During the 1939–40 English football season, Brentford competed in the Football League, playing three matches before competitive football was suspended due to the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. The club played in three unofficial wartime competitions for the remainder of the season – groups B and C of the

Football League South The Football League North and Football League South divisions of the Football League were created temporarily for the League to continue through the Second World War while limiting the amount of movement that was required by teams. The leagues star ...

and the

Football League War Cup The Football League War Cup was an association football tournament held between 1939 and 1945. It aimed to fill the gap left in English football by the suspension of the FA Cup during the Second World War. Though it was often referred to in conte ...

Season summary

After narrowly avoiding relegation towards the end of the 1938–39 season, Brentford manager Harry Curtis allowed full back Joe Wilson and half backs Sam Briddon and Tally Sneddon to transfer away from the club. Curtis signed young Sunderland

inside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

Percy Saunders and brought in former Manchester United

wing half A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Tom Mansley as his new captain. The season opened with a heavy 5–1 Football League Jubilee Fund defeat to neighbours

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

on 19 August 1939. Brentford began the regular season with a win, a draw and a defeat, before competitive football was suspended following Britain's declaration of war on Germany on 3 September 1939. Percy Saunders, who had scored on his debut on the opening day, would be the only pre-war Brentford player to die on active service during the war, when his ship was

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

ed in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

in March 1942. The cessation of competitive football was worrying for Brentford, with £12,000 having been spent on new players during the off-season (equivalent to £ in ) and there was little prospect of recouping it through the

turnstile A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a ...

s. 23 of Brentford's 30-man squad were called to arms, into the War Police Reserve or into the munitions industry. Within two weeks of the declaration of war, the Football League agreed that football could continue, in order to keep clubs in business and to raise funds. Brentford entered Group B of the new

in October 1939. The squad was augmented by three guest players who had previously played for the club – Scottish half backs

Duncan McKenzie Duncan McKenzie (born 10 June 1950) is an English former footballer who played as a striker in the Football League for Nottingham Forest, Mansfield Town, Leeds United, Everton, Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers in the 1970s, in Belgium for And ...

and Archie Scott and inside forward Bert Stephens. 30-year old centre forward Jack Holliday (a prolific goalscorer in the

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

and Second Divisions between 1932 and 1935) experienced a renaissance, with 14 goals in 16 appearances. Brentford finished the Group B campaign in mid-table. A further 18-match campaign followed in Group C in the first six months of 1940, with 13 players guesting, including two former international Brentford players – Scotland's

David McCulloch David McCulloch (5 October 1912 – 21 June 1979) was a Scottish footballer who played for several Scottish and English clubs in the 1930s, most notably Heart of Midlothian, Brentford and Derby County. He also represented Scotland at full inter ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

' Jim Brown. The Bees finished 4th in the 10-team group and exited the

in the first round.

League tables

Football League First Division

Football League South Group B

Football League South Group C

Results

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

Legend

Football League First Division

Football League South Group B

Football League South Group C

Football League War Cup

* Sources: A-Z Of Bees, Rothmans Book of Football League Records 1888–89 to 1978–79, 100 Years Of Brentford

Playing squad

:: ''Players' ages are as of the opening day of the 1939–40 season.'' * Sources: Timeless Bees, Football League Players' Records 1888 to 1939, 100 Years Of Brentford

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

Wartime international caps

Management

Summary

Transfers & loans

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1939-40 Brentford F.C. season Brentford F.C. seasons Brentford