What a clock-watcher

Its heavy dark wood is prettily embellished with patterns of a floral nature while the face is framed by coloured marble columns, giving the impression of a miniature Greek or Roman temple. “It weighs a ton,” says Martin.

The hefty timepiece is well over a century old but sadly doesn’t appear to have ticked for many a year.

However, it is the inscription on a small brass plate that prompted its new owner to scrutinise the record books of a much-cherished though sometimes maddeningly frustrating local sporting institution.

This is what it says: “Presented to P Chambers to celebrate winning the Southern League 1910/11 by the supporters of Swindon Town Football Club.”

Nothing unusual in that, you might think: a heartfelt token of appreciation to a top Town player after its best ever season – maybe one who had netted some vital goals during the campaign or perhaps had contributed a single act of soccer heroism that clinched the title.

The Southern League, in those days, was a rung beneath the top flight and included several Premiership clubs of today such as West Ham, Crystal Palace, Queen’s Park Rangers and Southampton.

Winning it would have constituted a major success for a comparatively small club like Swindon Town. Delving further into the clock’s antecedence, however, only deepened the intrigue for Martin, a 59 year-old history lecturer. Surprisingly, it turns out that Peter Chambers played just twice during the league-winning campaign, along with three appearances in the League Cup.

Martin says: “It doesn’t make sense. The clock would have been an extremely expensive item for the supporters to buy. Why would they go to all that trouble for a player who managed just five appearances – and only two in the league? What did he do to prompt such a generous tribute from the fans who hardly saw him kick a ball? That’s the mystery to me.” It is one of several curious aspects to the clock – such as how it ended up in that bastion of football Accrington, where Martin made the round trip of almost 400 miles to acquire it.

Let’s turn the clock back – sorry – to the summer of 1907. Struggling Swindon Town finished 17th in the 20-strong Southern League, well below Spurs, West Ham and champions Fulham. Reinforcements were urgently required, among them 29-year-old Chambers, an experienced half-back with more than 200 appearances under his belt for Blackburn Rovers and Bristol City.

Over the next three seasons the ageing but reliable Chambers – “the old hand who steadied the Swindon Town ship” as Martin put it – notched up 81 appearances and even managed to score a goal, during which time the County Ground boys came fifth before twice finishing runners-up.

The following season Swindon Town – with England international Harold Fleming in full flight with 19 goals from 30 league appearances – won the title, triumphantly finishing five points clear of runners-up Northampton.

But it must have been frustrating for Chambers who – either through injury or from being dropped – hardly played. He managed eight appearances the following season when Swindon came fourth.

Chambers hung up his boots aged 34 in 1912 but achieved success of another kind as a pub landlord, running The Red Lion in Moredon, today known as The Boundary House.

Indeed, he was such a well-known figure that for years, even when his pint pulling days were over, the hostelry was commonly referred to as The Peter Chambers.

Chambers died aged 74 in Swindon in 1952. “I’ve no idea where he was buried,” said Martin.

Fast forward to 2014 and Martin is amusing himself by scouring the internet for Town memorabilia; “badges – that sort thing.”

His interest was suddenly piqued by a fascinating eBay item – a Swindon Town-themed antique clock.

After studying its description, he plunged into the history of Town’s long forgotten half-back.

The clock had found its way to a woman called Barbara who lived in Accrington and had acquired the somewhat grand, though out-of-sorts timepiece a few years earlier at an antiques fair down the road in Blackburn.

Arriving in East Lancs after a crack-of-dawn start, Martin explained to Barbara the history and mystery of the clock.

“She asked if I was a Swindon fan and I said only a Swindon fan would drive 190 miles to see the clock. When I told her what I knew about Peter Chambers she said she felt like keeping it herself.”

She wanted £70 but took pity on the lad after his long drive north and they settled on £55. “I couldn’t resist it. It’s a piece of Swindon Town history. It has a really nice chime to it, too,” said Martin.

So how did it end up in Accie? “Chambers was from that way. I reckon that after his death his family came down and took his possessions back up north, including the clock.”

Admiring the antique, which he aims to have restored to full working order, Martin added: “Brand new you are looking at £300 to £350 today. At the time the fans would have had to shell out quite a bit.

“Perhaps they felt sorry for Chambers because he only managed two games and didn’t get a medal. That’s all I can think of…”

• Martin is seeking an expert to restore the clock and can be contacted at 01793-527862.

   

• By a strange quirk Martin is related to the man who saved Swindon Town from going bust just a few years before they signed a raft of players including Peter Chambers and embarked on a golden era.

  Martin’s father Eddie Thomas (1931- ) played in goal for Southampton but it was Eddie’s uncle – his dad’s brother Harry, who ran The Eagle pub in Westcott Place – who became the club’s saviour.

  In his self-published book The Railway Town (1980), Swindon historian Joseph Silto wrote that 1900/01 was a “disastrous season” for Town.

  “The club finished bottom of the league and in fact was only saved from extinction by the action of the treasurer – a well-known local publican named Harry Thomas – who waived the repayment of a loan owed to him by the club.”

  Said Martin: “It was £1,000. But it could have meant the end of Swindon Town.”

  Town’s golden era under manager/secretary Sam Allen finished exactly a century ago this year with the on-set of World War One, having begun in 1908. During that period they twice won the Southern League and reached two FA Cup semi-finals.

  Sam Allen’s grave at Radnor Street cemetery was recently restored after Town fans raised £2,500.

• Town historian Dick Mattick believes Chambers skippered the side during the season before they won the league.

  “Seems Peter was a bit like Keith Morgan in the late Sixties – a man who had been captain but then rarely had a first team place,” says Dick.

  His records include an image comprising individual head and shoulder shots of the 20-strong 1909/10 squad “with Peter in pride of place in the centre of the top row, which I think is due to his being captain.”

  Dick said Chambers seemed to have fallen out of favour after Billy Silto signed from Barnsley, losing his regular place while making occasional appearances when there were injuries.

  “This happened in the two semi-final matches of 1912 against Barnsley when he replaced Billy Tout the regular penalty taker.

  “He seems to have remained the captain. In the second match when Town were awarded a penalty Silto was about to take it when Chambers took the ball off him saying ‘you don’t take penalties Billy.’ He took it himself and missed.”

  Despite this “he was evidently a popular chap – hence the clock presentation.”

  The episode also speaks volumes for Town fans of the day – a big hearted, generous lot they clearly were.

•  Can anyone provide 
  any further information on the Peter Chambers Clock? 
  Did the fans have a whip-round for the weighty timepiece or did a wealthy benefactor cough up. Does anyone recall seeing the clock in the Red Lion? 
  Give us a shout.