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West Ham United FC is officially incorporated on 5 July 1900. This episode covers the early years of the new club: how they came to wear claret and blue, the move to the Boleyn Ground in Upton Park in 1904, and the long managerial reign of Syd King, who built the club from the ground up. It ends with the First World War and the West Ham Pals — the battalion of supporters and players who left Green Street for the Western Front, and did not all come back.

Research Sources

West Ham United Official History — whufc.com/club/history/club-history/1900s — excellent primary source on the early club years.

Elliot Taylor, 'Up The Hammers!' — the definitive history of the West Ham Pals and the 13th Essex Regiment. Essential reading before recording the war section.

John Spurling, 'Syd King: The Man Who Built West Ham' — if available, excellent background on King's management years.

Aston Villa official history / flashscore.com article on claret and blue origins — useful for the kit story context.

West Ham United club archive — contemporary records on the Memorial Grounds and move to Upton Park.

Daily Mirror, 2 September 1904 — original match report on the first game at Upton Park vs Millwall.

westhampals.blogspot.com — Elliot Taylor's research blog on the Pals battalion, with individual stories.

Key Dates

5 July 1900 — West Ham United FC officially incorporated.

First match as West Ham United: 7-0 win over Gravesend in the Southern League.

Summer 1899 — William Dove wins the sprint race; claret and blue shirts acquired.

1903 — Claret and blue permanently adopted as home colours.

1 September 1904 — First match at the Boleyn Ground (Upton Park): West Ham 3-0 Millwall, 10,000 crowd.

1904 — Iconic claret body / sky blue sleeves kit combination first worn.

1902 — Syd King appointed manager (age 29); serves until 1932.

1907 — West Ham win the Western League championship.

1912-13 — Best ever Southern League finish: third place.

August 1914 — First World War begins; Football League suspended from 1915.

December 1914 — Mayor of West Ham raises the 13th Essex Regiment (West Ham Pals).

December 1915 — West Ham Pals land in France.

Late 1917 — Last sta

All book references across the series:

John Powles — Iron in the Blood: Thames Ironworks FC, the Club That Became West Ham United (Soccerdata, 2005) — amazon.com/dp/1899468226 — Out of print; second-hand copies available.

Charles Korr — West Ham United: The Making of a Football Club (Gerald Duckworth & Co., 1986) — amazon.co.uk/dp/0715621262 — Out of print; second-hand copies available.

Elliott Taylor — Up The Hammers!: The West Ham Battalion in the Great War 1914–1918 (2012; Third Edition 2015) — amazon.co.uk/dp/1479279463

John Spurling — Syd King: The Man Who Built West Ham — Referenced in Episode 2 for King's management years.

Charles Booth — Life and Labour of the People of London (1889–1903) — Referenced in Episode 1. Searchable free via LSE Digital Library.

John Lovell — Stevedores and Dockers — Referenced in Episode 1. Background on dock labour conditions in Victorian East London.

Jonathan Schneer — Ben Tillett: Portrait of a Labour Leader — Referenced in Episode 1. Context on the 1889 Great Dock Strike.

Jeff Powell — Bobby Moore: The Life and Times of a Sporting Hero (Queen Anne Press, 2002) — amazon.co.uk/dp/1861055110

Matt Dickinson — Bobby Moore: The Man in Full (2014) — amazon.co.uk/dp/0224091727 — Supplementary to Powell.

Josh C...