Haverfordwest Challenge Cup - Corinthians & Bank United v Royal Artillery 406 Battery T.A.

The final that isn’t final: a record crowd attend the match at the Springfield Ground, Haverfordwest, but it all comes to nothing: 0-0!

The final of the first ever Haverfordwest Challenge Cup takes place on Thursday 30/4/1926 and attracts crowds who enjoy the play between the Haverfordwest Corinthians and Banks United [the Corries] and the Royal Field Artillery 406 Battery TA [the Soldiers] and the very evident skill of both goalkeepers. But missed opportunities abound and neither side scores, the Corries’ only goal being disallowed (offside). At the replay on Monday 4/5/1926, the Corries win 2-0.

A film passed into the care of NSSAW by the grandson of Viv Johnson, referred to in The Pembrokeshire Telegraph’s report of 6/5/1926 as one of the Corries’ “two pivotal men”. Stephen Green of the town’s Palace Theatre arranged to film the game for screening at the cinema [a camera is seen on an open wagon]. The kick-off was delayed until 5.15 so that more working men could attend. Mr Lemon of Pembroke Dock referee-ed both finals. Tulips and cowslips were sold at the ground to raise money for the RFA’s Sheppard Fund. [Major Robert Sheppard was wrongfully arrested in 1925 for stealing money from a prostitute, one of a number of incidents in the 1920s that led many to question London Metropolitan Police operations].