Our History
Our History (Part one)
CENTRAL AJAX--- A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CLUB
PART 1 - THE FORMATIVE YEARS
In any organisation, especially one as amorphous as a Boys Football Club, there are
periods of rapid change, often with 'defining moments', interspersed with periods of drift
or, at best, steady but unspectacular consolidation. This short series of articles will
outline the history of Central Ajax in terms of the four periods of great change, also
involving defining moments in the development of the club.
Central Ajax Football Club was started as such in the summer of 1978, but the
background events go back as far as 1966. In that year Pete Martin, a lorry driver for a
local greengrocery wholesaler and who lived in Cubbington, so enjoyed watching his son
Wayne and friends playing football for Cubbington Junior School that he formed a team
for them to play in the then newly formed Leamington Boy's Football League, at Under-10.
The team played at Cubbington Albion's ground at the Social Club and they called
themselves Ajax F C, after the much admired Dutch and European champions of the
time. The playing strip selected followed the Dutch Champions as well, i.e. broad
White/Red/White bands on the shirts, with white shorts and Red/White socks. Amongst
the boys in the team, apart from Wayne Martin were Wayne's cousins, the Bradley
brothers.
From 1966 to 1970 Ajax consisted of only this one team. However in that season the
original team, now playing at Under-14, were joined by a newly formed Under-12 team.
This was also the season that the teams moved pitches and went to play at Potterton's
ground at Portobello Bridge. The move to Potterton's was arranged by Jeff Brockwell,
whose son David played in the original team and who was the Managing Director of
Potterton at that time. Also involved was Ian Plumley, the son of Eddie Plumley, then
Secretary of Coventry City Football Club. It was this influence, no doubt, that resulted in
Ajax FC Under-14s playing Leamington Celtic at Highfield road before Coventry's final
home game of the 1970/71 season. This was against Arsenal who had already won the
League Championship and FA Cup double.
The period from 1971 to 1976 is less well documented, and no significant changes
happened within the club for most of this time. The original squad carried on in the
Leamington Boys League until, in 1972 or 1973 these merged with the Kenilworth Boys
League to form the Mid-Warwickshire Boys League. The two teams continued in the Mid-
Warwickshire Boys League until the older team reached Under-17 when they went off to
play in the Coventry Youth League under the banner of Coventry Sporting Youth Team
(Coventry Sporting were then a top non-league team playing at the equivalent of Doc
Martins Premier or Conference level )
However, in, it is believed the 1974/75 season a gentleman called Don Hemingway
joined Ajax, forming an Under-10 team to play alongside two older teams, believed to be
at Under-13 and Under-15. Don was singularly the most significant figure in the early
history of Central Ajax, and the next couple of seasons saw the formation of new Under-
10 teams. The 1976/77 season was the harbinger of great future changes. The arrival of
Bilton Ajax in the Mid-Warwickshire Boys League forced a change of name to avoid
confusion, so Ajax FC became Ajax (Leamington) FC. In that season the Under-10s, Under-
11s and Under-12s were all top of their respective divisions, and the Under-15 team had
won the League Cup and were challenging for the league title as well. This had been a
successful season
on the pitch!
The following season (1977/78) saw the club name change again to Leamington Ajax
FC, and five teams were fielded, Under-10 to Under-13, plus Under-16. However, this was
the season that Don Hemingway ,for several reasons came to the conclusion that he
wished to move the club away from the current base. There appear to be three main
factors. The first was that Leamington Ajax were spread all over the area, playing on
various pitches at Whitnash Social Club, Abbey Fields, Kenilworth, Milverton Hill amongst
others, and this resulted in the club being fragmented. In addition the Council rented out
the land at Milverton Hill, Leamington to the Leamington Building Society for their new
Head Office, depriving the younger teams of their pitches. This building is currently used
by the Bradford & Bingley Building Society, but apparently is soon to be taken over by
Warwick District Council. Don and Sheila Hemingway's daughter was nursing at Central
Hospital, and she suggested that there could be room for the boys’ football there.
Apart from the loss of the pitch at Milverton Hill, Don Hemingway was feeling the need to
undertake himself more and more of the running of the club. Everyone to whom I have
talked in connection with this article cannot speak too highly of Don in terms of his
devotion to the club, to the boys and to the spirit of sportsmanship in football.
