White Ensign Football Club is a
football club based in
Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, east of central London. It is bordered ...
, Essex, England. They are currently members of the and play at Burroughs Park in
Great Wakering
Great Wakering is a village in the Rochford District in Essex, England. It is
approximately four miles east of Southend. The village is well served with several historic public houses, a primary school, a Co-operative supermarket, post office, ...
.
History
The club was formed in 1951,
["The Unpromotables", ]FourFourTwo
''FourFourTwo'' is a football magazine published by Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4-4-2.
In 2008, it was announced that ''FourFourTwo'' had ...
, issue 152, April 2007 and is named after the British
naval ensign
A naval ensign is an ensign (maritime flag) used by naval ships of various countries to denote their nationality. It can be the same or different from a country's civil ensign or state ensign.
It can also be known as a war ensign. A large ve ...
of
the same name, which is incorporated into the club's badge. They played in the Southend Borough Combination until joining Division Two of the
Essex Intermediate League in 2002, going on to win the division at the first attempt, earning promotion to Division One.
The season also saw them win the Capital Counties Feeder League Trophy and the league's Senior Cup.
They were Division One champions the following season, as well as retaining the Senior Cup and winning the Senior Challenge Cup.
In 2004–05 the club retained the league title and Senior Challenge Cup.
The league was renamed the Essex Olympian League in 2005.
White Ensign won the Capital Counties Feeder League Trophy for a second time in 2005–06. The following season they were Division One champions for a third time, as well as retaining the Capital Counties Feeder Trophy.
Division One was then renamed the Premier Division, and the club retained the league title in 2007–08,
also winning the Essex Premier Cup.
[White Ensign](_blank)
Essex Olympian League The following season saw them win the Senior Challenge Cup for a third time.
However, this marked the end of their period of success and the club finished second-from-bottom of the Premier Division in 2013–14, resulting in relegation to Division One. They were Division One champions the following season and were promoted straight back to the Premier Division.
At the end of the 2017–18 season the club moved up to the newly created Division One South of the
Eastern Counties League
The Eastern Counties Football League, currently known as the Thurlow Nunn League for sponsorship purposes, is an English football league at levels 9 and 10 of the English football league system. It currently contains clubs from Norfolk, Suff ...
.
In 2021 the club were promoted to the
Essex Senior League
The Essex Senior Football League is an English men's football league. It contains clubs from the Essex FA, Hertfordshire FA, London FA, Middlesex FA and the Amateur Football Alliance. It is a feeder league to Division One North of the Isthm ...
based on their results in the abandoned
2019–20 and
2020–21 seasons.
Ground
In 2002 White Ensign moved to the Len Forge Centre in Southend after being admitted to the Essex Olympian League.
The centre had been the home of the Southend Borough Combination since 1981. A small stand was built in 1985, but was damaged in the
Great Storm of 1987.
[Jon Weaver (2005) The Football Grounds of Rural Essex, p91] A covered stand was later erected, with two uncovered stands with bench seating built on each side.
After White Ensign moved into the ground, the three stands were replaced with two seated stands either side of a new changing room block.
In order to move up to the Essex Senior League in 2018, the club relocated to Basildon Sporting Village, an athletics stadium originally known as the Gloucester Park Bowl.
["White Ensign", ''Groundtastic'', Autumn 2018, p14] It had originally been planned as a 21,000-capacity stadium in the 1950s (9,000 seated, 12,000 standing), but eventually opened with only a 200-seat uncovered stand.
moved into the ground in 1967, and a roof was added to the stand.
[Weaver, p53] After Basildon United left in 1970, the ground was used by clubs playing in the Southend & District League, Olympian League club Herongate Athletic, and the Essex Eels
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
club.
In 2011 the ground was upgraded, with a 750-seat stand built.
Ahead of the
2019–20 season, White Ensign entered a groundsharing agreement with
Great Wakering Rovers at their Burroughs Park ground.
Honours
*Essex Olympian League
**Champions 2003–04, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08
**Division Two champions 2002–03
**Senior Cup winners 2002–03, 2003–04
**Senior Challenge Cup winners 2003–04, 2004–05, 2007–08
*Essex Premier Cup
**Winners 2007–08
*Capital Counties Feeder League Trophy
**Winners 2002–03, 2005–06, 2006–07
See also
*
White Ensign
The White Ensign, at one time called the St George's Ensign due to the simultaneous existence of a cross-less version of the flag, is an ensign worn on British Royal Navy ships and shore establishments. It consists of a red St George's Cross ...
*
White Ensign F.C. players
References
External links
*
{{coord, 51, 33, 20.318, N, 0, 47, 52.030, E, region:GB_type:landmark, display=title
Football clubs in England
Football clubs in Essex
1951 establishments in England
Association football clubs established in 1951
Southend Borough Combination
Essex Olympian Football League
Eastern Counties Football League
Sports clubs and teams in Southend-on-Sea
Essex Senior Football League