During the 1918–19 English football season, Brentford competed in the

London Combination The Football Combination was a football competition for the reserve teams of English Football League clubs from Southern England, the Midlands and Wales; other clubs from the Midlands and those from the North playing in the Central League (it is n ...

, due to the cessation of competitive football for the duration of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Buoyed by larger crowds after the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

, Brentford finished the season as champions of the London Combination.

Season summary

Brentford entered the

for the fourth consecutive season in 1918–19, for what would become the final campaign of wartime football during the

. Just 11 contracted players would be available throughout the course of the season, which necessitated the use of a large number of guest players, the most notable of whom being future internationals Jackie Carr, Jack Cock and Fred Bullock (

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Fred Keenor Frederick Charles Keenor (31 July 1894 – 19 October 1972) was a Welsh professional footballer. He began his career at his hometown side Cardiff City after impressing the club's coaching staff in a trial match in 1912 organised by his former s ...

(

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

) and Jack Doran (

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

). Cock, Henry White and Ted Hanney all played in an England trial match on 14 April 1919. A chronic lack of players saw Brentford win just one of the opening six matches of the season. The turnaround came when Jack Cock returned team after settling a dispute, which if left unsettled, would have led him to play for Fulham during the season. The Bees' forward line was immediately galvanised and the goals of Cock, Henry White and

Fred Morley Frederick Morley (16 December 1850 – 28 September 1884) was a professional cricketer who was reckoned to be the fastest bowler in England during his prime. During a 13-year career for Nottinghamshire and England he took 1,274 wickets at an ...

lead Brentford on a run of 11 wins in 14 matches in all competitions. The

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

brought the war to a close and attendances began to rise, which coupled with the club only having to pay its players £2 a week plus expenses, meant that Brentford ended the season with a profit of £2,000 (£ in ). Despite four draws in January 1919 and three losses in February (which included a second round defeat to Crystal Palace in the one-off London Victory Cup), a return to form and a 2–0 victory over nearest challengers Arsenal on 15 March put the Bees eight points clear at the top of the table with six matches left to play. Aided by additional goals from

Patsy Hendren Elias Henry Hendren (5 February 1889 – 4 October 1962), known as Patsy Hendren, was an English first-class cricketer, active 1907 to 1937, who played for Middlesex and England. He also had a concurrent career as a footballer and had a long te ...

and

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

serviceman Billy Baker, Brentford finished the season as champions, marking the first time the club had finished top of a division since winning the Southern League Second Division title in 1900–01. On 7 April, with three matches of the regular season to play, Brentford were invited to play a fundraising friendly match versus a 'Rest Of The Southern League XI' at

The Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which i ...

. Brentford lost the match 2–1. One more former Brentford player died before the end of the war –

Sapper A sapper, also called a pioneer or combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing ...

Fred Alborough, who made three appearances as a guest in September and October 1918. He died of influenza on 31 October 1918, just five days after his final Brentford appearance. He had served with the Royal Engineers during the war. Former wartime guest players sergeant Dick Wynn and shoeing smith Billy Matthews died in circumstances related to their service in August 1919 and April 1921 respectively.

League table

Results

:''Brentford's goal tally listed first.''

Legend

London Combination

London Victory Cup

* Source: 100 Years of Brentford

Playing squad

:''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1918–19 season.'' * Sources: 100 Years of Brentford, Timeless Bees, Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939

Coaching staff

Statistics

Appearances and goals

*Players listed in ''italics'' left the club mid-season. *Source: 100 Years of Brentford

Goalscorers

*Players listed in ''italics'' left the club mid-season. *Source: 100 Years of Brentford

Management

Summary

Transfers & loans

:''Guest players' arrival and departure dates correspond to their first and last appearances of the season.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1918-19 Brentford F.C. season Brentford F.C. seasons Brentford