Swindon Supermarine FC is a non-league football club that was formed in 1992 following the merger of local sides Supermarine FC and Swindon Athletic FC; who were both struggling financially at the time.
The club is based in South Marston on the north eastern outskirts of the Wiltshire town. Athletic had been previously called Penhill FC until 1989 after being formed in 1968, playing their football in the Hellenic League.
Supermarine, who were formed as Vickers Armstrong and then just Vickers were formed in 1946, also played their football at that level from 1982 as part of the sporting section of the Vickers Armstrong engineering company, which also partook in cricket, rugby, archery and bowls.
The new club were placed in the Hellenic League Premier Division. They went on to be crowned the 1997-98 champions under the leadership of John Fisher and Don Rogers, but were denied promotion because of grading issues at Supermarine Road.
Wednesday 15th August 2012
I had arrived in Swindon as I was returning from a jaunt to Devon the day before and a day of visiting new sports grounds. My plan was to go to that evenings FA Cup replay between Shrivenham and Kidlington and instead of relaxing in the pub before catching the bus I decided to take the chance to visit Supermarine as I didn't know when I'd get another.
I'd attempted to get inside Swindon Town's County Ground without any success, but had higher hopes of my next venture. The number seven bus dropped me at the end of Supermarine Road, near to Honda's UK factory on a large business park with the use of an excellent vale day rider ticket.
A few minutes later I was outside the ground where fortunately enough there was someone from the club going inside. He kindly let me follow him. The Webb's Wood Stadium was a very tidy venue and obviously had plenty of improvements to it in recent times.
We knew that the team were putting a real shift in and defending resolutely, but it was surely a matter of time before the equaliser. Ball retention was poor from the visitors as they invited further pressure. An occasional break away came as welcome rest bite.
Special mention must be made of chief official Dale Wootton bringing play back for a foul after initially trying to play advantage. He had a good game, but the fact that this was remembered probably sums up the quality of the game.
The club is based in South Marston on the north eastern outskirts of the Wiltshire town. Athletic had been previously called Penhill FC until 1989 after being formed in 1968, playing their football in the Hellenic League.
Supermarine, who were formed as Vickers Armstrong and then just Vickers were formed in 1946, also played their football at that level from 1982 as part of the sporting section of the Vickers Armstrong engineering company, which also partook in cricket, rugby, archery and bowls.
The new club were placed in the Hellenic League Premier Division. They went on to be crowned the 1997-98 champions under the leadership of John Fisher and Don Rogers, but were denied promotion because of grading issues at Supermarine Road.
Dave Hawkins took over as manager before he was succeeded by Alan Dyton in January 1999, as the ground issues were resolved in time for the club to win the title once more in 2000-01 when they were then accepted into the Southern League.
Clive Maguire was appointed as manager in July 2001 before being replaced by John Murphy as 'Marine' initially struggled in their new status. Murphy departed in September 2002, with Tom Jones coming in to lead the side for a short spell before the arrival of Ray Baverstock.
Tommy Saunders became the latest Marine manager when appointed in January 2003, lasting only a couple of months before being replaced by Mark Collier. The club purchased their Hunts Copse ground in South Marston in the summer of 2005.
Collier’s side reached the end of season play offs in 2005-06, losing out to Hemel Hempstead Town. However, the team were successful the following season, as Burnham and then Taunton Town were defeated in the play-offs to result in promotion to the Premier Division.
The club built off the pitch as youth and ladies sides being added to Marine. Financial problems reared their head in the summer of 2010 with a shortfall of £50,000 being revealed owing to poor cup form and the withdrawal of major sponsors.
A fans consortium was put together and through various incentives they solved the problem, which included the selling of the stadium naming rights to local company H J Webb & Son with the ground being known as the Webb's Wood Stadium from August 2010.
Cuts in the playing budget led to resignations from the team management and eventual relegation at the end of the 2011-12 season as Collier was replaced by players Gary Horgan and Matt Robinson, initially in a caretaker role from February 2011.
The former Highworth Town manager Dave Webb was appointed as team boss in the summer of 2012 to try and negotiate a return to the top division. Webb took the side to the playoffs at the first attempt before bowing out to Merthyr Town.
The 2013-14 campaign also ended in play-off defeat to the same opponents as the strike force of Ashley Edenborough and Josh Parsons knocked in the goals. The following season saw a mid table finish.
