About Us

In 1864 nobody had an indoor loo and most people had to share. Except those that didn’t. Obviously. But they would have been wealthy people in
grand houses, and they would have had running water in the house, which most people didn’t, so bath night was a rare occurrence because it
meant heating several kettles of water on a stove and pouring them into a portable bath tub just big enough to hold a person. The man of the house always took priority because he would be the principal wage earner and most working men’s jobs were pretty grubby; and most men were working class men. It was the women’s job of course to provide the hot water. No walk-in showers or deodorant. No electric light or central heating and bad weather at the wrong time could mean a poor harvest and genuine hardship. You could become very hungry in the countryside.
On the plus side the fruits of the Industrial Revolution were slowly, slowly beginning to percolate downwards and the Dickensian conditions of early Victorian society were inching towards improvement. Railways and canals had revolutionised transport; the factory system supported an empire and was to last for another hundred years. Beer was a penny a pint and Eton schoolboys were routinely flogged with birch rods. There is always a silver lining.
As for the football, the game we know today was just emerging from the primal chaos. In 1863 the Football Association was formed in Sheffield to standardise rules and oversee competition. Holt FC joined a year later, showing remarkable foresight and making the club the oldest in Wiltshire by a country mile. Back then referees were called umpires and were there mostly to prevent aggravated murder. They were tough times. The medieval roots of football tended to be violent affairs where serious injury and death were part of the fun. It’s a bit more civilised now and manliness can be well expressed in less brutal ways, though tempers can flare from time to time. It’s still a contact sport, at least for now.
All this history is one of the drivers in the re-emergence and running of the club. It feeds the enthusiasm and the sense of it, and us, being a wee bit special. It gets to the very heart of village identity. History is never dead; it lives within all of us whether we know it or not. The threads here connect the generations. Terry Smith, for instance, helped dig the footings for the new football pavilion as a teenager back in 1958 and now comes to watch his grandson Jordan lead the line up front. John Dunford has a specially commissioned trophy for the amazing feat of scoring eighty (yes eighty) goals for Holt in a single season in the same year the pavilion was built. On a good day there may be a hundred or so people along the touchline and quite a few of them have played for Holt. There are fathers and sons. There are 39 players on the books and at some point, in the season there will be an entire team on match day, plus substitutes, of players that all live in the village. This is not just football. This is Holt football.
And so, to brass tacks. It takes a great deal of time, energy, money and commitment to run a football club, even of modest size like Holt. Finance; material and kit; arrangements for fixtures, referees and league affiliation; plus, the match day organisation and mid-week training. So, I want to give a big hand to a couple of local heroes who shoulder the bulk of the responsibility. First up on the podium is Joy (“The Eternal”) Bloomfield, who’s admin skills and surpassing commitment are fundamental to the enterprise. Without Joy none of this would be happening. Next up is Nigel (“Trippy”) Tripp. As manager he runs the team with remarkable endeavour and a great deal of knowledge. Without Trippy none of this would be happening either. They both put in many hours of time and their energy galvanises us all.
You may enquire though, dear reader, as to results on the pitch. Well, there is room for improvement here, but results don’t always reflect the play. A 0-4 defeat to Sherston in the County Cup seemed a travesty on the balance of play. There were some gutsy performances from Jordan (“Don’t cross me”) Smith, Harry (“The Rifle”) Gunning in his Luka Modric role (for the uninitiated LM anchors the midfield for Real Madrid); and some good wing play from Alfie (“Billy Whizz”) Propert and Frank (“Seriously”) Dunn. But the whole team put in tireless effort against an experienced team higher up the football ladder. They do so in every match and if he learning curve is steep at times, we are playing the long game here. le previous week was a similar tale. Against Frome Cillegiate they played well and rattled the crossbar twice before going a goal down by half-time. Sadly, the second half saw four goals conceded, but two excellent strikes from Jordan and Joe (HK”) Bakali provided a degree of respectability. Again, the whole team worked hard and selflessly. All that’s missing is a bit of composure in either penalty area and that essential thing, experience. What really stands out is the boundless enthusiasm and maraderie of the players. They are a super crew and a pleasure to watch. Respect to them. So, a final word for the Holt FC team that entered the Village Hall skittles tournament for the first time Man of the Match Robbie (“The Rock”) Tripp chosen by Andrew Robertson in many years. As a thoroughly inexperienced team they managed to get to the semi-final, narrowly trumped by the Beckerley Laners who won the final against Holt Morris. Well done to all who participated; and look out next year, Laners, we’ll be gunning for ye’!