Redbridge Forest Football Club was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club, founded in 1979 as Leytonstone & Ilford F.C., which in 1989 merged with Walthamstow Avenue and the following season adopted the name Redbridge Forest. In 1992 the club merged with

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

to form the present Dagenham & Redbridge.

History

Leytonstone/Ilford F.C. was founded in 1979 by a merger of

Leytonstone F.C. Leytonstone F.C. was an English football club based in Leytonstone, Greater London. Founded in 1886, the club ceased to exist in 1979 when it merged with Ilford to form Leytonstone-Ilford, which later became Redbridge Forest after also absorbi ...

(founded in 1886) and Ilford F.C. (founded in 1881). They were somewhat successful in non-league football, while under the name Leytonstone & Ilford, they were crowned

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 tea ...

champions during 1981–82. The following season the club finished as runners-up in the same league. At the end of the season, they changed their name to Leytonstone/Ilford F.C.. Another merger was incorporated in 1988 when Walthamstow Avenue were incorporated. Initially there was no name change, and the club won the

that season; they were due to be promoted to what is today known as the

Conference National The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-profes ...

, but were denied due to ground problems, as the Green Pond Road ground at Walthamstow had already been sold to developers so was not worth upgrading. The club moved to Victoria Road, home of Dagenham F.C., but found the same problem as their ground too was now not up to Conference standard. Leytonstone & Ilford remained in the Isthmian League Premier Division.

Under the Redbridge Forest name

For the 1989 season, the name of the club was changed to Redbridge Forest, in preparation for a move to a new site bordering both Redbridge and Waltham Forest borders. However, the move to a new site collapsed and the club remained at Victoria Road. Incidentally, Dagenham and Redbridge Forest were both in the Isthmian League Premier Division for that season and the two matches between landlord and tenant saw 2–2 and 1–1 draws between the clubs, clubs that now play as one. Redbridge Forest won the Isthmian League in 1990–91 and with the ground now passing Conference regulations, the club were now allowed to move up to the Conference for the 1991–92 season. Redbridge Forest were in the Conference for one year and achieved a seventh-place finish during the 1991–92 season. For the 1992–93 season, they merged with Dagenham (the club whose ground they were sharing) and became Dagenham & Redbridge. The new club reached the

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engl ...

at the end of the 2006–07 as Conference National champions, and won promotion to

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

in 2010 via play-offs.

Honours

''As Leytonstone/Ilford F.C'' *

**Champions: 1981–82, 1988–89 **Runners-up: 1982–83 *

Division One **Champions: 1979–80, 1986–87 ''As Redbridge Forest F.C'' *

**Champions: 1990–91 * FA Trophy **Quarter-finalists: 1991–92

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Association football clubs established in 1989 Association football clubs disestablished in 1992 Defunct football clubs in England Sport in the London Borough of Redbridge Dagenham & Redbridge F.C. Isthmian League National League (English football) clubs 1979 establishments in England 1992 disestablishments in England Defunct football clubs in London