In 2015-16 Taunton Town ended any hope of a return to the Premier Division in the semifinal of the playoffs before finishing in sixth place the following season. Webb departed in January 2018 to be replaced by his assistant, Lee Spalding.
Marine reached the playoffs once again, but on this occasion wins on the road both on penalties to Evesham United and then Wimborne Town secured promotion back to the top flight of the Southern League; where they were placed in Premier Division South after league re-organisation.
The 2018-19 campaign ended with Marine finishing in eleventh position prior to the following seasons being abandoned owing to Covid-19. When action resumed the side assembled a midtable finish. A sixth place was achieved in 2022-23.
However, a
poor start next time round saw Spalding replaced by Stuart Fleetwood, a former
forward with the club. His team consolidated their Premier Division status.
My visits
Wednesday 15th August 2012
I had arrived in Swindon as I was returning from a jaunt to Devon the day before and a day of visiting new sports grounds. My plan was to go to that evenings FA Cup replay between Shrivenham and Kidlington and instead of relaxing in the pub before catching the bus I decided to take the chance to visit Supermarine as I didn't know when I'd get another.
I'd attempted to get inside Swindon Town's County Ground without any success, but had higher hopes of my next venture. The number seven bus dropped me at the end of Supermarine Road, near to Honda's UK factory on a large business park with the use of an excellent vale day rider ticket.
A few minutes later I was outside the ground where fortunately enough there was someone from the club going inside. He kindly let me follow him. The Webb's Wood Stadium was a very tidy venue and obviously had plenty of improvements to it in recent times.
I thanked my host and walked back round for the bus back to Swindon bus station in readiness for my ride to the evenings entertainment.
Swindon Supermarine 0 Hendon 1 (Saturday 1st September 2018) Southern League Premier Division South (att: 268)
Hendon were continuing their season in new surroundings and as I had the day off work I needed little persuasion to book on the coach arranged by the Supporters Association down to Wiltshire.
Despite a good nap and an 11 am departure it was still more of a struggle to get organised than for the 8am set off for Taunton the previous week. The assembled crowd were watching a youth game at the well utilised Silver Jubilee Park on my arrival.
£20 seemed a reasonable fare for the return on a decent vehicle. Our driver used his knowledge well, taking us off the M4’s heavy traffic and diverting via the south side of the Oxford Ring Road and then down some A and B roads to our destination.
The pleasant journey was spend listening to the intriguing Test between England and India, while some others watched the first half of Leicester v Liverpool thanks to modern technology and phones. It was a pleasant day and everyone seemed in good form.
This continued as admission was only £8 and a very decent programme cost another couple of quid. The club had been hit by a burglary earlier in the week, with three TV’s been stolen from the impressive clubhouse.
The locals and club volunteers came across as a friendly bunch. The keg Hurricane Bitter was palatable enough, while the food counter offered a good choice at fair prices. All our party were impressed.
A large indoor training area had been added behind the far goal since my previous visit. Another match in the Hellenic League was taking place at the nearby rugby club. We joked that it could have been an option if things were going badly at half time.
Hendon’s following numbered around 50, as the momentum continued to gradually build around the club. The visitors were missing their big centre forward Marvin Morgan, and the general consensus was that it could be a difficult afternoon.
Therefore we were most happy when the Dons went ahead after a confident start. The ball was played wide to Howie Hall, who whipped in a low cross. Gianni Crichlow, making his first start for the club, guided the ball past keeper Josh Hill and in off the far post on six minutes.
That in truth was the highlight of a poor match. Crichlow had a shot just wide and Marine’s Joe Shepherd spurned some chances. Danny Boness looked in top form in the Hendon goal, with his central defenders Guri Demuria and Romario Jonas having fine games.
The game had the feel of a pre-season friendly in parts. We moved to the far end for the second half as some of the younger Dons support made full use of the refreshments on offer while giving the team support.
We didn’t have a perfect view, but realised that Marine must have come close many times, as the ball went across the Hendon six yard box at least half a dozen times without anyone getting a finish in.
The game had the feel of a pre-season friendly in parts. We moved to the far end for the second half as some of the younger Dons support made full use of the refreshments on offer while giving the team support.
We didn’t have a perfect view, but realised that Marine must have come close many times, as the ball went across the Hendon six yard box at least half a dozen times without anyone getting a finish in.
