# 1946–47 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1946–47 season was Colchester United's fifth season in their history and their fifth in the Southern League. Alongside competing in the Southern League, the club also participated in the FA Cup and Southern League Cup. New manager Ted Fenton began to assemble a team of professionals following the reliance on guest players during the 1945–46 season, as the club finished 8th in the league. They reached the first round of the FA Cup, but were defeated by Football League side Reading. They were also Southern League Cup semi-finalists, defeated at Priestfield Stadium by Gillingham.

## Season overview

New manager Ted Fenton joined the club for the 1946–47 season. He was no stranger to Layer Road, having turned out for Colchester Town in the 1930s whilst a teenager. Fenton's contacts meant that he could quickly assemble a squad of professionals following the war years, which would eventually include 28 part-time professionals. The team would finish mid-table during Fenton's first season.
During the season, the stadium had its Main Stand extended, and the property behind what would become the Barside was purchased to overcome disputes regarding access by supporters to that side of the ground. At the end of the season, the Popular Side stand was demolished, and the timbers were reused to improve the Layer Road End. Meanwhile, the Main Stand had a boundary wall built that would prevent supporters attempting to enter the ground without paying.

## Players

    As of match played 7 June 1947.
| Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Peter Chiswick | GK | Plaistow | (1929-09-19)19 September 1929 (aged 16) | 0 | 0 | West Ham United | 14 July 1946 | Free transfer |
| John Jelly | GK | | | 0 | 0 | Colchester Casuals | 4 September 1946 | Free transfer |
| Harry Wright | GK | Tottenham | (1909-06-03)3 June 1909 (aged 36) | 0 | 0 | Chelmsford City | 11 July 1946 | Free transfer |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Bill Bower | FB | Wrexham | (1911-11-17)17 November 1911 (aged 34) | 30 | 1 | Millwall | 28 November 1945 | Free transfer |
| Bob Harding | CB | | | 0 | 0 | | 14 September 1946 | |
| Digger Kettle | FB | Colchester | (1922-06-03)3 June 1922 (aged 23) | 0 | 0 | Arclight Sports | September 1946 | Free transfer |
| Albert Page | CB | Walthamstow | (1916-03-18)18 March 1916 (aged 30) | 0 | 0 | Tottenham Hotspur | 26 March 1947 | Free transfer |
| Albert Walker | FB | Little Lever | (1910-02-04)4 February 1910 (aged 36) | 0 | 0 | Doncaster Rovers | 30 May 1946 | Free transfer |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Arthur Biggs | WH | Wootton | (1915-05-26)26 May 1915 (aged 31) | 0 | 0 | Bedford Town | 7 May 1947 | Free transfer |
| Ted Fenton | WH | Forest Gate | (1914-11-07)7 November 1914 (aged 31) | 0 | 0 | West Ham United | 15 April 1946 | Free transfer |
| John Leah | RH | Liverpool | | 0 | 0 | South Liverpool | 18 July 1946 | Free transfer |
| Frank Stamper | WH/IR | Hartlepool | (1926-02-22)22 February 1926 (aged 20) | 0 | 0 | Colchester Garrison Army Fire Fighting Centre | 3 March 1947 | Free transfer |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Dennis Cant | CF | Fordham | | 0 | 0 | Crittall Athletic | 15 August 1946 | Free transfer |
| Len Cater | CF | Colchester | | 0 | 0 | Free agent | 6 June 1946 | Free transfer |
| Bob Curry | IF | Gateshead | (1918-11-02)2 November 1918 (aged 27) | 0 | 0 | Gainsborough Trinity | 13 June 1946 | Free transfer |
| Ian Gillespie | IF | Plymouth | (1913-05-06)6 May 1913 (aged 33) | 0 | 0 | Ipswich Town | 15 May 1947 | Free transfer |
| Dennis Hillman | WG | Southend-on-Sea | (1918-11-27)27 November 1918 (aged 27) | 0 | 0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 21 September 1946 | Free transfer |
| Bob Hodgson | CF | | | 9 | 5 | South Shields | February 1946 | Free transfer |
| Bob Hutchings | LW | Southwark | | 12 | 0 | Colchester Garrison (No. 1 Holding Battalion) | 9 February 1946 | Free transfer |
