 The club's second stint in the Southern League was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, which saw newly appointed manager Archie Clark and most of the players assigned to work at the local dockyards. When competitive football resumed, Gillingham played in the first incarnation of the Kent League, winning the title in both 1944 – 45 and 1945 – 46. In the second of these seasons the team also won the Kent Senior Cup, Kent County Challenge Cup and Kent League Cup, to complete a clean sweep of every senior trophy in the county. Following their Kent League triumphs, the Gills returned to the Southern League for the 1946 – 47 season, in which the team again won two trophies, claiming both the Southern League Cup and the Southern League title itself, and registered a club record 12 – 1 victory over Gloucester City. Striker Hughie Russell scored nine goals in the match, and missed out on double figures when he hit the bar late in the game.
