During the 1949–50 English football season, Gillingham F.C. played in the Southern League Division One. It was the fourth season of the club's third spell in the league.

Gillingham also competed in the FA Cup, reaching the second round.

Background and pre-season Gillingham had been among the founder members of the Football League Third Division in 1920, which was renamed the Third Division South when a parallel Third Division North was created a year later. In 18 seasons between 1920 and 1938, the team consistently struggled, only finishing in the top half of the league table three times. They finished in the bottom two on five occasions, requiring them to apply each time for re-election to the League. The club's fifth application was unsuccessful; Ipswich Town of the regional Southern League received more votes than Gillingham from the Football League's other member clubs in the ballot following the 1937–38 season and thus secured election to the Third Division South. Gillingham initially took Ipswich's place in the Southern League; when competitive football resumed after the Second World War, Gillingham played in the more localised Kent League for one season before returning to the Southern League in the 1946–47 season and winning the championship twice in three seasons.

Archie Clark was the team's manager, a post he had held since 1939. The club signed several new players, including Harry Williams and Billy Bates, both forwards, from Tottenham Hotspur and Watford respectively. Williams was signed after he scored a hat-trick in a pre-season trial match. Joe Millbank, a half-back, was signed from Queens Park Rangers; he had been made available for transfer by his former club and valued at £5,000, but because Gillingham played outside the Football League they were not required to pay any fee to sign him. Jack Day, a goalkeeper who had played for Gillingham between 1946 and 1948, rejoined the club after short and unsuccessful spells with Football League clubs Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion. The team wore Gillingham's usual kit of blue shirts and white shorts.

Southern League Division One August–December Gillingham began the season with a 3–0 defeat away to Gravesend & Northfleet on 20 August. Williams and Bates made their debuts for the club, as did Fred Collier, a full-back, and Victor Cook, a goalkeeper; it would prove to be the only match Collier played for Gillingham. Four days later, the team played their first game of the season at their home ground, Priestfield Stadium, against Hastings United. Day replaced Cook in goal. In an extremely one-sided game, Gillingham won 8–0; Williams scored six goals, the most scored by a Gillingham player in a single game since Hughie Russell scored nine times in a 12–1 victory over Gloucester City in November 1946.

Gillingham's final three games of 1949 took place within four days.

January–May Gillingham's first game of 1950 was at home to the Welsh team Lovell's Athletic.

Gillingham finished in fifth place in the Southern League Division One, 16 points behind champions Merthyr Tydfil.

League match details Key

In result column, Gillingham's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match

