With a combined existence of 273 years, the Cray teams first met in earnest in 2024
History weighs heavily on the derby between Cray Valley Paper Mills and Cray Wanderers on Easter Monday, April 6 – even though these two near neighbours have only met in earnest three times in the past, in a rivalry dating back exactly one season.
“Truthfully, there hasn’t been much chance for a rivalry!” admits Aaron Flanagan, Committee Member at Cray Valley (PM) as the club is referred to.
“When we played each other on the first midweek fixture of last season, it was the first competitive meeting between the two clubs. It was also the opening night of their new Flamingo Park stadium, which added extra prestige to the occasion.”
And with these Cray teams currently at opposite ends of the Isthmian Premier League table – Wanderers just behind the play-off places, the Millers deep in the drop zone – Monday’s clash at the Badgers Sports ground in Eltham should have a bearing on whether they’ll meet again next season.
For visitors Wanderers, it took 164 years from the club’s formation in 1860 to that first rendezvous at Flamingo Park in 2024. During that time, Wanderers had lived up to their name, formed by itinerant labourers working on the London, Chatham & Dover railway line through the village of St Mary Cray – in particular, a viaduct still in place today – then moving grounds several times, finally settling in Sidcup.
This tranquil corner of north-west Kent was subsumed into the Borough of Bromley, and therefore Greater London, in 1965. ‘Cray’ refers to the adjoining communities of St Mary Cray and St Paul’s Cray, just north of Orpington.
Groundsharing with then non-league Bromley from 1998 onwards, the Wands were rescued by current chairman Gary Hillman, who eventually arranged for Cray to convert a sports ground once overseen by the long defunct National Dock Labour Board once used at weekends into a going concern.
Set by the Sidcup By-Pass, Flamingo Park was opened at the start of the 2024-25 season with that dramatic inaugural derby against Cray Valley Paper Mills. It not only represented a first proper home for the Wands in half a century, it has allowed this venerable institution to showcase their truly unique USP as ‘The Oldest Football Club in London’.
Emblazoned in signature amber across the old-school clubhouse, it provides a sense of identity and beckons the many groundhopping visitors from beyond Britain’s shores, happy to snap selfies. Following the example of the marginally older Sheffield FC, ‘The World’s Oldest Football Club’, who can guarantee a few dozen curious travellers on the gate every home game, the Wands can now not only build a local fan base but also use their heritage as a foundation.
According to Mark Hunt, press officer and archivist at the club, “With the anticipation of the new ground, there have been a new generation of fans who are from our traditional heartlands of St Mary and St Paul’s Cray. When Wanderers were playing in Bromley, those residents might have been unaware of our success.”
“We also welcome many to the ground who have London’s Oldest Football Club at the top of their list of places to visit.”
While 2024-25 was the first season that the Cray teams shared divisional status, Cray Valley (PM) date back well over a century.
“We were set up as the workmen’s team for the Nash Paper Mills in St Paul’s Cray,” explains Aaron Flanagan. “Records show that we were formed in 1919 and the original club colours were green and white to match the colours of the delivery vans.”
Taking a leaf from Wanderers’ book, Cray Valley (PM) are also looking to spotlight their heritage despite a somewhat patchwork history: “We’re planning to go back to our storied green-and-white stripes for the first time in many decades next season. The old Nash Paper Mill is unfortunately no longer there, but a piece of its old fencing is – including with the WN initials for William Nash – as well as the Bull Inn pub where the workers used to drink. We’re hoping to launch next season’s kits there”.
“We are having to attract new fans and personally that is a task I am enjoying at the club. It was only a few years ago where attendances would be under 100 most weeks. If you look at our first season in the Isthmian South East in 2019-20, we had a crowds as low as 56, 59, 62 and 72. Welcoming more than 550 people to our last home game shows just how far this club has come in a short time.”
The heroic displays of November 2023 against fellow South Londoners several rungs above the Millers in the league pyramid also helped: “We can probably thank the FA Cup game against Charlton Athletic for a bit of that growth. Many of our fans point to that fixture as either their first, or the one where they first heard about the club and became curious”. Battling to earn a 1-1 draw at The Valley, Cray Valley (PM) were holding the League One side by the same scoreline in the replay (remember them?) before the inevitable avalanche to send the visitors into the next round.
“Coupled with winning football in the 18 months following that cup run, we were really able to kick on,” says Aaron, referring to promotion to the Isthmian Premier later that same season.
The move up brought the Millers together with the local rivals they hadn’t ever played in a century or more of football – and coincided with the opening of Wanderers’ new ground at Flamingo Park: “For us, to go there and spoil the party and win 2-0 was a magical feeling,” remembers Aaron. “Perhaps was the start of a little rivalry for years to come. We did the double over them with a 2-1 win at our place later in the season.”
Not only that, but in that first season up, the Millers made the play-offs, despite a three-point deduction. Leading Dartford 2-1 in the semi-final, Cray Valley (PM) conceded a 98th-minute equaliser and eventually fell to a bitter 4-3 defeat. The result not only ended their momentum but also led to the departure of several key players.
A few months later, the Millers were looking up from the wrong end of the table, while Wanderers were ticking along nicely near the top. “We won’t mention the December result at their place this season,” says Aaron, referring to a humiliating 5-0 whitewash, “but there are plenty of people at our club who are desperate to put that right when we clash in April”.
“Off the pitch, relations between the two clubs are pretty solid. We have transferred players both ways, though the departure of one player a couple of weeks ago still stings a little bit and will add some spice to the derby.”
If the result goes the Millers’ way, and they survive in the Isthmian Premier – for which at least seven points from the last three games are probably required – Cray Valley (PM) are looking to the future: “We’re a phenomenally ambitious club,” says Aaron. “We might look small in stature but we’re definitely not small in ambition. We want to keep pushing ourselves higher up the pyramid and give it a good go.”
“We are not the sort of club to sit where we are; we want to be able to say we’ve given everything to take ourselves to the next level. This season hasn’t been ideal on the pitch, but by finishing in the play-offs of the Isthmian Premier Division last season, I think it is clear to see that we want to compete. We’re in a relegation battle now but if we survive, I have no doubt we will be kicking on again next season.”
A bumper crowd is expected at the Badgers Sports ground on Easter Monday. Named after the previous owner of the ground, a certain Mr Badger (“his wife is still alive and even attended a game last season“), the Millers’ home has been integral to the club’s rapid development.
“Three of the stands now in place were not there at the start of last season. We have added new bars, new food outlets, new committee rooms, new media suites, new scoreboards and even more in a very short space of time, to be able to adapt to our relatively quick growth.
Could nearest rivals Cray Wanderers be the ones to stymie the Millers’ ambitions?
Cray Valley Paper Mills v Cray Wanderers, Badgers Sports ground (Artic Stadium), Middle Park Avenue, Eltham, SE9 5HP. Monday, April 6, 3pm. Tickets £12 advance/£14 on the day. Bus 160 from Catford Road/Lewisham Town Hall to Westhorne Avenue/Eltham Road (12 stops) or train to Eltham (20mins from London Bridge), then 10-15min walk.
