Dial M for Merthyr

A century ago the Southern League was being played under very difference circumstances to how we are able to watch the Martyrs in 2014. The world was beginning a global conflict which most people thought or maybe just hoped would be over by Christmas. Merthyr Town continued to play, the Southern League season of 1914/15 was completed before being suspended for the remainder of the War. The professional football players at Merthyr Town were affected by the war in the same way as every other tradesman in the country, they were working class men who joined to fight for their country. We’ve looked into the records to note as many Merthyr Town players who would have fought and sadly died in that catastrophic war. The following list is by no means complete and if you have further information on the players listed or of other players or even staff from Penydarren Park who served then please get in touch. William Kirby William Kirby was born on 21 st June 1882 in Preston. H

Just Say NO If you don’t want to buy Dial M for Merthyr, then take a leaf from the book of Samuel “Zammo” MacGuire and JUST SAY NO. Whilst selling the issue 48 of our low brow publication it became our mission to make sure we maximised our sales. There was a lot of the feel good…. well you know at MTFC at the end of last season so we wanted to spread a little happiness and donate a few quid to the clubs coffers. The proceeds of the last issue paid for the Ex-Players Day – so thanks if you purchased. So with this aim in mind our sales network of yours truly, Wingy and Jack Hodgkins hit the terraces with the aim of hitting 200 sales. For the most part selling the rag is boring, it is pretty much a slow process. Crowds are down on the halcyon days when Dial M was in its pomp. Today’s sales days are interspersed with games of Kerbsy or even Pitch & Toss. If you are interested Pant beat Trefechan last time out and are the reigning MTFC Kerbsy Champions. The sales process

What do they expect of us? Merthyr Town has a tradition, probably more a culture, of its supporters following them home and away. Whether it’s walking up Park Terrace, cycling to Cossham Street, trains to Sholing, cars to Yate or the tried and trusted Travel Club bus to almost everywhere the Martyrs will take fans to an away ground no matter the distance. In fact it’s a rarity in our division for any club to bring fans to Penydarren Park, even Paulton only brought a mini bus to CF47 for the play-off final last season, notable exceptions have been Poole Town, Mangotsfield United and Leamington in recent years. So we’ve established that we take a few supporters away with us. Next would be the fact that we also like a drink or two. So we finally come to the conundrum of the fan/drink/profit equation for every clubhouse in the country. Once a season, unless you’re unlucky to pull a midweek game against the Martyrs, you get about sixty to a hundred very thirsty Merthyr folk

Each season since the start of the Supporters Trust at Penydarren Park a charity has been nominated to benefit from a fundraising event over the Christmas or New Year period. Two seasons ago the idea of a special shirt to commemorate the day was started, you may remember the Pink & Black striped shirt for Cancer Aid or the Gold shirt last season for the Trinity Fields special school. This year the chosen charity is the Motor Neurone Disease Association. The charity has been chosen to remember Stephen Jarrett who followed the Martyrs but sadly recently died after a 15 year battle with this dreadful disease. 100 years ago Merthyr Town wore a Red shirt with a Green "V" on the chest, we're hoping to resurrect that shirt design for the Boxing Day fundraiser v Cinderford Town. We hope you will once again support Merthyr Town FC and our chosen charity for 2014/15 season.

Jabez Cartwright began his football career at Mapperly and Grantham Town in February 1912. He was a right back who very soon transferred for £110.00 to Bolton Wanderers but for some reason he never played for the Burnden Park club. He joined Merthyr Town FC in January 1914 and played in the Southern League fixture at Portsmouth. His appearances were mainly in The Southern League Charity Cup and South Wales Senior Cup. He was released by Merthyr Town at the end of the season and he rejoined Grantham Town in 1914. Private Jabez Cartwright of the Lincolnshire Regiment was killed in action on 4th October 1917 and he is remembered at Tyne Cot Memorial .

So how big a Merthyr Town fan are you? Are you a Super fan? How would we judge the merits of individual fans if we needed to award medals for services to the Black & White (and Green & Red of course) heroes who grace the lush carpet at Penydarren Park?   Hulby has come up with the following competency test for you to complete to see where you fit in the pantheon of great fans who have stood on the Wank Bank over the decades.   Where do you come in the Martyr Test?   CATEGORY Attended a MTFC home match                                                   1 Attended a MTFC away match                                                    2 Own a Black & White scarf                                                            1 Own a Green & Red scarf                                                              2 Attended the Atalanta match                                                     1 Attended Hungerford play-off match               

