At Meadow Lane
31 Dec 2008

In the 1930s Westbury won everything possible in Wiltshire football and in 1936 also reached the first round proper of the FA Cup. They were led by a magnificent player called Billy Pearce, who captained the Wiltshire county side throughout the decade. Also in the side at the time was a prolific goalscorer called Bill Butler, who scored more than eighty senior goals in one season (including thirty in a month!).

The club then purchased and moved to its present ground in Meadow Lane, at a cost of £475 for the four acre site. The very first game played on what was then the Jubilee Playing Field was against Bristol City and a crowd of around 4000 attended.

Recent Years
20 Jul 2009

Westbury joined the Western League in 1984 and initially struggled. In 1988 floodlights were erected and Southampton were the visitors for the official switch on. Season 1988-89 saw the club win its first honour in the League, winning the Sportsmanship Trophy. In 1991, under the management of Ian Harris, they won the First Division title to gain promotion to the Premier Division. The highest League placing to date came in the 1994-95 season when they finished fifth.

In recent years the Club has, with the help of the Football Stadia Improvement Fund, been able to replace the drainage system on the pitch as well as erect fencing around the ground and a wall around the pitch. The Club is seeking to continually move forward both on and off the pitch, with young local players making up the majority of the team. Season 2009 - 2010 saw a top five finish for the First Team in Toolstation League Division One.

People
28 Jan 2009

The club has produced many players who have gone on to make the grade at professional football, two of them as centre forwards for Bristol City. The first was Reg Smith who played for City in the 1930s and was then transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers for what was described in the press as a 'considerable fee'. The other was John Atyeo, (see below).

The club has strong family traditions. Wilf Alford (pictured above left) played for Westbury before the last war. He then left to play for then First Division Portsmouth. His son, Phil, still manages Westbury United reserves, while his grandsons have also played for the club.

The club has had its share of dedicated officials who have given a lifetime of service. Current club president, Ernie Barber, used to carry the team kit as a seven year old (1933) and after the war he started playing. When he finished playing he became secretary and held the post until the end of the 1996-97 season when he decided to retire.

John Atyeo
27 Jan 2009

John Atyeo started his career at Westbury before moving to Bristol CIty in 1951. In return for his signature, City played a presentation game against Westbury and made a donation of £100. It must have been the bargain of the century as John played over 600 games for City and scored 359 goals. He also played six times for England in which he netted five goals. When he retired from football he became a teacher in Warminster, where he died suddenly in June 1993, aged 61. He now has a grandstand named after him at City's Ashton Gate ground as well as a street in his home village of Dilton Marsh (just a few miles from Meadow Lane).