular meeting of the Metropolitan Water Board.

Sat 12 March 1910 Henry Norris seems to have been at South Eastern League fixture Fulham Reserves 6 Luton Town Reserves 0.

On Mon 14 March 1910 George Allison, writing as The Mate in Athletic News was trying to damp down the rumours that were flying around, about Woolwich Arsenal. His article said that at the Manor Ground on Saturday, for Woolwich Arsenal 0 Manchester Utd 0, he’d been assured that it wasn’t true that Woolwich Arsenal Ltd was being forced into bankruptcy by its two main creditors, including its bank. However, things were pretty grim: several players were owed money due to them from benefit matches; and the Manor Ground itself, though an asset in some senses, was heavily mortgaged. So the club was going to restructure its finances. It was not going out of business altogether.

Afternoon Mon 14 March 1910 Henry Norris was probably at London League fixture Fulham Reserves 5 QPR Reserves 0.

On Tue 15 March 1910 Bromley UDC passed a planning application from Kinnaird Park Estate Company, for a garage for a house on King’s Avenue; the house was not identified in the Minutes of the meeting but it was probably the one that KPEC had built during 1909.

On Fri 18 Mar 1910 in West London and Fulham Times Henry Norris mentioned that he’d read about Woolwich Arsenal’s liquidation. But he was more concerned with who was going to be relegated from Football League Division One; and he thought Chelsea and Spurs were more in danger than Woolwich Arsenal. In the Eve Fri 18 Mar 1910 an emergency meeting at Woolwich Town Hall put Woolwich Arsenal FC Ltd into liquidation under Section 182 of the Companies (Consolidation) Act 1908 which appointed an official to pay off its creditors and make what he could of its assets. Reports of the meeting made it clear that it had been organised by George Leavey, its biggest creditor; and that the alternative had been bankruptcy proceedings. The meeting appointed a temporary board of directors to serve during the liquidation process; Charles Brannan, who was known to Leavey, was appointed liquidator. Henry Norris did not attend this meeting - indeed, only shareholders were allowed to be present. But William Hall and possibly a second director of Fulham did go to Woolwich and try to get in. When talking about the evening later, Hall said that he’d gone out of sentiment, wanting not to see the oldest Football League club in London go to the wall. He was told that as he was not a shareholder he was not eligible to be at the meeting. But he did establish some kind of contact with Leavey. The second director was never named; it’s possible it was Norris. The point I’m making here is that it was Hall that was prime mover; and it was he that was named.

Sat 19 March 1910 Henry Norris probably attended Fulham 0 Wolves 0; he reported later that he didn’t understand how a match could contain so many chances and end goal-less. He may have gone specifically because Hayes Fisher MP and his wife were going; they were very enthusiastic during the match, but it didn’t do any good!

Afternoon Mon 21 March 1910 there was a meeting at the Grand Hotel Birmingham of Football League and Southern League club representatives; which ratified the decisions of previous meetings on bonuses and the maximum wage (it was going to be £5). Henry Norris might have attended as delegate for Fulham FC; but perhaps that was now William Hall’s job.

Eve Tue 22 March 1910 Henry Norris chaired a meeting at Fulham Town Hall organised to rouse public support for the borough’s army pageant (due end of June).

Fri 25 March to Mon 28 March 1910 was the Easter weekend so I am not sure whether Henry Norris attended any of the many fixtures, or went away with his family on holiday. The Reserve team fixtures were: 3.30pm Sat 26 March 1910 Fulham Reserves v Watford; and 11.15am Mon 28 March 1910 Fulham Reserves v Norwich City. Both South Eastern League fixtures I think. Also on Mon 28 March 1910 Chelsea v Woolwich Arsenal was a do-or-die fixture in the Football League Division One relegation zone: it ended 0-1.

3.30pm Tue 29 March 1910 Henry Norris was probably at Fulham Reserves v Chelsea Reserves; I couldn’t find the score anywhere.

Sat 2 April 1910 Henry Norris saw Fulham 3 Grimsby Town 2. And Woolwich Arsenal had another important win, away at Bristol City.

Eve Sun 3 April 1910 the first in a series of concerts at Fulham’s Granville Theatre took place; proceeds would go to help the unemployed in the borough. I couldn’t find evidence that Henry Norris had attended this; but he had been a prime mover in setting up the series.

