Stowupland Football
Our Village Green has been used for many years for football, both for informal kick-a-rounds and organised team events. However with the large sports field associated with the Village Hall club teams were finally able to have their own permanent pitches without having to play around cow pats or cyclists!
The earliest record we have for organised football in Stowupland is 1901, when they took the name The Swifts. Since then the teams have played under several different names – Stowupland United, Stowupland Athletic, Stowupland Wanderers, till in 1932 they were simply Stowupland. In 1945/6 as the Corinthians they played on Carter’s meadow. In 2006 they rebranded as Stowupland Falcons. Read some personal reflections by Fred Hollis and Keith Welham in A Short Story of Stowupland Football.
In the decades after WW2 through to the 1970’s (and John Scarfe) Stowupland Football players joined with Stowmarket players playing as Stowmarket Town F.C.
Not a very good quality photo of Stowupland Footballers in 1938 -39. As the cutting explains they were winners of the Woolpit Nursing Cup. Sadly we don’t have any names but I can’t help wondering how many of these young men went off to fight in WW2, and whether any didn’t return. (Press cutting from Margaret Catchpole’s scrapbook, in Stowupland’s Archives)
Read Peter Laflins memories of 1970s football in Stowupland
Copied from an image posted on Facebook of a Stowupland Football team from the 1980’s.
The history ends for now with this final word from the club’s 2006 Chairman, Morris Brand.
By the 80s Stowupland were back on home turf as in 1985 Stow Falcons Football Club applied for planning permission for the retention of use of land to the rear of the village hall for stationing a changing room for a further temporary period. After the Sports and Social Club was built in 1990 teams had proper purpose built changing facilities.
