# 1939–40 Colchester United F.C. season

The 1939–40 season was Colchester United's third season in their history and their third in the Southern League. Alongside competing in the Southern League, the club were also due to participate in the Southern League Mid-Week Section, FA Cup and Southern League Cup. They were also due to play the Southern League Cup matches remaining from the previous season during the campaign, but only played the outstanding semi-final fixture against Norwich City Reserves. The season was to end prematurely, with competitive football abandoned with the outbreak of World War II. Colchester United played regular season fixtures until 2 September 1939, with the 0–0 draw at Layer Road with Ipswich Town Reserves the final competitive fixture to be played by the club for almost six years.

## Season overview

War loomed over Europe during the beginning of the 1939–40 campaign. After kicking the season off with a win against Plymouth Argyle Reserves on 26 August 1939, Colchester played Norwich City Reserves in the first-leg of the delayed Southern League Cup semi-final, beating their opponents 5–1. After only three Southern League games, World War II was declared, and as with predecessors Colchester Town during World War I, the club closed down, denying the club a chance to earn League football after gaining considerable momentum over the previous two seasons.
Colchester United continued to play friendlies against local opposition until December 1939, when the Army Fire Fighting Corp took over Layer Road for drill practice. The ground itself did continued to host matches during hostilities, as a number of high-profile military encounters took place at the stadium. The influx of military personnel through Colchester Garrison ensured that Layer Road played host to a number of star players through the war years.

## Players

    As of match played 2 September 1939.
| Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth | Apps | Goals | Signed from | Date signed | Fee |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| Billy Light | GK | Woolston | (1913-06-11)11 June 1913 (aged 25) | 42 | 0 | West Bromwich Albion | 17 June 1938 | £1,500 |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| Jimmy Baker | CB/RH | Trethomas | (1904-05-05)5 May 1904 (aged 35) | 52 | 3 | Bristol City | 9 July 1937 | Free transfer |
| Joe Birch | LB/RB | Hednesford | (1904-07-06)6 July 1904 (aged 34) | 62 | 1 | Fulham | 24 June 1938 | £750 |
| Syd Fieldus | DF | Romford | (1909-05-27)27 May 1909 (aged 30) | 22 | 3 | Brentford | 3 July 1937 | Free transfer |
| George Leslie | CB | Slough | (1907-07-09)9 July 1907 (aged 31) | 101 | 1 | Guildford City | 9 July 1937 | Free transfer |
| Alf Worton | LB | Wolverhampton | (1914-04-04)4 April 1914 (aged 25) | 64 | 0 | Norwich City | 3 June 1938 | Free transfer |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| Bill Main | WH | St Monans | | 0 | 0 | Cardiff City | 19 August 1939 | Free transfer |
| Robert Morris | LH/RH | Hatton | (1913-03-11)11 March 1913 (aged 26) | 65 | 5 | Norwich City | 22 July 1938 | £500 |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| Len Astill | IL/OL | Wolverhampton | (1916-12-30)30 December 1916 (aged 22) | 41 | 21 | Ipswich Town | 20 May 1938 | Free transfer |
| Ken Burditt | IF | Ibstock | (1906-11-12)12 November 1906 (aged 32) | 0 | 0 | Notts County | 25 May 1939 | £1,000 |
| Alec Cheyne | IH | Glasgow | (1907-04-28)28 April 1907 (aged 32) | 94 | 56 | Chelsea | 13 August 1937 | £3,000 |
| George Law | CF | Wellingborough | (1912-05-12)12 May 1912 (aged 27) | 0 | 0 | Norwich City | 18 June 1939 | £100 |
| Arthur Pritchard | CF | Newport | (1917-10-22)22 October 1917 (aged 21) | 96 | 72 | Yeovil & Petters United | 28 August 1937 | Free transfer |
| Ivan Thacker | CF | Lowestoft | | 5 | 2 | Lowestoft Town | 18 February 1938 | Free transfer |
| George Wallis | IF | Sawley | | 79 | 31 | Bath City | 28 February 1938 | Free transfer |
* ↑ Date of signing refers to the date of the player's first game for the club

