The Early Years

Evie Godfrey

black and white photo of Siddal team, in three rows, the front two rows are wearing stripey kits and the back row are standing and wearing smarter attire

Clubs > Siddal > The Early Years

The Early Years

Siddal did not at that time play at  their current home ground of Chevinedge as it was part of the  site of  the Halifax Zoo which opened in 1909 and closed in 1916.  In 1921, the Zoo was cleared by Siddal ex-Servicemen soccer club who were the first team to play there. Siddal played on the old Salterhebble pitch until Halifax Town took it over after which they even had a pitch at Illingworth. When they moved back to Siddal they played some games on land above  Morton’s Brickworks known as “North Pole”. They were headquartered in local Siddal pubs.

black and white photo of Siddal team, in three rows, the front two rows are wearing stripey kits and the back row are standing and wearing smarter attire

As the Great War came towards its end, Siddal were winners of  the Halifax Championship Final in 1918 when they defeated Pineberry.

During 1920 and 1921 Siddal had problems finding a suitable ground and did not appear in the open-age section, but continued in the Intermediate League, which was, by then, for Under-20s. There are reports of Siddal reappearing in 1922 alongside two other clubs, Calder Valley and Hipperholme & Lightcliffe. By 1923 they were playing in Division 2 alongside Luddenden Foot and Mixenden.

black and white scan of Second Division stats table

Later in the 1920’s, Siddal won through to the Halifax Intermediate Championship Final at Thrum Hall in 1927-8 but lost out to new team Stainland.

As the 1930’s began, Siddal, who were playing at least some of the time at Backhold Lane, never seemed to be fully established as a club as they were not operating every season. When Halifax reached the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final at Wembley for the first time in 1931, the side included two players from Siddal – Gillie Hanson and Fred Adams.

The fluidity of the Rugby League scene was demonstrated when Elland Wanderers fell apart in the 1931-2. Season,  Siddal, by now on a field at Backhold Lane, took over their fixtures, just grateful to find opposition! Indeed, in the early 1930’s Siddal played in the Huddersfield and District returning to the Halifax League only in the middle of the decade.

There was obviously interest in Rugby League in Siddal demonstrated by local public House, The Cross Keys, winning the Halifax Workshops Competition in 1933 at Thrum Hall.

black and white photo of Cross Keys Workshops Winners in 1933, a group od players are standing in a group smiling, some have their arms crossed, the photo has been enhanced by AI

In the mid-1930’s, the team were doing well and appeared in both the 1934 and 1935 Halifax Cup Finals with Halifax West End and Luddenden respectively as opponents.

sepia scan of the Siddal 1935-5 team, the players are wearing stripey kits and in three rows in front of a building, with a few people either side, wearing dark suits

Later in the 1930’s there is evidence of Siddal playing in a local U17’s League and at Open Age.

However, there were still problem with teams fulfilling fixtures as Stainland U17 failed to raise a team for their away game at Siddal and it was also reported that Elland open age turned up at  Luddenden Foot with only 11 men.