Unfortunately, unbeknown to Don or anyone at that time, Don was developing an illness
which caused him to become at the same time gradually more and more obsessive
about doing everything himself, whilst also becoming more erratic and eventually
forgetful, even of the boys names at times.
At the end of the 1977/78 season Don took the Under-10, Under-11 and Under-12
teams to Hatton and formed a new club, Central Ajax FC to play in the Mid-Warwickshire
Boys League from September 1978. The parents, that summer, marked out the top pitch
and the small pitch at Central Hospital, and were able to share the big pitch when
necessary with the Hospital Social Club team, who were stalwarts of the Leamington
Sunday League for many years. Central Ajax were formed with a playing base, the use of
a social club and gymnasium, a meeting room and an events room (the hospital concert
hall), all at Central Hospital. Don's dream of a club built around one location and playing
boys football in the best possible spirit was brought to reality.
To tidy up a few loose ends, the remnants of Leamington Ajax, the older team run by the
original founder of Ajax, Pete Martin, went on to play men’s football, eventually being
sponsored by The Black Horse, Leamington, and may well be the basis of the team of
that name now playing in the Coventry & Warwickshire League. Pete was also suffering
from ill-health through asthma related complaints, and sadly died in the early 1980's.
During the pre-Central Ajax days, at least three players went on to enjoy varying degrees
of success in the professional game. Mark Radcliffe was with the original 1966 team,
and went to Leicester City where he may have turned out for the first team once or twice,
but he ended up playing semi-professional football in New Zealand. Paul Dougherty
played for Ajax in the mid-1970's before going to Wolves where he was a first team
regular for several seasons. Finally Paul Sugrue was also a member of the original 1966
team, and he played for Swindon, Manchester City and QPR (?), being a very well-known
player at that time.
This is the story of the formation of Central Ajax. I would like to thank Roy Fellowes, Jeff
Brockwell, Eddie Plumley and Mike and Lorraine Wade for their time and patience in
providing information to enable me to put together this article.
The Late Peter Sidwell
(team manager at Central Ajax 1985-1998, and Honorary Vice-President of Central Ajax)
PART 1 - THE FORMATIVE YEARS
In any organisation, especially one as amorphous as a Boys Football Club, there are
periods of rapid change, often with 'defining moments', interspersed with periods of drift
or, at best, steady but unspectacular consolidation. This short series of articles will
outline the history of Central Ajax in terms of the four periods of great change, also
involving defining moments in the development of the club.
Central Ajax Football Club was started as such in the summer of 1978, but the
background events go back as far as 1966. In that year Pete Martin, a lorry driver for a
local greengrocery wholesaler and who lived in Cubbington, so enjoyed watching his son
Wayne and friends playing football for Cubbington Junior School that he formed a team
for them to play in the then newly formed Leamington Boy's Football League, at Under-10.
The team played at Cubbington Albion's ground at the Social Club and they called
themselves Ajax F C, after the much admired Dutch and European champions of the
time. The playing strip selected followed the Dutch Champions as well, i.e. broad
White/Red/White bands on the shirts, with white shorts and Red/White socks. Amongst
the boys in the team, apart from Wayne Martin were Wayne's cousins, the Bradley
brothers.
From 1966 to 1970 Ajax consisted of only this one team. However in that season the
original team, now playing at Under-14, were joined by a newly formed Under-12 team.
This was also the season that the teams moved pitches and went to play at Potterton's
ground at Portobello Bridge. The move to Potterton's was arranged by Jeff Brockwell,
whose son David played in the original team and who was the Managing Director of
Potterton at that time. Also involved was Ian Plumley, the son of Eddie Plumley, then
Secretary of Coventry City Football Club. It was this influence, no doubt, that resulted in
Ajax FC Under-14s playing Leamington Celtic at Highfield road before Coventry's final
home game of the 1970/71 season. This was against Arsenal who had already won the
League Championship and FA Cup double.
