REMEMBERING BEXLEY NOMADS

John Arundel, Des Littlefield and Brian Hughes recall Bexley Nomads, a football team formed of St Mary’s old boys

John Arundel (1972 joiner): “Although an exclusively rugby union school since the mid-sixties, soccer was always played during break times at St Mary’s and often after school at Sidcup Place.

“In 1977, in our fifth year, our intake of 1972 decided to form a team to help us keep in touch after we left.

“The school wasn’t keen on the preferred name ‘St Mary’s Old Boys’ so we needed to find something suitable. At first, we hired various pitches (and hopped a few fences) around Bromley and Bexley to play friendly matches.

“With no fixed ground, the name Bexley Nomads was coined. In 1978, thanks to work by Vince Raison and others (but mainly Vince!) the Nomads joined the Eltham and District Sunday League.

“An important member was the late Tom Brady. Tom’s dad, also called Tom, helped the club get organised and chaired meetings above the Prince Albert pub in Bexleyheath which also became our after-match watering hole.

“In 1979 and 1980 Nomads’ manager Phil O’Halloran (a friend of Tom Brady), organised tw week-long tours to Germany where his brothers were stationed in the army. Opponents included the 50^th Missile Regiment, the Blues and Royals and local German sides including one from Bexley’s twin town, Neheim Husten.

“Good results, combined with hospitable hosts, made for great adventures. Of course, what went on in Germany stayed in Germany although a few photographs do survive.

In our first year, Nomads won our divisional cup and were promoted from division three to one. The success continued over the next decade with promotion to the Premier division where we were three-time champions, appearing in several cup finals on the way, winning twice. Jim Woodhead and Greg Shannon (both teachers at the school) had spells managing the team, and playing too.

“As family life claimed Sundays from several players, friends joined to continue the club through its later years in the Eltham and District, Orpington and Bromley, and finally a vets league.”

Thirty years on in 2007, and featuring a handful of originals, the Nomads played their last games at a vets’ tournament in the Hague where they had been welcomed for several years as the only team outside the Netherlands.

Many of the players still meet up from time to time, at the pub, the golf course or on the ski slopes!

Des Littlefield (1974 joiner): “A second football team was formed at St Mary’s and, as Bexley Nomads had completed all the hard work of registering and joining the Eltham and District Sunday league, it made sense to short cut the administraive burden and form under the Bexley Nomads Banner called unimaginatively Bexley Nomads 2 (BN2).  To be clear, we were not a reserve team to Bexley Nomads – we simply were not good enough to be their reserve side – but rather an off-shoot from the same school.

Our first games were played at Danson Park, on the borders of Bexley and Bexleyheat, and most Sundays we could be found racing across to pitch 3 hoping to get the pick of the best posts, crossbars and nets before the other teams arrived. Assembly before the game was always a challenge. I can recall the changing of the clocks in autumn and spring presented its own unique challenge for team members who either missed the start of a match or were waiting for us in the changing room having sat there since 9am for a 10:30 kick off!

The history of BN 2 is not littered with a great deal of sporting achievements though we did make it to one cup final at the old Erith and District Football Ground which was all square at full time but sadly lost on penalties.  League wise, we tended to oscillate between two divisions so we would have one good year where we would win promotion and then one bad where we would be relegated back down.  It was a kind of footballing ‘GroundHog Day.’

Gradually this never ending cycle of promotion and relegation wore us down and the team naturally faded away after a decade of quite unremarkable football!

Bexley Nomads 3

Brian Hughes (1973 joiner):  “BN3 was formed in 1986 by myself and Kev Day who knew we’d both grown too fat or were just too poor at footie to even get into BN2, let alone BN1!

We recruited a few youngsters to do our running including Kev’s younger bro’ Paul (a good footballer) who brought in a few mates and the team flourished, progressed and “leapfrogged” BN2 in the Eltham and District League although we were never quite in the same league as BN1!

A few other St Mary’s folk played for us BN3 as we got better including the likes of Ian Campbell and Tony (Wacky) Doherty.”

Germany Tour 1979 Photo by Andy Hafford (injured)

Tom Brady, Philip O’Halloran, Paul Dyson, Chris Munday, Paul Munday, Mick McCarthy (71)

Chris O’Neill, Greg McGarvey, Kevin Moynihan, Mark Primarolo, John Arundel

(Philip O’Halloran, Manager. Chris Munday, Paul’s brother)

Bexley Nomads

Highlighted names played at some point I think

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Plus: Mike McCarthy (71), Ian Campbell (73), Brian Hughes (73), Jim Woodhead, Greg Shannon (Teachers)