1950–51 Gillingham F.C. season

In November, Gillingham conceded nine goals against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground (pictured in the 1920s).

Gillingham's first match of the season was at home to the other newly elected club in the division, Colchester United; new signings Gage, Lewin, Ayres and Veck all made their debuts.[21] The game drew an attendance of 19,542, the largest crowd recorded at Priestfield since January 1948.[22] Colchester's Harry Bearryman twice cleared shots by Gillingham players off the goal-line after they had eluded his goalkeeper and another shot from the home team hit the cross-bar of the goal; the final score was 0–0.[23] Four days later, Veck scored Gillingham's first goal of the season to give his team the lead away to Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic, but the home team scored three times to win the game.[24] A defeat away to Bristol City and a draw at home to Bournemouth meant that at the end of August Gillingham had yet to win a game.[25] Jenkins made his debut in the home game against Bournemouth but did not play again for nearly three months.[21][26]

On 2 September, Gillingham won 4–3 at home to Millwall; the attendance of 20,128 was the largest of the season at Priestfield.[21] Following this first victory of the season, Gillingham lost away games against Bristol Rovers and Watford, both without scoring a goal. A correspondent for the Western Daily Press complimented Gage on his goalkeeping against Bristol Rovers, writing that Gillingham's opponents should have scored at least six goals as opposed to the three which they did.[27][28] After the two defeats, Gillingham were 22nd out of 24 teams in the division.[29] On 13 September, Veck scored Gillingham's first goal for three games with a penalty kick which gave his team a 1–0 win over Bristol Rovers;[21][30] three days later Derek Lewis scored Gillingham's first hat-trick of the season in only his second professional match, a 4–1 win at home to Walsall.[31] Having won two consecutive games for the first time during the season, Gillingham then began a run of nine consecutive league games without a victory. They ended September with defeats against Leyton Orient and Ipswich Town, both without scoring a goal, and then began October by losing away to Crystal Palace.[21] A week later, Dave Thomas, a centre-forward newly signed from Watford,[32] made his debut in a 1–1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.[33] He scored his first goal for Gillingham in the final game of October, a 2–2 draw at home to Norwich City.[21]

Gillingham began November with a 4–1 defeat away to Northampton Town,[21] after which they were 21st in the Third Division South table, one point above the three teams tied for last place.[34] On 18 November, Gillingham played away to Nottingham Forest, who were top of the table. The league leaders scored six goals in the first half and ultimately won the game 9–2; it was the first time that Gillingham had conceded nine goals in a game since 1927.[35][36] Gillingham began December with a 4–2 victory away to Aldershot, their first league win since October; it was their tenth away match of the league season but the first to end in anything other than a defeat. Thomas scored Gillingham's second hat-trick of the season in the win.[21][37] Following the victory, the team played five games in the final sixteen days of the calendar year but achieved only one draw and four defeats.[21] Gillingham's final match of 1950 was away to Millwall on 30 December; Gillingham lost 4–3 and ended the year 23rd in the Third Division South, above bottom-placed Crystal Palace on goal average.[38][39] Despite having only joined the club in October, Thomas was the team's leading Football League scorer, with eight goals in twelve games.[21]

In April, Gillingham won their first away league game for two months at Torquay United's Plainmoor ground (pictured in the early 1980s).

Gillingham's first match of 1951 was at home to Watford on 13 January; the away team took an early lead but Gillingham came back to win the game 3–1.[21][40] Four days later, Gillingham played at home to Exeter City; the attendance of 4,601 was the lowest of the season at Priestfield Stadium, due in large part to the game, which had been postponed earlier in the season, being rescheduled for a Wednesday afternoon.[21][41] Gillingham took a 5–2 lead in the first half and added four more goals in the second half as the game finished 9–4.[42] A report in the Birmingham Gazette noted that both teams' defences had been "over-run by fast-moving forwards".[43] It was the highest number of goals Gillingham had scored in a Football League match, surpassing the previous record of six,[44] and remained the club's highest league score until 1987.[42] The team were 23rd in the table at the end of the month.[45]

