This week is the 60th anniversary of Harwich & Parkeston Football Club’s famous trip to Wembley Stadium, and took most of the residents of Harwich with them!!
100,000 spectators packed out the old Wembley Stadium to watch The Shrimpers play against Pegasus, a combined university side from Oxford and Cambridge. Harwich, having been devastated earlier in the year by floods, needed a boost and a trip to Wembley was just what was needed.

Having beaten Whitton United, Harrogate, Clevedon, Leytonstone and Walton & Hersham the players and supporters had a trip to Wembley to look forward to. Rosettes, pennants and woolly hats were made in the black and white colours of the club, leaving the towns shops sold out of ribbon! A queue formed at the Royal Oak and tickets sold out. Ticket prices started at 2/6d for a standing ticket and went up to 12s. for seated.
Six special coach services and three steam train special services ran to take everyone to London and thunderflashes were placed on the railway tracks as part of the celebrations as the train’s left Dovercourt station. Along the route at Kelvedon one supporter’s family stood on the railway embankment waving black and white pom-poms to fans on the train, who waved back enthusiastically.
The stage was set for the greatest day in the club’s history.

Mrs Emily Tovell (landlady of The Royal Oak) was waiting at the Harwich HQ to receive the message and flash the half time score out through the town and out to eleven lightships in the North Sea. The message was then passed on to Trinity House depot, the stationers and fishmongers so that posters could be placed in their windows, allowing the few remaining Harwich residents to know the scores, and then at 4.55pm the Wembley radio plan was then repeated allowing the final score to be beamed out by Trinity House to seafaring fans.

Thomas Moran, ex Harwich publican and treasurer of the club, flew to London from Dublin aged 83 to watch the match having been with the club since at least 1893 he was not going to miss this big moment!

A song (sang to the tune of Rudolph the red nosed reindeer) was also penned by one imaginative supporter!
“We haven’t come from Blackpool
We aren’t from The Smoke,
We are the good old Shrimpers,
The rough & ready blokes,
We’re going to give a good show,
And if we win the cup,
We’ll fill it up with Champagne, so wish us all good luck”

On that bright and sunny day the supporters were entertained before the match by The Royal Airforce band, and there was the traditional community singing. Harwich supporters far outnumbered those of Pegasus, having stopped en route to pick up more supporters. Pegasus though had the added incentive of making football history by being the only team to win two Wembley finals in two appearances. After the teams were presented to the Lord Bishop of Willesden the national anthem was sung. Pegasus won the toss, giving them the advantage of the strong wind. At half time the score stood at 3-0 to Pegasus and by full time the Pegasus players had scored three more goals, thus winning 6-0. The Harwich players struggled gallantly against the universities side and the supporters awarded the team full marks.

Supporters returned from their day out deflated by defeat and walked home thinking “if only…” after an enjoyable day out on an occasion the town will never forget and which has never, as yet, been repeated.