Second row (l-r); Dick Hill (Trainer), Jack Snape, Cecil McCaughey, Billy Frith, George Mason, Harry Boileau, Jack Archer, Ernie Curtis, Lawrie Armeson, Les Bruton (Assistant Trainer)
Third row (l-r); Harry Storer (Manager), Keith Moulton (Director), Walter Brandish (Director), Frank Stringer (Chairman), W Young (Director), H Oliver (Director), W Erle Shanks (Director)
Front row (l-r); Johnny Pritchard, Tom Crawley, George McNestry, Jock Lauderdale, Clarrie Bourton, Les Jones, Jimmy Liddle, Billy Lake, Arthur Fitton
By Jim Brown
With promotion to Division Two achieved, the summer of 1936 was a very busy one with a new Main Stand erected in double quick time following the demolition of the old John Bull Stand which had been in place since the ground opened in 1899. The new stand, which stood until burned down in 1968, cost around £12,000, and accommodated 3,000 seated spectators with a terrace enclosure in front holding a further 2,000. With the decision to build the stand only taken after the victorious final game of the season the race was on to finish the work by the time of the first home game against Swansea on 31 August. Ultimately the stand was not quite finished and only around two thirds of the seats were installed by that first game which City won 2-1 in front of 26,000.
Two days earlier the side kicked off the season with a 1-1 draw at Doncaster and one of two new signings, defender Jack Archer, made his debut after joining from Everton. The other new man Scottish inside-forward Billy McDonald had to wait until early September before replacing the veteran Jock Lauderdale, who moved to Northampton. A third new man Irish right-winger Jackie Brown arrived for £3,000 in October after McNestry suffered a serious ankle injury, and was a big success, finishing as top scorer with 13 goals. Clarrie Bourton was a regular still at centre-forward but was not as effective in the higher league, scoring only nine goals.
After a slow start City hit form in the autumn and run of 14 games with only one defeat saw City in the top three in early December and some fans were dreaming of successive promotions and Division One. The good form stretched into the New Year and the scalp of First Division Charlton was taken in the FA Cup. February 1937 proved to be a month to remember; first their great rivals Aston Villa arrived for their first ever game at Highfield Road (Villa had lost their First Division place for the first time the previous season) and 39,800 saw Brown grab the winner for City amidst wild scenes. Two weeks later City entertained West Brom in the Cup and a record 44,492 crowd saw their top flight neighbours outclass City in a 3-2 victory.
The Cup exit seemed to affect the league form and only one of the next eight games were won and although the last two away games were victories the team finished the season a creditable eighth, ten points behind the promoted clubs Leicester and Blackpool.
Crowds were up again, averaging 23,342 and the club’s future was made more secure when it was announced that Sir John Siddeley, Chairman of Armstrong-Siddeley, the world renowned Coventry-based aircraft manufacturer, lent the club £20,000 to enable them to purchase the freehold of the ground from the Mercers Company with a repayment period of 32 years.
