The 1940 League Cup Final
On Friday, 1st September, 1939, Adolf Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland. The football that Saturday went ahead as Neville Chamberlain did not declare war on Germany until Sunday, 3rd September. The government immediately imposed a ban on the assembly of crowds and as a result the Football League competition was brought to an end. Blackpool, who had won all three games so far that season, was top of the First Division table at the time.
On 14th September, the government gave permission for football clubs to play friendly matches. In the interests of public safety, the number of spectators allowed to see these games was limited to 8,000. These arrangements were later revised, and clubs were allowed gates of 15,000 from tickets purchased on the day of the game through the turnstiles.
The government imposed a fifty mile travelling limit and the Football League divided all the clubs into seven regional areas where games could take place. London clubs arranged for their regional competition to begin on the last Saturday in October. One group was composed of Arsenal, Brentford, Charlton, Chelsea, Fulham, Millwall, Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. The other group included Aldershot, Brighton, Clapton Orient, Crystal Palace, Leyton Orient, QPR, Reading, Southend and Watford.
After the declaration of war in September 1939, Adolf Hitler did not order the attack of France or Britain as he believed there was still a chance to negotiate an end to the conflict between the countries. As there were virtually no Allied military land operations on the Western Front, this period became known as the Phoney War. As Britain had not experienced any bombing raids, the Football League decided to start a new competition entitled the Football League War Cup.
The entire competition of 137 games including replays was condensed into nine weeks. The first two rounds were regionalised and staged over two legs. In the first round, West Ham overcame Chelsea 5-2 on aggregate then Leicester 4-1. In the second leg 16-year-old Eddie Chapman, made his debut, and his match fee was 30 shillings (£1.50). Chapman only made seven league appearances for West Ham before becoming club secretary (1956-86).
In the third round West Ham drew 3-3 with Huddersfield Town but won 3-1 in the replay at Upton Park. In the quarter final round West Ham beat Birmingham 4-2 with George Foreman, Len Goulden, Archibald Macaulay and Sam Small scoring the goals.
The semi-final against Fulham took place at Stamford Bridge in front of 32,799 people. This was the largest crowd to watch a war-time match so far. West Ham took an early lead with a Fulham own-goal. This was followed by goals by Len Goulden, Stan Foxall and Sam Small. West Ham appeared to be coasting to an easy victory until Fulham scored three goals in 17 minutes. However, they held on to win 4-3.
By the time the final took place, the "Phoney War" had come to an end. On 10th May, 1940, Adolf Hitler launched his Western Offensive and invaded France. In the days leading up to the final, the British Expeditionary Force was being evacuated from Dunkirk.
The final against Blackburn Rovers took place on Saturday, 8th June, 1940. The government insisted that the kick-off was put back to 6.30 p.m. so that the war effort was not impeded. Despite the fears that London would be bombed by the Luftwaffe, over 42,300 fans decided to take the risk of visiting Wembley. (The Blitz did not begin until 7th September, 1940). Before the game started the band of the Irish Guard played the National Anthem and that of our French allies.
West Ham made a good start to the game and James Barron, the Blackburn goalkeeper, made two great saves from Stan Foxall. In the 34th minute Foxall went past several Blackburn players on the left-wing before giving it to Len Goulden who passed it onto George Foreman who fired in a fierce shot that Barron who could only push the ball out to a waiting Sam Small who scored easily from close-range.
The midfield of Len Goulden, Archibald Macaulay, Ted Fenton and Joe Cockroft were on top form and this enabled West Ham to take control of the game. However, injuries to full-back and captain Charlie Bicknell and Goulden made the last 20 minutes a struggle. Centre-half Dick Walker, admitted that the team "struggled a bit" but they were able to hang onto a 1-0 victory.
Left to right, Corporal Norman Corbett, Ted Fenton, Charlie Bicknell,
Archie Macaulay and George Foreman.
Ted Fenton did not attend the post-match celebrations. "Austerity was the watchword everywhere. The Wembley crowd was restricted in numbers by the police and after the game the players quietly split up and went straight back to our service units."
However, most of the team did go for a drink together. Dick Walker recalled: "Most of the lads had an informal cup winning reception in the Boleyn pub near the ground. We got back there in time to get in a few pints before closing time. I remember my medal going round and round the public bar."
YouTube Videos of the 1940 Cup Final