| Bob Neville | OL | | | 0 | 0 | Rowhedge | October 1946 | Free transfer |
| Alan Ross | OL | Methil | (1922-02-22)22 February 1922 (aged 24) | 0 | 0 | Ipswich Town | 25 July 1946 | Free transfer |
| Trevor Smith | IF | Stanley | (1910-09-08)8 September 1910 (aged 35) | 0 | 0 | Yeovil Town | March 1947 | Free transfer |
| Arthur Turner | CF | Poplar | (1921-01-22)22 January 1921 (aged 25) | 0 | 0 | Charlton Athletic | September 1946 | Free transfer |
* 1 2 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 15 April 1946 | WH | Ted Fenton | West Ham United | Player-manager |
| 30 May 1946 | FB | Albert Walker | Doncaster Rovers | Free transfer |
| 6 June 1946 | CF | Len Cater | Free agent | Free transfer |
| 13 June 1946 | IF | Bob Curry | Gainsborough Trinity | Free transfer |
| 4 July 1946 | WG | Wilf Bott | Queens Park Rangers | Free transfer |
| 11 July 1946 | GK | Harry Wright | Chelmsford City | Free transfer |
| 14 July 1946 | GK | Peter Chiswick | West Ham United | Free transfer |
| 18 July 1946 | RH | John Leah | South Liverpool | Free transfer |
| 25 July 1946 | OL | Alan Ross | Ipswich Town | Free transfer |
| 28 July 1946 | CF | Alex Stewart | British Army | Trial |
| 8 August 1946 | WG | Jack Finch | Fulham | Free transfer |
| 15 August 1946 | CF | Dennis Cant | Crittall Athletic | Free transfer |
| 31 August 1946 | LW | Sid Smith | Dundee United | Free transfer |
| September 1946 | FB | Digger Kettle | Arclight Sports | Free transfer |
| September 1946 | CF | Arthur Turner | Charlton Athletic | Free transfer |
| 4 September 1946 | GK | John Jelly | Colchester Casuals | Free transfer |
| 14 September 1946 | CB | Bob Harding | Unknown | Free transfer |
| 21 September 1946 | WG | Dennis Hillman | Brighton & Hove Albion | Free transfer |
| October 1946 | OL | Bob Neville | Rowhedge | Free transfer |
| 10 October 1946 | IR | Stan Gibbs | Royal Air Force | Free transfer |
| 7 December 1946 | CB | Don Swift | Severall's Athletic | Free transfer |
| March 1947 | IF | Trevor Smith | Yeovil Town | Free transfer |
| 3 March 1947 | WH/IR | Frank Stamper | Army Fire Fighting Centre | Free transfer |
| 26 March 1947 | CB | Albert Page | Tottenham Hotspur | Free transfer |
| 7 May 1947 | WH | Arthur Biggs | Bedford Town | Free transfer |
| 15 May 1947 | IF | Ian Gillespie | Ipswich Town | Free transfer |
| 7 June 1947 | FW | Bill Jeffries | Hull City | Trial |
* 1 2 3 4 5 Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| End of season | CF | Bob Gregg | Free agent | Released |
| End of season | IR | Bobby Hoines | Free agent | Released |
| End of season | CH | Jimmy Jenkins | Free agent | Released |
| 8 May 1946 | CF | Frank Rawcliffe | Newport County | £250 |
| 31 August 1946 | CF | Alex Stewart | Free agent | Released |
| September 1946 | CF | Chris Harman | Free agent | Released |
| 7 September 1946 | WG | Jack Finch | Free agent | Released |
| October 1946 | WG | Wilf Bott | Guildford City | Free transfer |
| November 1946 | FB | Paddy Shiels | Free agent | Released |
| November 1946 | LW | Sid Smith | Free agent | Released |
| 30 November 1946 | OL | Bob Collins | Free agent | Released |
| 25 December 1946 | CB | Don Swift | Free agent | Released |
| January 1947 | IR | Tom Tobin | Clacton Town | Free transfer |
| April 1947 | IR | Stan Gibbs | Free agent | Released |
| 19 April 1947 | DF | Syd Fieldus | Colchester United | Management staff |
| 7 June 1947 | FW | Bill Jeffries | Hull City | End of trial |
* Total incoming: ~ £250
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

## Match details
### Southern League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GR | Pts | Results |
| 6 | Gravesend & Northfleet | 32 | 17 | 4 | 11 | 82 | 58 | 1.414 | 38 | |
| 7 | Barry Town | 32 | 14 | 8 | 10 | 89 | 61 | 1.459 | 36 | |
| 8 | Colchester United | 32 | 15 | 5 | 12 | 65 | 60 | 1.083 | 35 | |
| 9 | Cheltenham Town | 32 | 14 | 4 | 14 | 68 | 75 | 0.907 | 32 | |
| 10 | Millwall | 32 | 8 | 13 | 11 | 59 | 57 | 1.035 | 29 | Resigned from the league |