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 25 May 1939 | IF | Ken Burditt | Notts County | £1,000 |
| 18 June 1939 | CF | George Law | Norwich City | £100 |
| 19 August 1939 | WH | Bill Main | Cardiff City | Free transfer |
* Total spending: ~ £1,100

### Out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| End of season | LH | George Ritchie | Ipswich Town Reserves assistant coach | Free transfer |
| End of season | RH | George Smith | Free agent | Released |
| End of season | IF | George Merritt | Free agent | Released |
| 4 May 1939 | RB | Ian Haley | Free agent | Released |
| 31 May 1939 | GK | Ronnie Dunn | Free agent | Released |
| 31 May 1939 | LB | Cecil Allan | Colchester Casuals | Free transfer |
| 31 May 1939 | OR | Jack Hodge | Hereford United | Free transfer |
| 31 May 1939 | CF | Ernie Matthews | Ashington | Free transfer |
| 31 May 1939 | IR/CF | George Williams | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 1939 | GK | Don Youngs | Free agent | Released |
| 21 July 1939 | WG | George Crisp | Nottingham Forest | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 1939 | IF | Robert Murray | Free agent | Released |
| 2 September 1939 | LB/RB | Joe Birch | Free agent | Released |
| 2 September 1939 | CB | George Leslie | Free agent | Released |
| 2 September 1939 | WH | Bill Main | Free agent | Released |
| 2 September 1939 | LH/RH | Robert Morris | Free agent | Released |
| 2 September 1939 | LB | Alf Worton | Free agent | Released |
| 2 September 1939 | IL | Len Astill | Free agent | Released |
| 2 September 1939 | IF | Ken Burditt | Free agent | Released |
| 2 September 1939 | CF | George Law | Free agent | Released |
| 2 September 1939 | IF | George Wallis | Free agent | Released |
| 7 September 1939 | CB/RH | Jimmy Baker | Retired | Retired |
| 7 September 1939 | CF | Arthur Pritchard | Free agent | Released |
| 5 January 1940 | IH | Alec Cheyne | Chelmsford City | Released |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Date of departure refers to the date of the player's final game for the club

## Squad statistics
### Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Southern League | Southern League | Southern League Cup | Southern League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| | GK | ENG | Billy Light | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Joe Birch | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| | DF | ENG | Syd Fieldus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | George Leslie | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | DF | ENG | Alf Worton | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | SCO | Bill Main | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | MF | ENG | Robert Morris | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | Len Astill | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| | FW | ENG | Ken Burditt | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| | FW | SCO | Alec Cheyne | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| | FW | ENG | George Law | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| | FW | WAL | Arthur Pritchard | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | FW | ENG | George Wallis | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Players who appeared for Colchester who left during the season ||||||||||
| | FW | SCO | Robert Murray | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |

### Goalscorers

| Place | Position | Name | Southern League | Southern League Cup | Total |
| 1 | IL | Len Astill | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 1 | LB/RB | Joe Birch | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1 | IH | Alec Cheyne | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 1 | CF | George Law | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 5 | CF | Arthur Pritchard | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| | | Own goals | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | | TOTALS | 4 | 5 | 9 |

### Disciplinary record

| Nationality | Position | Name | Southern League | Southern League | Southern League Cup | Southern League Cup | Total | Total |
| | IF | George Wallis | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| | | TOTALS | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

### Captains

Number of games played as team captain.
| Place | Position | Player | Southern League | Southern League Cup | Total |
| 1 | IH | Alec Cheyne | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | CB | George Leslie | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | Not recorded | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| | | TOTALS | 3 | 1 | 4 |

### Clean sheets

Number of games goalkeepers kept a clean sheet.
| Place | Nationality | Player | Southern League | Southern League Cup | Total |
| 1 | | Billy Light | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| | | TOTALS | 1 | 0 | 1 |

### Player debuts

Players making their first-team Colchester United debut in a fully competitive match.
| Position | Player | Date | Opponent | Ground |
| WH | Bill Main | 26 August 1939 | Plymouth Argyle Reserves | Layer Road |
| IF | Ken Burditt | 26 August 1939 | Plymouth Argyle Reserves | Layer Road |
| CF | George Law | 26 August 1939 | Plymouth Argyle Reserves | Layer Road |