Cray Wanderers

Cray Wanderers FC is one of the oldest football clubs in the world, with the club claiming that they are the second oldest after Sheffield FC although there are also claims that Hallam FC hold that distinction with both clubs being formed in 1860. The clubs’ origins go back to the Kent villages of St Mary Cray and St Paul's Cray.

The 'Wands' were formed by workers building the railway between London and Kent, going to join the Kent League in 1894. Cray were crowned champions in 1901-02 as they operated as a full-time professional concern and acting as a feeder club to Woolwich Arsenal. Games were played at Fordcroft on Star Lane.

Sadly, Wanderers lost their home ground in 1937 after spells in the London and Kent Leagues as it was purchased to become a cemetery, meaning that the club had to drop down to amateur league football while sharing various grounds.

They rejoined the London League in 1951 and three years later Cray found a new home ground at Grassmeade. The next twenty years would see the Wands compete in many different leagues. They won the London League in 1956–57 and 1957–58 before moving to the Aetolian League.

After that, Cray competed in the Great London, Metropolitan and Metropolitan-London Leagues before joing the London Spartan League in 1975, two years after moving to a new home at Oxford Road where Johnny Biddle and Jimmy Wakeling would both prove to be successful managers.

In 1976-77 Cray were champions of the London Spartan League, before joining the Kent League the season after. The Wands won the championship in 1980-81 under manager Harry Richardson. A new club chairman Gary Hillman arrived during the 1994-95 season with ambition for the club.

Oxford Road - a former home of Wanderers
picture uploaded from the internet

He initiated a move to share with Bromley FC at Hayes Lane in 1998 as Oxford Road did not have floodlights, before the team added more titles in 2002-03 and 2003-04, with the final win ending in promotion to the Isthmian League.

After missing out in the playoffs the previous season, Wanderers did go up by that route at the end of the 2008-09 season with a victory over Metropolitan Police in the final after earlier defeating Worthing. 2010 saw the club mark its 150th anniversary with a three-team tournament with Sheffield and Hallam.

Club offices while tenants at Bromley

Meanwhile, the team continued to consolidate in the Isthmian Premier Division under loyal boss Ian Jenkins who joined the club in the 1993 before his managerial appointment in 1999. Chairman Hillman worked hard on a plan for Wanderers to build a new stadium.

This would include leisure facilities and housing on a green field site at Sandy Lane nearer to the clubs’ spiritual home. Fans of all clubs were encouraged to add their support for the scheme, with Hillman also lobbying politicians such as Boris Johnson.

The plans went before Bromley council in 2012 and were unanimously rejected to strike a crushing blow to the club, whose lease with Bromley was due to run out in 2014. Keith Bird replaced Jenkins in September 2013, as an extended lease was signed with their landlords.

Cray were relegated to Division One North of the Isthmian League a few months later to complete the misery. However, more promising news was not far away. Gary Abbott and Mike Paye became joint managers in October 2014, while a conditional contract to purchase Flamingo Park Sports Centre was signed.

The site on the A20 Sidcup Bypass offered much potential prior to the appointment of Tommy Warrilow as manager in January 2015 who managed to rally his troops as a second successive relegation was avoided. Despite this, Cray turned to former player Tony Russell to lead the side for the following season.

The 2015-16 season ended in semifinal playoff defeat to Harlow Town, while off the pitch plans for the new home were passed by the council. However, they were later refused by the Mayor of London after the team had been transferred to Division One South of the Isthmian League.

Hayes Lane, Bromley. Home to the Wands for many years

The 2017-18 season saw another playoff defeat at the semifinal stage, this time against Walton Casuals. Twelve months later as a South East Division side, Cray lifted the title to return to the Premier Division, while revised plans for Flamingo Park were passed, allowing the club to concentrate on amassing the required finances.

In March 2022 Neil Smith replaced Russell as manager, taking Wanderers to the playoffs in 2022-23 where they were defeated in the semifinals by Hornchurch. Work got underway at Flamingo Park in August 2023 at the start of Cray’s final season as tenants of Bromley FC.

Games took place while work continued on the ground, which was installed with an artificial playing surface, Flamingo Park was scheduled to stage its first competitive match with a league fixture against Cray Valley PM on Tuesday 13th August 2024.

Cray Wanderers FC will compete in the Isthmian League Premier Division in the 2024-25 season.

My visit

Cray Wanderers 2 Tooting & Mitcham United 3 (Friday 27th August 2010) Isthmian League Premier Division (att: 254)

Sometimes on my groundhopping adventures over the years, things don't turn out as I had originally planned, and this trip was a classic case in point. I was to meet my pal Paul Foster on the tube to hand over some tickets for the England match the following week on my way to Colchester United v Carlisle United. 

This would be a new tick on my way to hopefully visiting all 92 League clubs. By the time we reached Baker Street my plans had changed. Paul was heading to Bromley to support Tooting. Through Mark Turner, a mutual pal from cricket, he had started going to a few Terrors games. 

He was due to meet Mark at the Sports Bar at Victoria station. The lure of company and a few beers drew me in hook line and sinker. We watched Stuart Broad give the Pakistan bowling attack a good hiding a couple of days before the famous match fixing scandal broke, before catching the train down to Bromley South.

We met with some other lads heading to the game over the road from the station in the Richmal Crompton Wetherspoon pub, where my mood was enhanced even greater as the fine TEA from the Hogsback Brewery was available. The walk to the ground wasn't a problem! 

On arrival we went into the fine sports bar near to the turnstiles as we checked the TV for latest updates and met with some other away fans. To see a description of the Hayes Lane ground and my many other visits, please visit the Bromley page here. 

I'd heard about various characters who supported Tooting and I wasn't disappointed. They really made some noise and got behind their side. They were rewarded after a cagey opening when Rob Haworth headed home seven minutes before the interval. 

I was having a fine evening and spent plenty of time in the company of Gary, a Charlton fan who'd been dragged along by a pal as we discussed the places we'd visited and the game in general. Wands would draw level five minutes after the break.

Steve Lozano got down the flank and dragged the ball back for on loan striker Lewis Perkins to sweep home towards goal only for it to be stopped on the line by the hand of Tooting defender Hasim Dean. Laurent Hamici smashed home a penalty with referee Colin Lymer surprisingly failing to issue a card of any colour to the offender as he deemed him to have accidentally fallen on the ball.

The Terrors fans kept the faith with their heroes as young keeper Jamie Butler made some good stops. This led to Tooting regaining the lead against the run of play as a James Nicholls bullet header flew into the Cray net from a Karl Beckford corner. 

The game was a cracker for the neutral and it got even better when Wands drew level once more. Butler undid his previous good work when dropping a Danny Phillips cross, which Adam Cottrell stabbed home. Tooting weren't finished and they grabbed the winner with just six minutes left on the clock as Dean whipped in a cross for substitute Barry Stevens to head home. 

All three Terrors goals had come from headers, something that Cray boss Jenkins was quick to point out in post match interviews. We caught a busy bus over the road from the ground back to the station. We'd just missed a train, so Paul and I adjourned to a bar to finish off the evening before returning to the city.

I hadn't expected to be at a Cray Wanderers home game when I left the flat, but I was so glad I ended up doing so!

Photos from inside Flamingo Park with thanks to my old mate Tony Foster who attended the first competitive game there against Cray Valley PM in August 2024.