A goal from Veck gave Gillingham a 1–0 win at home to Leyton Orient in the first game of February,[46] and the team followed this up with wins away to Exeter and at home to Torquay United; it was the first time Gillingham had won three consecutive games during the season and took the team up to 19th in the table.[21][47] Following this run, they achieved only one victory in their next ten games.[21] On 17 February, they lost 5–1 away to Ipswich Town;[48] a week later they drew 0–0 with Crystal Palace but forward Charlie Burtenshaw suffered a broken leg which kept him out of the team for over a year.[49][50] Thomas scored twice as Gillingham drew with Brighton & Hove Albion on 3 March, but the team failed to score any goals in their next three games, after which they were 21st in the table.[21][51] On 24 March, they beat Northampton Town, their first victory for six weeks, but then lost away to both Southend United and Port Vale.[21] Forward Billy Hales made his Football League debut in the game against Port Vale and scored Gillingham's fourth hat-trick of the season; as of 2023 he remained the only player to score three goals on his Football League debut for the club.[52][53][54]

Gillingham began April with a third consecutive defeat, losing 4–1 at home to Nottingham Forest, for whom Wally Ardron scored a hat-trick before half-time.[55] Veteran goalkeeper Johnny Burke, a regular starter for Gillingham in the Southern League, replaced Gage for the next game, a 2–1 victory away to Torquay United. Aged 39, it was his first Football League appearance since the 1946–47 season.[56] He played in five of the last six games of the season and set a record for the oldest player to represent the club in the Football League which stood for over 50 years;[57][58] Jack Day, another goalkeeper who had been with the club in the Southern League but had been kept out of the team by Gage, played against Aldershot on 21 April.[59] Gillingham alternated victory and defeat in their final six games of the season; Hales scored twice in a 2–1 win over Swindon Town in the penultimate match to take his record to six goals in seven games.[21][60] Gillingham ended the season with a 2–1 defeat at home to Plymouth Argyle,[61] leaving them 22nd in the Third Division South, six points above the bottom two teams, who were required to apply for re-election to the Football League.[2]

Key

Gillingham were eliminated from the FA Cup at Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane ground (pictured in 1991).

As a Third Division South club, Gillingham entered the 1950–51 FA Cup in the first round; their opponents were Linby Colliery of the Central Alliance, a semi-professional team including several players employed at the eponymous mining facility. Linby had won through six qualifying rounds to reach this stage of the competition, the only team to do so. Gillingham took a four-goal lead in the first half and, although they conceded a goal in the second half, held on for a 4–1 victory.[63][64]

In the second round, Gillingham played away to fellow Third Division South club Bristol Rovers. Thomas gave Gillingham the lead before Rovers scored twice; a late goal from Jackie Carr meant that the game ended in a draw and a replay was required.[65] Four days later at Priestfield, Rovers took the lead but Carr scored to ensure another draw.[66] Under the rules of the competition the second replay took place at a neutral venue. At Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane ground, Gillingham took the lead with a goal from Lewis but Rovers scored twice to win the game and eliminate Gillingham from the competition.[67]

Key

• Bradley, Andy; Triggs, Roger (1994). Home of the Shouting Men: Complete History of Gillingham Football Club 1893–1993. Gillingham: Gillingham F.C. ISBN 0-9523361-0-3.
• Brown, Tony (2003). The Definitive Gillingham F.C.: A Complete Record. Nottingham: Soccerdata. ISBN 1-899468-20-X.
• Elligate, David (2009). Gillingham FC On This Day. Durrington: Pitch Publishing. ISBN 978-1-9054-1145-0.
• Hugman, Barry (2005). The PFA Premier and Football League Players' Records 1946-2005. London: Queen Anne Press. ISBN 978-1-85291-665-7.
• Mitchell, Colin; Reeves, Jon; Tyler, Daniel (2013). The History of English Football Clubs. London: New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78009-449-6.
• Rollin, Jack, ed. (1990). Rothmans Football Yearbook 1990–91. London: Queen Anne Press. ISBN 978-0-35617-911-7.
• Soar, Phil; Tyler, Martin (1983). Encyclopedia of British Football. London: Collins Willow. ISBN 978-0-0021-8049-8.
• Triggs, Roger (1999). Images of England: Gillingham Football Club. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-75241-567-3.
• Triggs, Roger (2001). The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club. Stroud: Tempus Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-75242-243-5.