There must be very few who remember goal running, a game that was very popular in Whitstable for a number of years and was played by many youths and young men of our town.
Whitstable played in a league with Faversham, Teynham, Oare, Ospringe, and possible others, and some fast and clever runners were to be seen.
It was a summer game and some of them were members of Whitstable football team, and after running many evenings all through the summer, could run hard and fast for football’s whole 90 minutes.
The running pitch was about the size of a football pitch. The game was last played at Westmeads, near the railway station and after the council, in 1920 built 60 houses for about £6,000 the remainder of that area was soon built upon, and probably that was a cause for winding up the game.
I first saw it played about 1906, on what was known as the Manor House ground which was, I suppose, a horse grazing field for Manor House, probably built and resided in by Mr. Thomas Gann who with a Mr. Austin of Canterbury formed the Seasalter and Ham Oyster Fishery Co. Ltd., built Marine Terrace near the Old Neptune.
Whitstable Town Football Team first used the Manor House ground before moving to Belmont.
A new goal running league should be of interest to our town in the long summer evenings and use of the Gorrell tank might be considered. A set of rules could soon be drawn up by the few folk who remember those days.
R. D. Dale
80 Nelson Road
Whitstable