The period from 1971 to 1976 is less well documented, and no significant changes
happened within the club for most of this time. The original squad carried on in the
Leamington Boys League until, in 1972 or 1973 these merged with the Kenilworth Boys
League to form the Mid-Warwickshire Boys League. The two teams continued in the Mid-
Warwickshire Boys League until the older team reached Under-17 when they went off to
play in the Coventry Youth League under the banner of Coventry Sporting Youth Team
(Coventry Sporting were then a top non-league team playing at the equivalent of Doc
Martins Premier or Conference level )
However, in, it is believed the 1974/75 season a gentleman called Don Hemingway
joined Ajax, forming an Under-10 team to play alongside two older teams, believed to be
at Under-13 and Under-15. Don was singularly the most significant figure in the early
history of Central Ajax, and the next couple of seasons saw the formation of new Under-
10 teams. The 1976/77 season was the harbinger of great future changes. The arrival of
Bilton Ajax in the Mid-Warwickshire Boys League forced a change of name to avoid
confusion, so Ajax FC became Ajax (Leamington) FC. In that season the Under-10s, Under-
11s and Under-12s were all top of their respective divisions, and the Under-15 team had
won the League Cup and were challenging for the league title as well. This had been a
successful season
on the pitch!
The following season (1977/78) saw the club name change again to Leamington Ajax
FC, and five teams were fielded, Under-10 to Under-13, plus Under-16. However, this was
the season that Don Hemingway ,for several reasons came to the conclusion that he
wished to move the club away from the current base. There appear to be three main
factors. The first was that Leamington Ajax were spread all over the area, playing on
various pitches at Whitnash Social Club, Abbey Fields, Kenilworth, Milverton Hill amongst
others, and this resulted in the club being fragmented. In addition the Council rented out
the land at Milverton Hill, Leamington to the Leamington Building Society for their new
Head Office, depriving the younger teams of their pitches. This building is currently used
by the Bradford & Bingley Building Society, but apparently is soon to be taken over by
Warwick District Council. Don and Sheila Hemingway's daughter was nursing at Central
Hospital, and she suggested that there could be room for the boys’ football there.
Apart from the loss of the pitch at Milverton Hill, Don Hemingway was feeling the need to
undertake himself more and more of the running of the club. Everyone to whom I have
talked in connection with this article cannot speak too highly of Don in terms of his
devotion to the club, to the boys and to the spirit of sportsmanship in football.
Unfortunately, unbeknown to Don or anyone at that time, Don was developing an illness
which caused him to become at the same time gradually more and more obsessive
about doing everything himself, whilst also becoming more erratic and eventually
forgetful, even of the boys names at times.
At the end of the 1977/78 season Don took the Under-10, Under-11 and Under-12
teams to Hatton and formed a new club, Central Ajax FC to play in the Mid-Warwickshire
Boys League from September 1978. The parents, that summer, marked out the top pitch
and the small pitch at Central Hospital, and were able to share the big pitch when
necessary with the Hospital Social Club team, who were stalwarts of the Leamington
Sunday League for many years. Central Ajax were formed with a playing base, the use of
a social club and gymnasium, a meeting room and an events room (the hospital concert
hall), all at Central Hospital. Don's dream of a club built around one location and playing
boys football in the best possible spirit was brought to reality.
To tidy up a few loose ends, the remnants of Leamington Ajax, the older team run by the
original founder of Ajax, Pete Martin, went on to play men’s football, eventually being
sponsored by The Black Horse, Leamington, and may well be the basis of the team of
that name now playing in the Coventry & Warwickshire League. Pete was also suffering
from ill-health through asthma related complaints, and sadly died in the early 1980's.
During the pre-Central Ajax days, at least three players went on to enjoy varying degrees
of success in the professional game. Mark Radcliffe was with the original 1966 team,
and went to Leicester City where he may have turned out for the first team once or twice,
but he ended up playing semi-professional football in New Zealand. Paul Dougherty
played for Ajax in the mid-1970's before going to Wolves where he was a first team
regular for several seasons. Finally Paul Sugrue was also a member of the original 1966
team, and he played for Swindon, Manchester City and QPR (?), being a very well-known
player at that time.
This is the story of the formation of Central Ajax. I would like to thank Roy Fellowes, Jeff
Brockwell, Eddie Plumley and Mike and Lorraine Wade for their time and patience in
providing information to enable me to put together this article.
The Late Peter Sidwell
(team manager at Central Ajax 1985-1998, and Honorary Vice-President of Central Ajax)
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| CENTRAL AJAX FC & Warwick Town FC |
| All articles and photographs are copyright Central Ajax FC Ltd and can only be copied or reproduced with permission |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
| Villa Petra is a luxury villa in town of Paphos. With over 300 days of sunshine, golf courses and plenty of things to see and do. Why not treat yourself. Take a look at: www.villapetra.co.uk or contact Jane Dirienzo by email here or phone on 01926 883188 All Ajax members and their families get a 15% discount. Quote the team you play for. |