Mon 4 April 1910 polling day in elections to local boards of Guardians. Edith Norris was elected in Sand’s End ward to serve on Fulham’s, getting more votes than any other candidate.

Mon 11 April 1910 Woolwich Arsenal got another win: 1-0 at home to Football League Division One leaders Aston Villa; in West London and Fulham Times on Fri 15 April 1910 Henry Norris said he thought they were now safe from relegation - and he was correct. He was less concerned about Woolwich Arsenal’s troubles than Fulham’s however - their continuing low crowds were worrying him.

Eve Wed 13 April 1910 at the regular meeting of full Fulham Council, Henry Norris was re-appointed its representative on the Metropolitan Water Board. He would serve for another three-year term from 1 June 1910.

Thur 14 April 1910 Fulham FC played another friendly match in an attempt to help a club in financial trouble; this time the opponents were Reading FC and I think the match was at Reading’s home ground at Elm Park. I don’t know the score.

Eve Fri 15 April 1910 another meeting about the future of Woolwich Arsenal FC, at the Royal Mortar Hotel Woolwich, after a previous deal to rescue the club had collapsed at the last minute in a welter of disagreement and recrimination. This latest meeting was again organised by George Leavey, and was attended by John Humble, taking part in the club’s affairs for the first time since resigning from the board of directors in 1907.

AND NOW: the first indication that Henry Norris was involved in the rescue of Woolwich Arsenal. By this time the collapse of the club and its restructuring had been going on for nearly three months without his doing anything much to help. But on Wed 20 April 1910 the Morning Leader published a statement from Henry Norris denying that Woolwich Arsenal and Fulham were about to merge. By Fri 22 April 1910 local papers in Fulham and Woolwich were full of rumour: that Fulham FC would pay all Woolwich Arsenal’s debts (which totalled over £7000); that Woolwich Arsenal would move to Craven Cottage and ground-share; that Woolwich Arsenal would be absorbed into Fulham FC and cease to exist as a separate entity. George Leavey had had to issue a statement, admitting that a new limited company was being formed to run Woolwich Arsenal but stating that it would only have his support if the club continued to play at the Manor Ground.

It’s therefore fair to say that between Fri 15 April and Wed 20 April 1910 Henry Norris became actively involved in the affairs of Woolwich Arsenal FC for the first time.

Fri 22 Apr 1910 a letter from George Leavey appeared in the Woolwich-based Kentish Independent announcing that shares in the new limited company would go on sale next week.

2.30pm, Fri 22 April 1910 in the midst of all this uproar and busy-ness, Henry Norris managed to attend the Metropolitan Water Board meeting as usual. At 18.00 that day, a meeting of the Football Association voted to abolish the current rules on wages and bonuses - a resolution was never carried out; I can only suppose it was voted out at the AGM. I don’t know whether Henry Norris attended the FA meeting - he could have got to it easily after leaving the MWB meeting - they never lasted very long - but whether he did or not, he must have been pleased at its outcome.

Between Fri 22 and Fri 29 Apr 1910 there was a break-in at Henry Norris’ home. The thieves were still at large on 29 April, when the item dropped out of the news.

Sat 23 April 1910 Henry Norris probably attended the South Eastern League fixture Fulham Reserves 0 Portsmouth 0.

Mon 25 April to Sat 30 April 1910 shares in the latest company to try to rescue Woolwich Arsenal were on sale in the Woolwich area; one share cost £1 and could be bought in instalments.

Eve Mon 25 April 1910 a dinner was held at Woolwich Town Hall to celebrate Woolwich Arsenal’s escape from relegation and the launch of the new limited company. Henry Norris was invited to go but didn’t attend; he sent a “very friendly” letter instead. Eve Mon 25 April 1910 the annual football match Fulham Board of Guardians Staff v London Borough of Fulham Staff was played at Craven Cottage so Norris was probably at that instead.

Eve Wed 27 Apr 1910 Henry Norris was unable to accompany Edith to the annual dinner of Fulham Philanthropic Society; I couldn’t find out what he was doing instead.

