Nearly 100 years ago and way back to the 1926-27 season, Brentford Football Club started to feature a cartoon sketch on the inside back page of all the home programmes that were produced. These carried on for over a decade. The last one I can find was for the Huddersfield home game in September 1939, which was the only home game played that season, prior to WWII breaking out.
On some of these, you can see a signature of the artist. The majority of them, state ‘S Curling’, but the talent that was, added his full name on some of the early ones and this clearly states, ‘Spencer Curling’.
I did a little research on Spencer and it seems he was submitting similar cartoon sketches, to the Chatham Rochester and Gillingham Observer from 1920 and a number of these went up for auction recently via the online Stacey’s Auction house, so it wasn’t just Brentford FC he had been producing these for.
Some of the cartoon sketches would be deemed a tad risqué for publication nowadays, so I’m not sharing those here.
I particularly like those that mention Fulham and one from the 1929-30 season, when we had just beaten them 5-1 to go top of the table.
Also from this season, the club created a record in winning every one of its 21 home games and this is referenced, as such in some.
Spencer seemed to have a theme on some and trying to get the supporters to rally the team was one of his favourites.
1928-29 the club had a spate of injuries and this is mentioned as such in the ‘Flu & injuries’ sketch.
Nice cartoon sketch for the club getting promoted in 1932-33.
Up the Bees,
DV.