Pride of Anglia - Ipswich Town Football Club
since 1878
The Very First European Tour
At the end of the 1910-11 season Ipswich - then competing in the Southern Amateur League - made their first visit to the Continent at the invitation of Czech side SK Slavia. Leaving Suffolk on Wednesday May 3rd they travelled by boat and train across Holland, Belgium, Germany and Czech to Prague, arriving on the Friday. They played two matches against SK Slavia that weekend, losing the first game four-nil and drawing the second one-one. William “Billy” F. Garnham, club captain at the time, was in charge of the tour party, which included several guest players from Bury United, and numbered fifteen in all.
Today SK Slavia play at the 21,000 capacity Eden Stadium, but at the time of Town’s visit “The Sewns” played at the Letna Stadium - their home from the 1890’s until 1953 – and the two games against Ipswich drew respectable crowds of 3,000 and 4,500 there. The Czech’s were coached by former Celtic and Scotland player John “Jake” Madden. Madden presided over team matters from 1905 to 1930 - a highly successful era for the club - during which they won the Czechoslovak title four times, the Bohemian title twice, the CSF title twice and the Bohemia Cup on five occasions.
Full coverage of the trip was given by the Ipswich Evening Star on the tour party’s return which we have reproduced here:
Evening Star & Daily Herald, Thursday May 11, 1911: IPSWICH FOOTBALLERS ABROAD
Evening Star & Daily Herald, Friday May 12, 1911: IPSWICH FOOTBALLERS IN BOHEMIA
Evening Star & Daily Herald, Saturday May 13, 1911: FOOTBALL IN BOHEMIA
A banquet was held in Town’s honour on their third and final night in Prague, and an autographed menu from the dinner recently came to light – a menu that has been signed on its reverse by the majority of Town and SK Slavia players and a number of dignitary’s present that evening. It was discovered amongst the personal papers of the late Cecil B. Potter. Potter, an inside-forward, scored 3 goals in 9 appearances for the Blue's during the 1910-11 campaign and was then invited to join Town on their first European adventure. On his return he signed professional for Norwich and stayed with the Canaries until the start of the Great War in 1914. He later went on to manage Hartlepool, Derby County, Huddersfield Town and then Norwich, resigning his position from the later in January 1929.
Who’s Who
The Ipswich Town party – who were accompanied by a reporter from the Ipswich Evening Star & Daily Herald – included:
William Randall - Guest player
C. Tilbrook - Full Back. 36 appearances for Town between 1910 and 1913.
H.G. Rowsell - Left Back. 13 appearances for Town between 1907 and 1910.
E.M. Ashton - Half Back. 11 appearances for Town between 1908 and 1910.
William ‘Billy’ F. Garnham (Captain) - Wing Half. 128 appearances and 4 goals for Town between 1907 and 1914.
T. F. Freeman - Right Back. 5 appearances for Town between 1910 and 1911.
A. Beveridge - Guest player.
Ernest Bugg - Inside Forward. 62 appearances and 48 goals for Town between 1911 and 1914.
Cecil B. Potter - Centre Forward. 9 appearances and 3 goals for Town in the 1910-11 season.
C.W.H. Cullingford - Inside Forward. 57 appearances and 30 goals for Town between 1909 and 1914.
O.L. Owen - Centre Forward. 1 appearance for Town in the 1911-12 season.
H.C. Sore - Guest player from Bury United
C.H. Clarke - Guest player
Sydney Ward - Guest player
Credits
Many thanks to Don White for the loan of the autographed menu and to Alasdair Ross for the group photo of the Ipswich and SK Slavia players.