Fri 29 April 1910 Henry Norris’ last Casual Notes column of season 1909/10 in West London and Fulham Times was all about Fulham FC; not a word about Woolwich Arsenal. Norris warned his Fulham fan readers that due to Fulham’s low gates last season there would be less money for new players next season. However, elsewhere in WLFT football reporter Gee Whiz blamed Fulham’s poor gates on poor play. Norris ended his column by hoping that he wouldn’t be quite so busy next season and would be able to see more games.

Sat 30 April 1910 was the date of the official take-over of Woolwich Arsenal limited by the new limited company, the one which eventually turned into Norris and Hall’s Woolwich Arsenal Football and Athletic Company Limited.

Sat 30 April 1910 was the last day of season 1909/10. Woolwich Arsenal didn’t have a fixture. Norris was at White Hart Lane to see Spurs beat Chelsea 2-1 and send Chelsea down to FL Division Two; so this day was a break with the past few years for him - he went to a fixture which was important to Woolwich Arsenal, rather than to a Fulham game. Meanwhile at Craven Cottage it was the old, old story: Fulham 0 Clapton Orient 0; Fulham came seventh in FL Division Two.

At the end of season 1910/11 George Leavey began to pay the players’ wages out of his own pocket.

Shortly after end of season 1910/11 Fulham’s scout, ‘Punch’ McEwan (who later worked for Arsenal FC) approached Charles Buchan - then an amateur - on behalf of Fulham FC. Buchan was interviewed at Craven Cottage by Henry Norris and William Hall but refused their offer of 30 shillings per week plus time off for him to continue his teacher training. He’d already been offered £3 per week by Bury, who played in Football League Division One (though he didn’t take that offer either). Buchan played a large but unintentional part in the downfall of Henry Norris; see my file Footballers Who Came Back to Haunt Him for more on that.) [ROGER CAN I HAVE A LINK TO SLHAUNT2 HERE PLEASE.]

Mon 2 May 1910 an advertisement appeared in Athletic News for the sale of shares in a new limited company to run Woolwich. Neither William Hall nor Henry Norris were directors of this company; they were all men based in Woolwich or Plumstead. A prospectus for this sale was finally ready on Fri 6 May 1910. Copies were delivered to almost every address in Woolwich and Plumstead. The closing date for the sale was Tue 10 May.

Fri 6 May 1910 Henry Norris missed this regular meeting of the Metropolitan Water Board.

Just before midnight on Fri 6 May 1911 Henry Norris’ busy life was made busier by the death of King Edward VII. Standard procedure was for all major institutions to express regret and send condolences; the Metropolitan Water Board held an extraordinary meeting on Tue 10 May 1910 to do this. Henry Norris was amongst many members unable to attend a meeting at such short notice.

4pm Tue 10 May 1910 the directors of Woolwich Arsenal’s proposed new limited company met to ascertain how many shares in it had been sold.

In the Eve Tue 10 May 1910 As mayor, Henry Norris chaired an extraordinary meeting of the London Borough of Fulham which he had called to do the ‘regret and condolences’ over the death of Edward VII, to read the proclamation of the accession of the new king and to congratulate George V. He made a speech in which he called the late king “humanly human”; was his description ironical, I wonder?

Eve Wed 11 May 1910 George Leavey admitted to an unnamed London paper that not enough shares had been sold in the company trying to take over Woolwich Arsenal. It emerged rather later in the year that the liquidator of Woolwich Arsenal’s original limited company had to be paid £900 by end of business on Thur 12 May 1910 if the new limited company were to try to buy up the old one. By Thur 12 May 1910 at the latest, George Leavey despaired of finding enough money to save Woolwich Arsenal (and pay the money he was owed) in Woolwich. Between 30 April and 13 May 1910 representatives of Woolwich Arsenal (probably Leavey although no one’s name was specifically stated) approached the men they knew at Fulham FC and offered to move Woolwich Arsenal to Craven Cottage; though exactly what this offer meant became the subject of much dispute.

AND SO HENRY NORRIS BECAME INVOLVED IN WOOLWICH ARSENAL.

FOR THE REST OF THE SAGA OF NORRIS AND ARSENAL 1910, SEE THE NEXT FILE.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE SOURCES OF ALL THIS INFORMATION, SEND ME AN EMAIL AND I’LL SEND YOU THE SOURCES FILE.

Copyright Sally Davis September 2007

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