Cammell Laird 1907 F.C.

Did You Know?

• The club initially played at the original Prenton Park before moving to Park Road North in Birkenhead Park between 1909 and 1921.
• League matches were played at the Bebington Oval after World War I.
• The club moved to Kirklands in Rock Ferry in 1922.

History

Cammell Laird Institute Association Football Club was founded in 1907, and its first fixture was against Tranmere Rovers on 2 September of that year. That same season, the club entered Division One of the West Cheshire League, where it placed tenth. Although it finished at the bottom of Division One in 1909–10, the team was not moved down to Division Two. Following the First World War, the Cammell Laird company reduced its spending because of lower government orders for ships, so the football side was brought back under the company’s direct control.

A company league was created, and a representative team was entered into Wirral Football Association cup competitions. In 1922, a side called Kirklands Football Club joined Division Two of the Birkenhead & Wirral League, and it won the league championship in 1924–25. The club disbanded in 1939 when the Second World War broke out, but it reformed in 1946 under the name Cammell Laird Association Football Club. The team returned to the Birkenhead & Wirral League and then moved up to the West Cheshire League in 1948.

After a fourth-place finish in 1950–51, the club earned promotion to Division One. The following season, however, it placed second from bottom and was relegated back to Division Two. The club won Division Two in 1957–58 but was not promoted; after winning the division again the next season, it did move up to Division One. In 1968–69, the team won Division One without losing a single match.

It claimed the league title again in 1970–71 and then captured five straight championships from 1974–75 through 1978–79. After finishing as runner-up in 1979–80, the club won four consecutive titles from 1980–81 to 1983–84. Another championship came in 1986–87, followed by four more in a row between 1988–89 and 1991–92. Further titles arrived in 1993–94, 1998–99, and 2000–01.

After a runner-up finish in 2003–04, Cammell Laird moved up to Division Two of the North West Counties League. It won that division in its first attempt and was promoted to the Premier Division. The next season, the club won the Premier Division and moved up to Division One of the Northern Premier League; that same season, it reached the FA Vase semi-finals, where it lost 5–0 on aggregate to Nantwich Town. In its first year in the Northern Premier League, the team finished as Division One runner-up and qualified for the promotion play-offs.