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2020
SOCCER AT DULWICH "DULWICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN A RUGBY SCHOOL AND ALWAYS WILL BE"
While Lutwyche left the College for Lancing in 1971, the seeds of soccer at Dulwich had been re-sown. Rob Bonnet (64-71) who played in those early games remembers at least one match being played on the Tank Fields. ‘The grass was too long, there were no football markings and the crossbar was a rope strung between the rugby posts’. In 1972, Hockey became the third major sport after Rugby and Cricket, fitting neatly into the Lent term and while at first it seemed that soccer would have to wait even longer to gain a foothold at Dulwich, the lack of suitable pitches available for Hockey and an increasing pressure to move away from compulsion to an option system saw Soccer added to the programme after Christmas for those not in the sixth form hockey squads. House competitions were organised, although it is clear that the introduction of Association Football had not won over everyone. The goal posts had to be kept out of sight, near Hunts Slip Road and on the Tank Fields, while a fixture against Tulse Hill (one of the top London School teams at the time) was arranged but only allowed to go ahead if it took place away from the College; it was eventually played at Priest Hill playing fields in Epsom, some 14 miles away. In 1973, the College was granted use of the Johnson Matthey Ground (now Eller Bank) with the Master, Charles Lloyd, allowing 20 boys per House in the Upper School to play Soccer in the Lent term. Three school matches were also allowed, ‘to give focus to this activity’. Two years later Soccer had officially become a Minor Sport for the Upper School, meaning school colours could be awarded and the number of fixtures were expanded although still restricted to six matches (three home / three away). It was not yet felt that there was ‘any need to provide a special Association Football team shirt’. Physics teacher, John Johnston, became the first official Master in Charge. The boys clearly needed little encouragement to embrace soccer nor to push the boundaries of what was officially sanctioned, and in 1976, one of the senior boys, PC (Peter) Gent (68-76) arranged, without the knowledge of the school, some 10 or 12 friendly matches against other schools. It seems he had got hold of Alleyn’s fixture list and worked from that. A memo of the time records that ‘This was an embarrassing situation, for we did not wish to let down the schools that had been invited to play, albeit without the permission of the College authorities.’ There was now no looking back and in 1977, five second team fixtures were added to the eleven played by the first team. The fixture list is almost unrecognisable today with the First XI playing a range of both state and independent schools, including Colfe’s, Archbishop Ramsey, Royal Russell, Highgate, Tulse Hill, Purley Grammar and Alleyn’s, against whom they managed a memorable 2-2 draw. After Eller Bank became unavailable in 1977, it was agreed that the first team school matches should be played on the second XV rugby pitch. Tim Smith (72-79), who played for the first team at the time was amazed, ‘we couldn’t believe it, the previous year we had played on an adapted rugby pitch somewhere between the Christison Hall and the 2nd XI cricket pitch.’ Unfortunately, after only a year, the First XI lost their prime position in front of the Barry Buildings to a hockey pitch and found themselves back on the other side of the Pavilion. By the end of the decade, a second team was firmly established and there was some hope that the system of choice would be allowed to run through the school. In fact, almost the opposite happened when in 1979 the 5th form (Year 11) were prevented from playing for the College in order to protect the position of Hockey to ‘ensure that our most able players are kept available for that game at least until they reach the Removes’, and Soccer was not offered as a free choice until 2003.
was the response in the mid 1960’s to an enquiry from a parent about the possibility of the boys being able to play Association Football. The sport had been ‘disestablished’ at Dulwich as far back as the 1870’s and had remained out of favour for over a century. Even AH Gilkes (Master between 1885 and 1914) although a good player himself had not encouraged participation. Early shoots of re-acceptance were evident in the 1950’s when at least one match against the Hollington Club by a team calling themselves the Dulwich All Stars has been recorded. However, it was not until the middle of the 1960’s that there was more than a very limited recognition within the school of a sport that was already widely being played by members of the College in weekend leagues across South London. September 1964 saw the appointment of David Lutwyche, a young teacher of Mathematics, who had played for London University and during his PGCE training, at Cambridge. ‘The boys, several of whom I think were Crystal Palace juniors, soon discovered that I was a keen soccer player and pressed me to try and persuade the College to start up a school team. I approached David Knight (Master in Charge of Games) who perhaps rather grudgingly allowed me to arrange a few fixtures as long as they were played on park pitches some distance from the College.’ Lutwyche was in regular contact with a member of the teaching staff at KCS Wimbledon where there was a similar desire to play. The relationship resulted in two fixtures against King's Wimbledon in 1970 and 71, quite possibly the first inter school soccer matches for both schools.
Trevor Llewelyn
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