£5,000 APPEAL

Exeter City Need Money / To Resume

Exeter City Football Club directors are appealing for £5.000 to pay summer wages, to engage a first-class manager, renovate the ground, and "to do everything necessary to start up again." In their report the directors state that St James's Park was requisitioned in September 1939. and that the income from the authorities has been just sufficient to cover expenditure . They add: "With the European war coming to a conclusion and the League and Cup competitors preparing for next season's activities, it is essential that a great effort be made to raise sufficient, funds to make a good start."

Exeter City Football Club.
SEASON 1945-1946.
Ground:- St. James's Park, Exeter.
Colours: Red and white stripes, black knickers.
Directors:- Messrs S.H.Thomas (chairman), F.P.Cottey, A.T.Ford, C.W.H.Hill, J.Lake, J.G.R.Orchard, J.Rigby, J.G.Warne.
Secretary:- Mr Norman Foot.
Manager:- Mr Jack English.
Trainer:- Mr Ernie Edwards.

Players retained:
Goal:- C.Thomson.
Backs: J.F.Blood, R.Smith.
Half backs:- J.Angus, S.W.Cutting, J.Gallagher, T.Halliday, W.J. Shadwell, S.Walker.
Forwards: H.T.W.Bowl, C.Crawshaw, R.Ebdon, R.Freeman, C.Sutherley, G.Wardle.

New players:
Albert Bowden, inside right, Ladysmith-road School, Exeter. Casey, inside left, Royal Navy.
Stanley Challis, outside right, Lympstone.
Doran, inside forward, Royal Marines and Newcastle United.
Fairweather, right half, Royal Marines and Bradford City.
Hedger, goalkeeper, Everton.
William Jordan, right half, Southport.
W. Latham, centre half, Army and Aston Villa.
W.Lewis, left half, Army and Everton. M.McKale, centre half, Royal Marines and London amateurs
James McPhee, right back, Royal Air Force and Falkirk.
Monk, left back, St. Austell, Bath City, and Blackpool.
J.Murray, right back, Shawfield Juniors. Smith, left half, Royal Marines and Tottenham Hotspur.
V.Smith, outside right, Grays Athletic.
Charles Warren, inside right, Royal Air Force.
Woollacott, inside forward, Birmingham City juniors.
Woolley, half back, Nottingham Forest.

CITY FOOTBALL PROSPECTS.

Exeter City F. C. has already committed itself to a return to the Football League in 1945-46. What had been worrying Exeter City and other clubs similarly placed was the great amount of travelling that would have to be done if the League Management Committee proposals to resume were adopted, whereby the Third Division would revert to its peacetime constitution. This would have meant several long and inconvenient journeys to places like Port Vale, Mansfield, Norwich, Northampton, and Nottingham. But at a meeting of representatives of League clubs on June 14th, 1945, the Third Division, Southern Section, clubs followed the lead of the Northern Section by rejecting the Football League's recommen dation that these two sections should revert to their peacetime basis and composition.Instead they asked for a more regionalised competition which would be the means of cutting down travelling problems, and requested that the Southern Section be split into two groups for the coming season, the two groups to comprise combinations of clubs south and north of the Thames.
Exeter City are included in the former section, which will be:
Aldershot Bournemouth Bristol Rovers
Reading Cardiff City Swindon Town Torquay United Brighton Bristol City Crystal Palace Exeter City

Gillingham and Bath City may also be considered for vacancies. Voting on the coming season's plans was very close, but the scheme for the regionalised divisions was carried by 12 to 9.

MUCH WORK TO BE DONE.

As expected the Southern Section representatives threw out another recommendation which emanated from the League Management Committee, namely that after the end of the transitional period the Southern and Northern Sections should be merged and formed into Third and Fourth Divisions.

Much work has to be done to make St. James's Park fit for League football by the start of the season. The pitch is showing signs of war-time wear and tear. The big bank behind the far goal is densely overgrown with weeds. The erection of buildings on the popular side has taken away a big section of terracing. The groundsman, Mr Harry Greenaway, has been working solo on patching and seeding, an arduous and heartbreaking task, and labour reinforcements would be a great help in this direction.

EXETER CITY'S LOSSES.

The deaths occurred during the war years of Colonel F.J.C.Hunter, Mr M.J.McGahey, and Mr A.J.Chamberlain, directors, and A.L.Davies, H.R.Bamsey, and M.W.Lock, players. "Dicky" Fenwick, an Exeter City player of about forty years ago, died in November 1944.

Editorial Note:- Many more players, ex-players and others associated with the club were lost during the period from 1939 to 1945. 

Mr Jack English, the City manager, has left the club to take up a similar appointment with Darlington, one of his previous clubs.

SEASON 1945-46. THE FIRST OF FOOTBALL.
PUBLIC PRACTICE MATCHES AT ST. JAMES'S PARK.

Saturday, August 11th 1945.

RED AND WHITE STRIPES 8
WHITES 1.

Attendance 1,000.

Stripes:- Hedger; Lucas, Rich; Jordan, Latham, Woolley; V.Smith, Warren, Buller, Casey, Challis.
Whites:- Heath; Monk, Murray; Fairweather, McKale, M.Smith; Woollacott, Rue, Doran, McBeath, Lewis.

Saturday, August 18th 1945.

RED AND WHITE STRIPES 6
WHITES 4.

Stripes:- Croucher; Murray, Williams; McKale, Blood, Jordan; Woolley, Warren, Baxter, Casey, Buller.
Whites:- Hedger; Lucas, Stanley; Parry, Saunders, Lewis; Challis, Walker, Ebdon, Mitcheson, Rich.

Friday August 24th 1945

The European Services Baseball Championship final was staged at St James' Park with an attendance of around 1,500. The American Army from France outclassed and defeated the U.S. Navy side from Exeter by 10-0.