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Newport Pagnell Town Football Club was founded during 1963 when a group of young lads paid a visit to the house of the late Frank Hall in Wolverton Road. They told him that they were interested in forming a football club, as at the time, the only club in town was that of Aston Martin. There was no youth football in the town what so ever, so Mr. Hall, then clerk to the old Newport Pagnell Urban District Council, gave the youngsters every support and told them to find themselves persons willing to form a committee. This they duly did and shortly afterwards the club was formed as Newport Pagnell Wanderers, with such well known Newportonians as Dr. Clay, Col Les Payne, Fred James and Scot Bolton giving the boys their backing.
The Wanderers first games were in youth football with their pitch next to the cricket square on Bury Field Common, and their changing rooms at the back of the Cannon public house in Union Street. 1964 saw them enter the North Bucks Football League and in their first season they carried off the Division Three shield. Soon after, Aston Martin folded, and with several players now available, The Wanderers strengthened their squad and embarked on an era of almost unparalleled success. They went on to win the North Bucks Division Two and Division One titles in successive seasons and for three seasons were almost unbeatable as North Bucks Champions.
One of the main stars of the team was Alan Higgins, who between 1964 and 1969 scored an incredible total of 142 goals. During this period the club was ably run by other well-known Newportonians such as Mr. & Mrs. Frank Holman, Sam Higgins, Dave Lea, Eddie O'Dell, Bunt Williamson, Perc Rose, Sony Twelvetree, Jack Goodman, Doug Bird, Ken Inch (now club President) and Jack Keeling. Crowds in those days on Bury Field Common were regularly in the hundreds, especially for local derbies with the likes of Yardley Gobion, Towcester and Olney. In the 1971/72 season The Wanderers moved on to the South Midlands League using the facilities at the Youth Club in Wolverton Road.
Then in 1972 came the long awaited move to the new facilities at Willen Road Sports Ground. The official opening featured a game against Bletchley Town, and with the new ground, came the change of name to Newport Pagnell Town.
The following year saw the clubs entry into its present League, the United Counties Football League. As the club progressed, so did the need for more space and in 1982 an extension to the clubhouse was completed, which added the function room next to the bar. The club has also had floodlighting installed in the recent past and has also just completed the new changing room complex to the rear of the function room.
I think you would all agree this is light years away from the old Bury Field Days, when the committees' main task on match days was the removal of cowpats from the pitch. To give you some idea of how things have changed, back in 1965/66 the total year's expenses was £233.00, whereas now, we pay over £2,000 a year just for electricity. Also, Referees expenses for the whole season came only to £17.00, a figure that these days are regularly exceeded for just one match.
As you have just read, Newport Pagnell Town Football has evolved over the years and is now one of the strongest clubs within the Milton Keynes area. The addition of the extensive, nursery, youth, girls and ladies section has made us one of the biggest non-league clubs in the area, and I think we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to those boys who way back in 1963, had the ambition, enthusiasm and local backing to form our very own football club. |
