STIRLING ALBION - THE FOUNDATION OF THE CLUB

As printed in the Annfield News - December 1985

The article below is intended to reveal some of the detail of what went on in 1945, when football in the town of Stirling was at a crisis point.............

Towards the end of March 1945 it became clear that the war in Europe would soon be over. Football enthusiasts in Stirling began to consider the possibilities of re-starting senior football in Stirling. To this end, a meeting was called in the Golden Lion Hotel on Thursday 26th April 1945, organised by Mr Tom Fergusson. The meeting was poorly attended, with only seventeen members of the public bothering to turn up. Mr Fergusson told the small gathering that it would not be possible for football to continue at Forthbank. The one and only German Bomb to fall on Stirling destroyed the stand and dressings room of King's Park FC, and caused serious damage to the playing surface. However, Mr Fergusson  recognised that there was considerable demand in the town for the revival of the old King's Park club.

No firm decision was taken at this meeting as to what form the football club would take. Mr Fergusson concentrated on the basics of getting football restarted in Stirling as soon as possible. With Forthbank out of the question, the first problem to be overcome was to find a suitable pitch. Several people suggested that the excellent Strathallan Games Park should be the future of home of football in Stirling but Mr Fergusson dismissed this suggestion because the ground was too far out of town.

It was  also suggested that an attempt be made to rent Bridgehaugh Park. The main problem with this idea was that the park was always liable to flooding, a problem which had also beset Forthbank. A further suggestion was made that the club try to buy Williamfield from Stirling County Cricket Club. Mr Fergusson though had a plan of his own.

He said that an unnamed estate near the centre of Stirling was on the market at £9000 and that it would make an ideal home for a football club. Two other men present at the meeting suggested Torbrex Farm or Borestone Park as possible sites but these were quickly dismissed.

The outcome of the meeting was that 3000 £1 shares in a new football club were issued and quickly bought by six local businessmen. The meeting also resolved that the club should make every effort to buy the estate in question, and failing that should attempt to gain the lease of the Strathallan Games Park. This meeting gained considerable publicity in the local press and was the cause of much conversation in the town.

Another meeting was held on Tuesday May 15tyh in the Old British Legion Hall, Thistle Street, with the purpose of forming a supporters club. Mr Fergusson was present at this meeting and outlined what progress had been made in the formation of the football club. He had consulted the Directors of King's Park FC and found them to be against the scheme. As Tom Fergusson was determined to carry on with his scheme this made it necessary for the club to have a new name, although nothing was settled at this stage.

Not only had King's Park 's ground had been seriously damaged but the club also had a substantial overdraft which would have to be met if the old club were to continue. Against this, they were expecting a compensation grant of £1600 from the government for the bomb damage to their ground.

Mr Fergusson informed the meeting that six local men had put up £3000 towards the cost of forming the new club. These same gentlemen were not prepared to put up money for the revival of King's Park FC. The estate in the town, which was now named Annfield Estate, was to cost £5000.

The Scottish Football Association was informed of the decision to start a new club in Stirling. By this time Tom Fergusson had decided that the name for the new club should be either Stirling Villa or Stirling Albion. The SFA suggested that it would be more sensible for the old King's Park club to continue, under as new name if necessary. This way the club would qualify for a grant from the SFA's resusitation fund - and they would receive extra clothing coupons to enable them to buy strips.

However Tom Fergusson was adamant that a new club would be formed and he had his way. It was suggested that the reason why he was so dead-set against a revival of King's Park was that he was responsible for the sizeable debts which the club had incurred immediately before the war.

Mr Fergusson went ahead and offered £3500 for the Annfield Estate. His offer was turned down straight away and he was told that the price was to be £5000, and no less. One problem which still had to be overcome was to have the Annfield Estate approved by the local council as a football ground. Although he had not yet secured the purchase of the estate, Mr Fergusson applied to the Town Council for permission to change the use of the Annfield Estate from residential to recreational.