Merthyr Tydfil FC v Atalanta BC European Cup Winners’ Cup first round 1987/88 Fittingly, given that Wales’s great footballing legend John Charles ended his playing days at Penydarren Park, the finest night in Merthyr’s history came against a club from Italy, where Charles made such an indelible impression with Juventus. The reward for Merthyr’s third Welsh Cup triumph was a tie against Serie A side Atalanta. On a weather worn pitch, better suited to the Welsh side’s more direct style than Atalanta’s passing game, set-piece goals from Kevin Rogers and Ceri Williams secured a 2-1 home win in front of 14,000 delirious supporters. Away tickets for the return leg soon sold out. “Half of Merthyr were in Italy, it seemed,” skipper Andy Beattie later recalled. The Martyrs went down 2-0 on the night – and exited the competition 3-2 on aggregate – but even defeat couldn’t dampen the travelling supporters’ spirits. “Afterwards the players and the fans all went to the pub to cel

William Kirby was born on 21 st June 1882 in Preston. He was known throughout his career as “Sunny Jim”. His first club was Emmanuel Rovers but he was soon spotted and signed for Football League giants Preston North End in November 1900. A spell at local team Oswaldtwistle Rovers followed. Preston North End retained his registration between 1901 and 1911 and so his time with four Southern League clubs in that period were in effect loan spells. August 1902 Sunny Jim signed for Swindon Town where he played 33 games and showed his potential as a forward by scoring 11 goals but very soon he was on the move again this time to the East End of London where he signed for West Ham United scoring on his debut and once again proving a useful signing by scoring 11 goals in 36 appearances. However at the end of the 1903/04 season he returned to the County Ground where he resumed his career with Swindon Town scoring 4 goals in 21 games in the red shirt. It was in March 1905 th

Frederick “Frank” Costello was born in Birmingham during 1884. After failing to make the grade at his first club of West Bromwich Albion he moved to Halesowen Town before heading to the south coast to join Southampton then of the Southern League in 1907. Frank made his professional debut on 14 th September 1907 scoring in a 2-0 win at Luton Town. Despite being described as “a trifle slow, he was clever with the ball and had a habit of disconcerting the opposition by making for goal when he was expected to make a pass”. In his first season he scored nine goals in 28 league appearances. It was during the Saints run to the FA Cup semi-final during the same season that Frank played his best game, scoring a goal in the first half against Everton and then scored an amazing headed goal to seal the home team’s 3-2 win. However Frank was injured for the majority of the 1908/09 season and by March he was transferred to West Ham United. He made twelve appearances for the Hammers bef

The next issue of Dial M For Merthyr fanzine will hit the Penydarren Park terraces on 23rd August. All articles are welcomed as always, if you want to see your thoughts, dreams maybe even nightmares preserved for eternity in print please drop us a line via wolvesy@yahoo.co.uk

I was actually there when he came up with the name. It was Walsall v's Sunderland in '88 and we were talking with the Editor of the new Sunderland Fanzine, Wise Men Say.. 'So, what's your called then?' Asked the Mackem... 'Dial M for Merthyr' replied Wolvesy. The guy laughed. I laughed. He turned to me and said, 'I just made that up'. 'It's good mate. Not sure how many people on the Wank Bank will be aware of Hitchcock's brilliant suspense masterpiece but it's better than my idea for the name'. (I was all for 'You sexy Merthyr F*ckers' as Prince was big with the song at the time). And so that was it, 'Dial M for Merthyr' was born. The rest, as they say, is a mystery...   The one thing about Mark Evans is that he's a born leader. It's true. He may get 'all shucks' about it but his legacy is astonishing. I'd never be doing what I'm doing now if it wasn't for

We asked Phil Matsell the question “If Merthyr Town FC was a film which 10 songs would make up the soundtrack?” and here’s his suggestions which look mighty fine to us;   Next to Nothing – Fat Boy Slim   Weekender – Flowered Up   What good am I – Darrow Fletcher   Something to say – The Action   At the edge – Stiff Little Fingers   Grown your own – The Small Faces   Groove Harder – Stone Roses   Gently as you feel – The Flies   Trick Shot – Ceasefire   Judge Fudge – Happy Mondays   A quality selection now all we have to do is finish the screenplay and we’re off to Cannes.    

Moses Russell was born in Tredegar , in Monmouthshire and after leaving school he began work as a coal-miner . In his leisure time he played both association football and rugby as well as being a boxer and competent swimmer, once rescuing a drowning child from a river. His first professional club was Ton Pentre , whom he joined in 1911 before transferring to Merthyr Town later that year. Whilst with Merthyr Town, Moses helped them win the South Wales & Monmouthshire FA Cup. He made his debut for Wales playing at left half against Scotland on 2 March 1912. The first player to be capped by Wales whilst with Merthyr, there would only be one other in our history. In the summer of 1912, Moses left South Wales to join Southport but with the club having financial problems, he returned to Merthyr Town on a free transfer in February 1913, rather than take a cut in his wages. Whilst with Merthyr Town, he gained his third " cap ", against England on 16 March 1914.