We knew that the team were putting a real shift in and defending resolutely, but it was surely a matter of time before the equaliser. Ball retention was poor from the visitors as they invited further pressure. An occasional break away came as welcome rest bite.
It wasn’t to be for the hosts. Not even the experienced Stuart Fleetwood could make it happen. The volume from the away fans increased in the last few minutes to try and get the lads over the line. It came as a huge relief when the ref blew for full time.
Special mention must be made of chief official Dale Wootton bringing play back for a foul after initially trying to play advantage. He had a good game, but the fact that this was remembered probably sums up the quality of the game.
Hendon were slightly fortunate, but they gave 100% and there would no doubt be occasions as the season progressed where they’d play considerably better but end up being beaten. That’s football!
The young uns were vocal on the bus for thirty minutes before becoming rather tired. It was genuinely good to see them supporting their local club and seeing numbers grow by the game. A decent run home had us back at SJP for just gone 7pm.
In a sign of my age I headed home after doing some shopping rather than heading to the pubs for the remainder of the Saturday evening. Oh to have the youthful energy of some fellow Dons fans.
It wasn't until I got home that I realised I was close to scooping the £400 jackpot in the Marine match prediction, as I'd got that weekends Swindon Town and Manchester United results bang on. I'd done Hendon to win 3-1. If only!
It wasn't until I got home that I realised I was close to scooping the £400 jackpot in the Marine match prediction, as I'd got that weekends Swindon Town and Manchester United results bang on. I'd done Hendon to win 3-1. If only!
Swindon Supermarine 2 Hendon 0 (Saturday 16th November 2019) Southern League Premier Division South (att: 302)
Lee Allinson, the recently appointed manager of Hendon had got off to a promising start with the team. Several players seemed to have upped their game with the promise of new arrivals. It was quite an exciting time.
Fortunately, I had a helpful colleague taking me off work at Ruislip Manor after early shift on the final day before my latest Thailand holiday and cricket trip. I was most grateful to Andy Davies for coming in early so that I could get away.
Lee Cousins had been keeping a check on the morning pitch inspection, which got the all clear. He picked me up in a speedy vehicle around d lunch and we were on our way, via the Oxford ring road owing to closures on the M4 for the second season running.
We had a smashing chat about all things on the route. I really enjoyed his company and the journey passed quickly. The team bus had even left an inadvertent space for us close to the entrance.
A decent following had decamped inside the homely clubhouse where we joined in and enjoyed a couple of beers. The conversation was around the players comings and goings and what formation did the fans expect?
There was something really welcoming about being at Marine. Plenty of non-league set ups offer far more than bigger venues, where you’re just another person; but the people in this part of Swindon seemed to have it sorted without going over the top. They were naturally nice people.
Supermarine were in fine form and sitting third in the table before kick-off. Despite that I half expected a return from Hendon and even had a small punt on a 2-0 win. On reflection I had probably been a tad too optimistic.
Tom Hamblin tried to lob host custodian Martin Horsell from distance on five minutes. The ball appeared to be going wide, but it was pushed behind for a corner. James Guthrie went close for Marine before Isaac Galliford responded for the Dons.
Connor Calcutt and then Shaun Lucien on his return to Hendon colours both forced Horsell into saves before Marine took a grip of the game and went ahead on twenty-six minutes. Ryan Cam centred for Harry Williams to get off a powerful shot that was too much for debutante keeper Dante Baptiste.
We had joked pre-match about Hendon needed a clairvoyant such as Clinton Baptiste from Phoenix Nights to deal with the unpredictability of the defence. It wasn’t that far from the truth. The youngster from Watford wasn’t the worst to be fair.
A Cam diving header went perilously close before the lead was extended just past the half hour mark. Guthrie and the excellent experienced Stewart Fleetwood created the opening for Williams to grab his second of the afternoon.
The hosts generally controlled proceedings without ever exerting themselves too far. Williams fired over just after the break before being denied by Baptiste. Manager Allinson made some changes in personnel and tactics in an attempt to get something from the game.
Lucien did well to control a long ball and cut inside before firing narrowly over. Hendon continued to press but were well held by an organised home defence led by accomplished performances from Matthew Croupe and Matthew Liddiard.
The full-time score was probably about right. There was no cause for complaints from the visiting fans, but a fair bit of optimism. It would be interesting to see how the next couple of weeks would pan out while I enjoyed my time in the sun.
Despite the result I’d had a good day at a most welcoming football club in excellent company.
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