His application was heard at the Council meeting of May 21st 1945. Mr Fergusson presented his own case and made it clear that there was much demand in the town for the revival of senior football. The deal to buy the estate was to be clinched the following day. The price of £5000 was met entirely by Mr Fergusson, and the £3000 raised by the share issue was set aside for the other costs of starting a football club. This Council Meeting was a stormy one and the public gallery was full with interested parties. A number of objections were raised to the scheme. The first of these was car parking. Mr Fergusson had indicated that the park would be designed to accommodate 25000 people, and one councilor was concerned about the parking problem. Mr Fergusson replied that provision for this was to be made in the Linden Avenue area. Another councilor objected that the proposed ground was too close to the Infirmary, and "that people at deaths door would be subjected to the raucous noise of football hordes". The most vociferous of the objectors was a Baillie Duncan who opposed the scheme at every point. Councilor Murray summed up the mood of the meeting by saying that the Council were very keen to see senior football restarted in Stirling, but they had to give full consideration to any objections which might be raised. he went on to say "At one time I hoped a surgical operation on Baillie Duncan would have been helpful; now all that is left is for him to go into a museum of curiosities." At the end of the meeting the Council voted 12-7 in favour of the Annfield Estate being licensed as a football ground.

With this major obstacle overcome, the new club were able to go ahead with their scheme. Stirling Albion was the name chosen for the club (apparently because Mr Fergusson's Coal Merchants business used "Albion" lorries). Work began on converting the estate to a football stadium. At a meeting on May 25th the Supporters Club appealed for volunteer to help with the work. By this stage trees had been felled from the playing surface, and posts had been placed to mark the 4 corners of the pitch. At this stage it was decided that the Supporters Club membership should cost 2/6d per year and that members should be required to donate 1/- per week to the football club.

In early June the Scottish Football League rejected Stirling Albion's application to join the Scottish League for 1945/46. Brechin City and Forfar Athletic were also unsuccessful but Stenhousemuir did gain entry to the League. Mr Fergusson was not too upset at this decision because the club was obviously going to have problems getting ready for the start of the season in August. On June 18th a council meeting had heard protests from various groups over the siting of a football ground at Annfield. Conservationists were upset by the destruction of so many trees and local residents were concerned about the number of people who would be brought into the area on Saturdays.

Stirling Albion applied to the Council for permission to demolish that part of the wall of the Annfield Estate which bordered St Ninians Road and to replace it with a new wall incorporating turnstiles. Due to other business at the meeting on June 28th, Albion's application had to be held over. A special Council meeting was held on July 9th  at which the Council approved the plan. They also insisted that the club should provide temporary urinals at the ground, and that permanent ones should be built within 6 months. One resident of Liviland's Lane objected to the positioning of one turnstile opposite his ground. He said that if a long queue developed then his fence might be damaged. This turnstile was moved 20 yards down the lane.

The club had still not found a league in which to play for 1945/46 but on July 11th, a meeting was help in Perth to discuss the possibility of forming a Central League. Albion were represented at the meeting along with Edinburgh City, Brechin City, Forfar Athletic, Montrose and Leith-St.Bernards. East Stirlingshire also indicated an interest, and it was hoped that clubs such as Aberdeen, Rangers, Celtic and St Johnstone could be persuaded to run reserve teams in the league.

A second meeting was held in Perth on July 19th and the League was formed. The name chosen was the Eastern League. Stirling Albion, Brechin City, East Stirlingshire, Edinburgh City, Forfar Athletic, Leith St.Bernards, Montrose and Dundee Reserves were admitted. Bo'ness made a late application but were not accepted as it would have caused an uneven number of teams in the league. Mr George Graham, Secretary of the Scottish Football Association accepted the post of Secretary of the Central League.

With work progressing well on the ground and League membership settled Mr Fergusson was able to concentrate on getting a team together for the new club. Much had been achieved in only 3 months.