pen. = Penalty kick o.g. = Own goal

+ResultsDateOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance20 August 1949Gravesend & Northfleet (A)0–34,91524 August 1949Hastings United (H)8–0Williams (6), Carr, Forrester7,56827 August 1949Gloucester City (H)6–1Williams (2), Warsap (2), Carr, Russell (pen.)9,1643 September 1949Hereford United (A)1–1Carr5,5487 September 1949Hastings United (A)1–2Carr1,99514 September 1949Chelmsford City (H)2–2Carr, Briggs7,77217 September 1949Cheltenham Town (H)3–1Briggs (2), Kingsnorth (pen.)8,58021 September 1949Chelmsford City (A)1–1Warsap6,50024 September 1949Colchester United (A)1–2Williams10,9181 October 1949Cheltenham Town (A)2–1Carr, Russell3,2138 October 1949Torquay United Reserves (H)1–1Williams9,31215 October 1949Worcester City (A)1–2B. Burtenshaw4,46429 October 1949Dartford (A)1–2Forrester5,8835 November 1949Kidderminster Harriers (H)4–2B. Burtenshaw (2), Forrester, Russell5,93719 November 1949Worcester City (H)2–0Russell (2)9,4793 December 1949Bedford Town (H)1–0Potter (o.g.)7,94524 December 1949Gloucester City (A)1–3Williams3,25326 December 1949Tonbridge (H)3–0C. Burtenshaw, Russell, Briggs10,38127 December 1949Tonbridge (A)1–2Briggs6,75631 December 1949Yeovil Town (H)0–111,5777 January 1950Lovell's Athletic (H)2–0Carr, B. Burtenshaw7,57114 January 1950Bedford Town (A)1–1B. Burtenshaw3,95428 January 1950Torquay United Reserves (A)2–1Williams (2)1,9624 February 1950Gravesend & Northfleet (H)4–2Williams, Russell, B. Burtenshaw, Forrester11,15811 February 1950Exeter City Reserves (H)4–1Russell, B. Burtenshaw, Carr, Williams7,60925 February 1950Lovell's Athletic (A)2–2B. Burtenshaw, Williams5004 March 1950Barry Town (A)3–0B. Burtenshaw (2), Williams1719 March 1950Chingford (A)2–1B. Burtenshaw, Russell30711 March 1950Bath City (H)1–1Carr7,74915 March 1950Hereford United (H)4–0McGuire, Carr, C. Burtenshaw (pen.), Williams6,00025 March 1950Yeovil Town (A)1–2Russell1 April 1950Guildford City (H)0–07,9735 April 1950Headington United (H)2–0Forrester (2)4,0867 April 1950Weymouth (H)1–1Briggs9,2338 April 1950Chingford (H)4–1Hales (2), Kingsnorth, Warsap6,27712 April 1950Kidderminster Harriers (A)2–0Hales, C. Burtenshaw15 April 1950Exeter City Reserves (A)1–5Briggs17 April 1950Merthyr Tydfil (A)0–422 April 1950Headington United (A)3–1Briggs (2), Forrester5,50024 April 1950Weymouth (A)0–226 April 1950Dartford (H)2–0Russell, Kingsnorth (pen.)4,00028 April 1950Barry Town (H)1–0Carr3,42329 April 1950Colchester United (H)6–1Hales (3), Warsap, Russell, Briggs4,8751 May 1950Bath City (A)1–3B. Burtenshaw3 May 1950Merthyr Tydfil (H)3–1Russell, Warsap, Carr8,1266 May 1950Guildford City (A)1–4Piper

Partial league table

FA Cup Gillingham entered the 1949–50 FA Cup at the fourth and final qualifying round stage; their opponents were another Southern League Division One team, Guildford City.

FA Cup match details Key

In result column, Gillingham's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match

+ResultsDateRoundOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance12 November 1949Fourth qualifyingGuildford City (A)3–2C. Burtenshaw, Russell, Briggs7,22726 November 1949FirstHastings United (A)3–1Collins (pen.), Russell, C. Burtenshaw9,15010 December 1949SecondYeovil Town (A)1–3Russell (pen.)12,041

Southern League Cup Gillingham lost to Colchester United in the second round of the 1949–50 Southern League Cup. The veteran forward Tug Wilson made his only appearance of the season in the second round match; it was the final game he played for Gillingham, a club he had joined as a teenager in 1936.

Southern League Cup match details Key

In result column, Gillingham's score shown first H = Home match A = Away match

+ResultsDateRoundOpponentsResultGoalscorersAttendance10 September 1949FirstBarry Town (H)3–1Forrester, Briggs, Carr7,69012 October 1949SecondColchester United (H)0–1 (a.e.t.)6,639

Players Charlie Marks made the most appearances, playing 49 times. Harry Williams was the team's top goalscorer, scoring 18 times in just 20 games.

+Player statisticsPlayerPositionSouthern LeagueDivision OneFA CupSouthern League CupTotalAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsFB 90000090FW 60002080HB 3003020350FW 251031112912GK 2802010310FW 181230002112FW 2633200295FW 361200113713FB 10000010HB 3503100381GK 20000020GK 1601010180FB 3703020420FW 3573021408FW 96000096FW 00001010HB 4233020473FB 4403020490FW 41000041HB 30000030HB 2310000231FW 10000010FW 321333203716FW 40001050FW 2160000216FW 191800102018FW 00001010

FW = Forward, HB = Half-back, GK = Goalkeeper, FB = Full-back

Aftermath The Football League opted to increase the membership of each of the two Third Divisions from 22 to 24 clubs with effect from the 1950–51 season; Gillingham applied for one of the new places in the Third Division South and received the highest number of votes among the applicants, thereby returning to the Football League after 12 years. Charles Cox, the club's chairman, told the press "It has been an uphill struggle to get back. Thank God we've done it. We must never find ourselves in that position again."

References

Works cited