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THE BWSCL, or London Whites as they are more commonly known, is the longest-running Wanderers supporters club currently in existence and this year celebrates its 40th anniversary. Formed in spring 1985, Martin Parnell and Mick Gething detail what it was like supporting Wanderers from the Big Smoke. Members of the London Whites gather at their 40th anniversary event at the White Swann Inn in Covent Garden (Image: London Whites) Being a Bolton fan in London in the early 1980s was something of a solitary existence.
If you relocated for work or study back then, there was no internet, mobile phones were only seen on Star Trek and Wanderers based social media was confined to the letters pages of the Buff! Wanderers were on the crest of a slump, having been relegated from the old First Division in 1979 and were in the middle of a run that would see them finish in a lower league position for 10 consecutive years, and end up in what was then the Fourth Division! Yet in these unlikely circumstances, a group of London based Wanderers fans began to recognise each other on the away terraces of the Capital. It was a mixture of people working in London, students, people with family connections to the Wanderers and a guy from Kent who was a fan because he was Charlie Hurley’s nephew! A small group decided that they should share their experience of following Wanderers from London and they began meeting up regularly and attending matches together. Word of mouth soon led the group to expand, and the Bolton Wanderers Supporters Club London was officially formed in 1985.
Eighties football was in a sorry state, crumbling stadia, fan violence and the resultant negative media scrutiny made being a football fan something of a stigma. No sooner was London Whites formed than the Bradford Fire and Heysel disasters happened, and football was urged to take a long hard look at itself. All was not lost, there were some grass roots movements at large to harness the positive side of the game.
‘When Saturday Comes’ had hit the newsstands, a healthy football fanzine culture was developing, and clubs were starting to listen to those fans who wished for a fresh approach. BWSCL decided to harness these influences and help make football a positive experience. The club had four stated aims back in 1985, and these still hold true today.
In London there were other supporters’ clubs forming following teams from outside London and as grew in number they joined together to form an association whereby fans of different clubs could meet up, socialise and even share group train travel to matches. The London Whites gather for a game in one of the matchworn kits sent by former Bolton manager Phil Neal (Image: London Whites) London Whites became part of that wider group (APFSCIL) and set up football and darts teams to compete against rival fans. The travel even extended to overseas trips, both watching Wanderers in Europe and travelling for our own football and social events as well.
Right from the start, London Whites established good links with BWFC, Nat Lofthouse became Honorary President and Phil Neal was an early supporter, as was Bruce Rioch. Phil Neal even donated us a ‘match worn’ football kit in which we wore with immense pride on the pitches of Wormwood Scrubs and Hackney Marshes! Thanks to these good relations, we have had several BWFC ‘officials’ visit us in London over the years with Alan Fullerlove, Paul Fletcher, Phil Neal in the early days to Big Sam and Phil Gartside in the glory years on several occasions. Most recently Neil Hart was welcomed to a London Whites meeting.
In return London Whites have shown their support of BWFC in the form of player sponsorship and over the last decade have made a point of sponsoring a young developing player rather than an established star. This season’s sponsored players are Luke Hutchinson from the B Team and Charlotte Tyers from the Women’s team. We run five-a-side football and darts teams, and regular meetings are held.
The club continues to attract new members as people come and go from London, anyone interested can find all the details at www.londonwhites.co.
uk . Since 1985, hundreds of Wanderers fans have passed through the ranks of London Whites as they spend time in London. Many remain active members from across the South of England and even distant lands such as Ireland, New York, Texas and Spain.
The 40th Anniversary celebrations kick off with a foreign trip (To see Dapo Afolayan’s St Pauli take on Mainz). The original LW members are getting old, but already a new wave of younger members is taking the initiative and carrying the club into a new era. We still welcome new members and attend matches together, travelling as a group where possible.
In the pre internet days, London Whites had a monthly fanzine/newsletter The Trotter, which now continues as an email newsletter, On Saturday, March 22, the Bolton Wanderers Supporters Club London held our 40th Anniversary Event at The White Swan in Covent Garden where London Whites members past and present came together to celebrate our longevity. For those who are fortunately too young to remember, The White Swan is the very same pub where our club began meeting all those years ago. So, it was highly appropriate to gather there once again, including those who had travelled from Spain, Scotland, Lancaster and of course Bolton too.
Mick Gething, left, and Martin Parnell, right, with Julian Darby at the recent Former Players Association dinner (Image: London Whites) The main announcement of the evening was that BWSCL now have a new Honorary President in Julian Darby. The club has only ever had one Honorary President before (Nat Lofthouse) so it was with huge pleasure we were able to make public the fact that Julian has accepted our invitation to fill the role. Just like Nat before him Julian has the closest of associations with Bolton and the Wanderers.
Both Julian and Nat were born in Bolton, went to school there, signed for Wanderers as a schoolboy, made it through the ranks to the first team and then got involved with the youth system at BWFC, become Honorary President of the London Whites – and oh yes, they both got to manage Bolton Wanderers too! Webmaster Chris Hankins put together a slide show of photographs sent in by other London Whites, which ran on the big screen during the party - and there was a video message sent from Bolton from Julian Darby who said: “Hi Julian Darby here, I’d just like to inform you that I have just agreed to become the new honorary president of the London Whites, a great honour, following on in the footsteps of the great Nat Lofthouse OBE.” From then on it was party time, lots of food and drink, tons of reminisces about old adventures, and planning new ones too! The coming season will of course be our 40th season as a club and we hope to have another get together when Julian Darby is able to come down and meet us, the Christmas do, and plans are already afoot for the European London Whites trip in 2025. The London Whites are celebrating 40 years as an association (Image: London Whites).
