At a recent trip to the Chelsea Museum at Stamford Bridge – no don’t ask – I bumped into an old friend of ours, The London War Cup! It’s a lovely thing but clearly there was something not quite right. What was it? Something didn’t seem to add up. I wandered around with a strange empty feeling nagging away at my brain. What was it? I just couldn’t put my finger on it then…BANG! My mind lit up with the realisation: Why the hell is it in the Chelsea Museum and not at Griffin Park? We won it, it should be ours.
After a little investigation – actually asking someone – I found out that Chelsea claim they were the last winners of the cup in 1945. Hold on! Just because Hitler decided to shoot himself, Chelsea get to keep the cup forever. How is that fair? Clearly it’s not, so what can we do about it?
My initial reaction was to start another war so the cup can be reintroduced and we would have another chance to play for it. On a practical level this is harder than I initially thought. Recent wars against Argentina, Iraq etc have failed to reignite the passion for a War Cup, so clearly it will have to be a fully fledged World War. But, as Germany seem to have everything they need, Japan are in the doldrums, North Korea and Pakistan with few friends to kick off a full scale World War we’ll have to think of something else.
I suppose we could sneak in and steal it but as I reckon that’s how they got it in the first place, I think we should take the high moral ground on this one and ask for a winner takes all rematch. As recent history shows we would probably lose that encounter [over two legs], so maybe that’s not the answer and it’s probably not fair on other winners of the War Cup.
So, who were the other winners of the London War Cup? Er, Reading in 1941. Eh? Yes, just Reading NOT Chelsea! The London War Cup ran for two seasons only. We lost to Reading in ’41 and beat Portsmouth in ’42. Therefore the current champions are Brentford NOT Chelsea!
Throughout the war period there was also a Football League War Cup. West Ham won it in 1940 and Preston beat Arsenal after a replay in 1941. 1942 saw Wolves beat Sunderland over two legs. The final three seasons saw a regional competition with the southern finalists playing the northern finalists in a winner takes all battle. Blackpool beat Arsenal in ’43, Charlton and Villa shared the cup in ’44 and Chelsea LOST to Bolton Wanderers in ’45.
Chelsea’s meagre claim to the cup is that they won the southern area final in ’45 but that was simply a semi-final against Millwall to see who would play Bolton in the Final of the Football League War Cup.
Brentford are the rightful owners of the London War Cup as current champions. It’s the only cup we have ever won and it should take pride of place in any new Brentford Museum that might be built at Lionel Road.
Seriously, I want it back! Should Beesotted start a campaign?
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Outrageous behaviour, I am all for lobbying to get it back in it’s rightful home. I am trying to get some press coverage this week-end with the play-off coming up.
dermot kavanagh sunday times
Good luck with that yes reading won the first war cup but we got little recognition in the annuals of football maybe that was because the fa decided to host an England international on the same day why me thinks that they were trying to distract from the country witnessing the abilities of the greatest manager we have ever had whose name has been thrown into obscurity for whatever reason (I have my own thoughts about that ) and with it went any acknowledgement of the war cup which unfortunately for you means leaving it where it is ie let sleeping dogs lie least the name of the late great Joe edelston be resurected for all to see this is the man to whom matt busbey turned to for advice yet his name is never mentioned just whispered behind closed doors along with his son Maurice whose England caps are not even recognised as football during the war has been all but bypassed in any of the history books on football wish you well in your efforts to reclaim your trophy,the great granddaughter of the greatest manager England never had
Yes, only just found this out. We definetly need to do something to bring it back to GP
https://www.change.org/p/chelsea-football-club-give-the-london-war-cup-back-to-brentford-as-it-is-rightfully-ours?just_created=true
The London war cup was merged into the Southern League War Cup and they carried on using the same trophy. Chelsea were the last team to win it, hence why it currently resides at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea won the trophy in a final at Wembley attended by 90,000, including the royal family. It was a final and widely promoted as such, not a semi-final as you claim.
In any case, by your logic, Bolton are the rightful owners of the trophy. Perhaps they should be campaigning for its “return”. Not exactly the Elgin Marbles though is it?