#### Matches
### FA Cup
## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Southern League | Southern League | Southern League Cup | Southern League Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Peter Chiswick | 15 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | GK | | John Jelly | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | GK | ENG | Harry Wright | 23 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | WAL | Bill Bower | 39 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | | Bob Harding | 11 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Digger Kettle | 16 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Albert Page | 12 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Albert Walker | 36 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Arthur Biggs | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Ted Fenton | 36 | 2 | 27 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | John Leah | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Frank Stamper | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Dennis Cant | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| | FW | ENG | Len Cater | 39 | 13 | 30 | 9 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Bob Curry | 39 | 19 | 30 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | Ian Gillespie | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Dennis Hillman | 34 | 7 | 25 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| | FW | | Bob Hodgson | 12 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Bob Hutchings | 30 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | | Bob Neville | 7 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Alan Ross | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Trevor Smith | 8 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Arthur Turner | 32 | 24 | 25 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||||
| | DF | ENG | Syd Fieldus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | NIR | Paddy Shiels | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | | Don Swift | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Wilf Bott | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Bob Collins | 10 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Jack Finch | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | | Stan Gibbs | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Bill Jeffries | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Sid Smith | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Alex Stewart | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Tom Tobin | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Southern League | Southern League Cup | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | CF | Arthur Turner | 21 | 3 | 0 | 24 |
| 2 | IF | Bob Curry | 14 | 4 | 1 | 19 |
| 3 | CF | Len Cater | 9 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
| 4 | WG | Dennis Hillman | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | CF | Dennis Cant | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | OL | Bob Collins | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| 7 | CF | Bob Hodgson | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | WH | Arthur Biggs | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | WH | Ted Fenton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | OL | Bob Neville | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 8 | IF | Trevor Smith | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 12 | IF | Ian Gillespie | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | LW | Bob Hutchings | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | FB | Digger Kettle | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 12 | CF | Alex Stewart | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | TOTALS | 65 | 19 | 5 | 89 |

### Disciplinary record

| Nationality | Position | Name | Southern League | Southern League | Southern League Cup | Southern League Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total |
| | WH | Ted Fenton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |

### Captains

Number of games played as team captain.
| Place | Position | Player | Southern League | Southern League Cup | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | FB | Bill Bower | 30 | 6 | 2 | 38 |
| | | Not recorded | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| | | TOTALS | 31 | 7 | 2 | 40 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.
| Place | Player | Southern League | Southern League Cup | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | Harry Wright | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | Peter Chiswick | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| | TOTALS | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 |

### Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.
| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| GK | Harry Wright | 31 August 1946 | Gloucester City | Layer Road |
| WH | Ted Fenton | 31 August 1946 | Gloucester City | Layer Road |
| CF | Len Cater | 31 August 1946 | Gloucester City | Layer Road |
| IF | Bob Curry | 31 August 1946 | Gloucester City | Layer Road |
| WG | Jack Finch | 31 August 1946 | Gloucester City | Layer Road |
| OL | Alan Ross | 31 August 1946 | Gloucester City | Layer Road |
| LW | Sid Smith | 31 August 1946 | Gloucester City | Layer Road |
| CF | Alex Stewart | 31 August 1946 | Gloucester City | Layer Road |
| GK | John Jelly | 4 September 1946 | Chelmsford City | New Writtle Street |
| WG | Wilf Bott | 4 September 1946 | Chelmsford City | New Writtle Street |
| CF | Dennis Cant | 4 September 1946 | Chelmsford City | New Writtle Street |
| CB | Bob Harding | 14 September 1946 | Hereford United | Layer Road |
| FB | Albert Walker | 14 September 1946 | Hereford United | Layer Road |
| CF | Arthur Turner | 19 September 1946 | Millwall Reserves | Layer Road |
| RH | John Leah | 26 September 1946 | Chelmsford City | Layer Road |
| WG | Dennis Hillman | 26 September 1946 | Chelmsford City | Layer Road |
| GK | Peter Chiswick | 28 September 1946 | Worcester City | Layer Road |
| DF | Don Swift | 7 December 1946 | Chelmsford City | Layer Road |
| OL | Bob Neville | 7 December 1946 | Chelmsford City | Layer Road |
| FB | Digger Kettle | 26 December 1946 | Gillingham | Priestfield Stadium |
| IR | Stan Gibbs | 1 March 1947 | Gravesend & Northfleet | Stonebridge Road |
| IF | Trevor Smith | 23 March 1947 | Yeovil Town | Huish Athletic Ground |
| CB | Albert Page | 29 March 1947 | Cheltenham Town | Whaddon Road |
| WH/IR | Frank Stamper | 19 April 1947 | Merthyr Tydfil | Penydarren Park |
| WH | Arthur Biggs | 17 May 1947 | Bedford Town | The Eyrie |
| IF | Ian Gillespie | 17 May 1947 | Bedford Town | The Eyrie |
| FW | Bill Jeffries | 7 June 1947 | Gillingham | Priestfield Stadium |