Pictures kindly provided by Martin Thompson, grandson of the Club Secretary E. E. Thompson

Photograph by J. T. Newman

Can you fill in details of the early history of the club. The present day Berkhamsted Football Club was formed in 2009 following the collapse of Berkhamsted Town Football Club. That club had started as the Berkhamsted Comrades after the First World War. The club in the above pictures is clearly an earlier club. Does anyone know what happened to it? Tell me about it (remembering to clearly identify the subject you are commenting on)

Frank Foskett, Berkhamsted, circa 1900

Clive Foskett  (ncnc180 @t btinternet.com) writes from Norfolk: I own a winner's medal for 1900 and a runners up medal for the Apsley Charity Cup won by my grandfather Frank Foskett. I have no record of W Foskett shown on the photo. My grandfather served in the war but I have no record of where or when. I have no photos of him . Did he play after the war?

As you have a medal from 1900, which would be the year of the earlier photograph, your grandfather Frank Foskett must be the F. Foskett in the back row of the photograph (2nd from right of the players). A year later, at the time of the 1901 census, Frank was living at 2, Victoria Road, Berkhampstead - the family living there were:

Name			Age	Occupation	Born at
FOSKETT, Edmund	Head	Married	58	Carpenter	Northchurch
FOSKETT, Martha	Wife	Married	50		Berkhamsted
FOSKETT, Frank	Son	Single	24	Carpenter	Northchurch
FOSKETT, Violet	Daughter	Single	17	Mantle Maker	Northchurch
FOSKETT, Priscilla	Daughter		13		Northchurch

 

Francis (Frank when he got older) was living in Berkhamsted in the 1881, 1891, 1901 (above) and 1911 censuses, In the last of these he was living with his wife Lily [Rance] and children Florence, Leslie and Reginald.

 

The identity of W. Foskett is less certain - but is probably William Foskett, who would have been 18 years old, and who was also a carpenter. However William had a younger brother Walter who would only have been 15, while the person in the picture looks older. There were a large number of Fosketts living in the area at the time and they may have been cousins.

 

		The location of the Berkhamsted Football Club records at the time is unknown - assuming any has survived. In addition I don't have any special records about the club. However at least some of the matches, and almost certainly any cup games, would be reported in The Gazette. While there are microfilm copies in the Hemel Hempstead Central Library, you could contact the Gazette (perhaps as a query on their web site) to see if they had a copy of the original account of the game.
Apsley Charity Cup Finalist's Medal 1902				Apsley Charity Cup Winners Medal 1900