Our time in Exile
27 Jul 2009

WHEN news broke in October 1991 that the Football Association of Wales was to create a new League of Wales, it was not greeted with universal acclaim by the Principality's football clubs.
The FAW announced that it would withdraw a sanction for all the Welsh non-league clubs that were playing in the English pyramid.
Bangor City, Barry Town, Caernarfon Town, Colwyn Bay, Merthyr Tydfil, Newport AFC, Newtown and Rhyl argued the case for their right to play where they wished.
An appeal was heard by the FAW and all the clubs - with the exception of Merthyr Tydfil - were told that they must return to the Welsh system.
Bangor and Newtown joined the new set-up, but Rhyl were too late with their application and played season 1992/3 in the Cymru Alliance.
But several clubs defied the FAW which resulted in them being forced to play their games on English grounds.
Barry Town, who went on to win the Welsh Premier title seven times, shared the ground of Worcester FC for one season. Caernarfon and Colwyn Bay opted to remain in the Northern Premier League. The Canaries were forced to play their 'home' games more than 100 miles away at east Manchester club Curzon Ashton, while the Seagulls played at the Drill Field, the ground of Northwich Victoria.
This inevitably affected their support and for the following season they moved closer to the Welsh border and to Ellesmere Port.
Newport County have been known as the Exiles since they were forced to play their inaugural season in the Hellenic League at Moreton in Marsh in Gloucestershire.
Despite returning to their Somerton Park home for two seasons, more football politics consigned them to a further two seasons of exile at Gloucester and the club was forced to resort to legal action to protect themselves from being forced out of the English football pyramid.
Matters were finally resolved by the High Court in April 1995 when the three remaining clubs in exile - Newport, Caernarfon and Colwyn - won their case against the Welsh FA and were able to return to play in Wales.
But, following a series of mediocre performances over several seasons in the Northern Premier League's First Division, Caernarfon decided to return to Welsh soccer and joined the League of Wales four months later.

FA Cup 1886
27 Jul 2009

A mere 14 years after the English FA Cup was instituted, a team from Caernarfon followed the trail blazed by Druids and Chirk and entered the oldest cup competition in the world. Carnarvon Wanderers, a club formed by journalist John Humphreys, became, in 1886, the first team from North West Wales to take this “bold step”.

In those days there were no qualifying rounds and the Wanderers found themselves drawn away to Stoke. The Stoke Sentinel commented when the draw was made: "Little is known of the Welshmen but the Wanderers are the crack team in their area. The Wanderers are in strict training and intend to make a bold bid to win their way through to the 2nd qualifying round." The match took place on 30 October 1886. Even with 11 fit men, the task would have been daunting but when the Wanderers' goalkeeper, John Davies, broke his wrist hitting a post, the uphill struggle became an impossibility. Stoke scored 10 goals before the Bob Thomas scored the Wanderers’ consolation goal while the Stoke goalkeeper was up the other end of the field trying to score. In fairness to the Wanderers it has to be said that the Stoke side included three future England internationals: goalkeeper William Rowley (“one of the cleverest men who ever stood between the posts”), Thomas Clare (“a steady going full back who is always reliable and works hard”) and James Sayer (a speedy winger known as “the greyhound”).

Many years later a story in the Herald reckoned that it had cost £24 to take the team to Stoke and that the Wanderers' share of the gate money was only £8. This tale has it that secretary John Humphreys had to pawn his watch to get the team home. But the published diary of Hugh Vincent (later Sir Hugh), in ‘The Vincent Family Diary’ by Dennis Wood and Vanessa Field, records that the team visited the theatre at
Chester on their way back. This would have been unlikely if the team had been short of cash.

The Carnarvon Wanderers team that made history was : John Davies (Lodging Hall), Griff Davies (Mountain St),Richard Jones (Garnon St), Robert O Jones (North Penrallt), Hugh Vincent (the Vicarage), D Morton Jones (Twthill Square), Bob Thomas (Bangor), Henry Owen (Mountain Street), Robert Charles Forbes (Twthill), William Roberts (South Penrasllt) and Edward Hope (Tyn y Cei). Forty three years passed before a team from Caernarfon entered the FA Cup again.

FA Cup 1929
27 Jul 2009

FA Cup 1929-30

21/9/1929 Prelim rd Connahs Quay & Shotton A 1-1
26/9/1929 Prelim rd Connahs Quay & Shotton H 3-2
5/10/1929 1st Q rd Congleton H 4-0
19/10/1929 2nd Q rd Macclesfield A 2-2
24/10/1929 2nd Q rd Macclesfield H 4-2
2/11/1929 3rd Q rd Llandudno A 2-0 Smith 2
16/11/1929 4th Q rd Burton T A 2-0 Smith Sutton. Attendance: 3,500
30/11/1929 1st rd proper Darlington H 4-2 Smith 2, Sutton Taylor
14/11/1929 2nd rd proper Bournemouth H 1-1 Smith. Attendance: 9,000
18/12/1929 2nd rd proper Bournemouth A 2-5 Smith, Murray. Attendance: 7,111

Caernarfon: fielded: Arthur Lucas, William Adamson, Hogg, Sammy Edwards, George Davies, George Rundell, Mick Murray, Joseph Sutton, J R Smith, George Graham as 1-10 in all the FA Cup matches. Will Roberts played at 11 in both matches against Connahs Quay and against Macclesfield at the Oval. Fish was 11 v Congleton, Macclesfield away and Llandudno away. T W Jones played at 11 v Burton T, and Taylor was 11 v Darklington and in both matches v Bournemouth .