My dad was captain of the Early Closers

Following our appeal for information about the Kenilworth Early Closers football team last week, two people have been able to help.
Kenilworth Early ClosersKenilworth Early Closers
Kenilworth Early Closers

Hazel Harrison, aged 92, of Kenilworth, says that her dad, Harry Carter, was captain of the team before the family moved to Ashow. He worked on a poultry farm on land which is now part of Kenilworth School.

She said: “All the shops closed on a Thursday, so I suppose some of the players worked in shops.”

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Kenilworth historian Robin Leach has also supplied some information about the Closers.

He said: “The Kenilworth Early Closers were formed about 1930 and played in the Warwick & District Thursday League, Thursday being early closing day.

“Many of the team were past their youthful years but had previously played in various Kenilworth teams; the captain, H Carter, for example played for Abbey Hill in the early post-Great War years. The full line up from the left is A Haydon, C Hawkins, R Whitlock, G Harris, G Compton, J Booden, H Payne, J Neale, J Bugg, S Cockerill, H Carter and Mr Lumbers, a committee man.

“Their achievement referred to in the 1934-35 season was winning four of the five trophies available to them – the Warwick & District Thursday League Championship, the Warwick Thursday Challenge Cup, the Warwick Knock-out Cup and the Stratford on Avon Midweek Cup – and the following season when they won just the first two of those trophies.

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“The only cup they did not win was Kenilworth’s own Convalescent Cup, a competition they instigated the revival of in 1932, despite reaching the finals in 1933 and 1935.

“More details of Kenilworth’s Early Closers and Convalescent Cup can be found in my book ‘Kenilworth People& Places Volume 1.”

Mrs Harrison recalls that, despite closing on Thursday afternoons, shops in Kenilworth stayed open until 9pm on Saturdays. She remembers going shopping with her mum Gladys and brothers Wallace and Ken on Saturday nights to buy food for Sunday.

She said: “I don’t like the town any more. It used to be a country town with lovely old buildings and you knew everybody. Now it’s all concrete and the area around the Almanack is like the seaside. My niece takes me into town but I’m glad to get out of it.”

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