Last month I featured the 1936 Supporter’s Club meeting and it became clearly evident that great strides had been made two years on. The following article appeared in the West London Observer on 27th May 1938:
‘A large portion of the Loftus Road side of the QPR ground is to be extended and covered over. The work, it is hoped, will be commenced in a few weeks time, and will be well under weigh by the beginning of next season.
The statement was announced at the third annual meeting of the Queen’s Park Rangers’ Supporters’ Club, held at the Ellerslie Road Schools on Monday. The cost of the roofing will be borne by the Supporters’ Club.
A record of steady progress in the affairs of the club was also disclosed by the reports presented at the meeting. Mr D. N. Pritt, KC, MP for North Hammersmith, President of the Club, was to have presided, but unfortunately was unable to be present. He sent a message of congratulations on the year’s work, and good wishes for success in the coming season.
In the absence of Mr Pritt the chair was taken by the Mayor of Hammersmith, (Alderman W. H. Church, JP, LCC), the vice-president of the club.
The Mayor said: “I am very pleased to find that QPR include a fair sprinkling of ladies in their Supporters’ Club. It has always been noticeable to me for a good many years that at the Rangers’ ground, whenever they were playing, there always has been a large number of ladies present.”
“I think the directors, management, and everybody connected with the club, although they did not quite achieve their ambition, are to be heartily congratulated on what I think was a successful year for the team. We can only hope that next year will bring about our long-expected ambition.”
A financially successful year was revealed by the report of the Treasurer. Mr W. C. Clow. £380 10s 9d had been raised by the enterprises of the club and, in addition to that figure, a further £62 16s 6d was raised for Barrie’s Benefit.
From the weekly competitions a profit of £179 17s 6d had been made. Altogether 1,022 members paid by subscription a sum of £53 15s 6d. Donations brought in a further £15. Dances had been very successful, and had realised the sum of £20 12s 2d.
Total receipts amounted to £425 13s 7d. A sum of £32 4s 9d will be carried forward to next season. Total working expenses amounted to less than £40, a remarkably low figure in view of the fact that the total turnover was in the region of £1,000.
The secretary, Mr A. H. Green, in presenting his report, said that the club had once again made steady progress. Dances had proved invaluable, and were of particular importance as they provided the only occasions on which the members met as a club.
Eighteen away trips were run in conjunction with the railway companies. The club had been able to add the considerable amount of £62 to the benefit cheque of “Wally” Barrie, and members would have an opportunity for showing similar generosity next season, when the benefits of Mason and Farmer fell due.
The relations between the Supporters’ Club and the management of QPR remained on the best of footings, and the spirit of co-operation was greatly in evidence. The Committee was particularly grateful to Mr Birrell, the secretary-manager, for his invaluable assistance.
A feature of the evening was the presentation of a cheque for £350 – the gift of the Supporters’ Club – to the management of QPR. The presentation was made by Mr E. E. Coster, Chairman of the Supporters’ Club, to Mr A. E. Pearsall, a director of the Rangers.
Mr Coster paid a warm tribute to the Committee of the Supporters’ Club, who had worked splendidly to raise the £350, and went on to refer to the excellent relations that existed between the club and the Rangers.
The Committee had found in the members of the management and the players a “splendid set of fellows.”
When they obtained their long-awaited club room, he hoped that the members of the Supporters’ Club would be able to join in the tournaments and other social functions with the players.
After congratulating the directors and Mr Birrell on the fine performance of last season, Mr Coster referred to benefits the Supporters’ Club had been able to bestow upon the Rangers.
They had purchased material for the development of the corner of the ground by Ellerslie Road Schools; helped with the cost of the crush barriers; provided sun-ray lamps for the dressing-room; provided the balls for the last two seasons; and in the three years of their existence they had been able to hand over to the Rangers the sums of £100 for the first year, £315 for the second; and now £350 for this year.
The thanks of the Board were expressed by Mr A. E. Pearsall and Mr A. Hittinger.
Mr W. Birrell, the secretary-manager, speaking on the team’s prospects, said of the players, “I have never had the pleasure or privilege of having in my charge such a whole-hearted set of players.”
“Every loss of a point we experienced this season, those fellows behaved as if they had lost a fortune. They tried – there is no doubt that the effort was there. Those players are whole-hearted triers.”
“We have had a year that will be invaluable to us. If we can benefit from the failure, success won’t be delayed long. We are trying, with the experience and knowledge we have, to get something better than we had.”
“We are hoping that the four points we were deficient of this year will be in the locker next.”
The Committee of the club were re-elected enbloc.’
It must be noted that in 1938 a £100 was equivalent in purchasing power to approx. £6,400 in 2017.
The home match against Crystal Palace on 29th October 1938 marked the opening of the new stand in the Loftus Road End.
Steve Russell
(Thanks to Colin Woodley for sending me the article)