In the 1870s Crewe had quite a successful cricket club, and like a lot of cricket clubs at the time, wanted to form a separate club with a view to keeping fit in the winter. Although I have no idea how standing around all day waiting and hoping to catch a ball keeps you fit in the summer, but then that’s probably why they formed a club that played football. In 1877 a football club was founded in Crewe by its cricketers and they named the team Alexandra, after the Princess. Princess Alexandra of Denmark was Queen Consort of the United Kingdom, being the wife of King Edward VII. Crewe itself became prominent with the progress of the railway system and the town’s involvement with its development. This has been evident in past club badges and even more so in the club’s nickname “The Railwaymen”, which would make the chairman the fat controller who is responsible for the club’s present badge. (PIC 1)
I did not manage to stir much emotion at the club regarding the badge, but after my letter finally fell into the hands of Mr H Finch, the club historian and statistician he kindly replied: “Badges have never featured large in the history of Crewe Alexandra FC and I must admit that I have taken little account of them in my many years of research for the club.” So with that to go on I found out what I could on behalf of myself, all at the club, and for you H. The earliest image I found was in black and white but it was the Crewe coat of arms they used, so I can deliver that to you in glorious colour. (PIC 2) The arms are basically blue and white which makes me wonder, why are their colours red and white? Anyway, the arms were officially granted on March 18, 1955. The wheel in the shield is, of course, symbolic of the railway industry, and its six spokes represent the six lines radiating from Crewe station. Its golden colour emphasises the prosperity brought to the town by this industry. The blue of the chief recalls the field colour of the county arms and also that of the Marquis of Crewe. The top part of a shield in heraldry is called the chief. On this are two of the golden wheat sheaves of Cheshire and also a maunch. This together with the field of ermine may be said to typify the clothing industry. A maunch is a heraldic charge representing a detachable lady’s sleeve with a wide pendulous cuff, as was fashionable amongst women in the 13th and 14th Centuries. Ermine was also used in the arms of Fouleshurst of Crewe, who won his spurs at the battle of Poictiers and was probably one of the earliest residents of Crewe mentioned as receiving battle honours. The wavy edge to the blue chief signifies flowing water and represents the Valley Brook or as it used to be called, the River Waldron which flowed across the old township of Monks Coppenhall, whose boundaries enclosed the original Borough of Crewe and upon whose waters the railway industry formerly depended. The crest is the name given to the top of a coat of arms, and is almost always on top of a knight’s helmet. This is where the crest would normally be found as a means of Identification if not on the knights shield. In this case, the crest is formed by the white lion of the Crewe family, with red claws and tongue holding a golden cogwheel which typifies the engineering industry. The motto “SEMPER CONTENDO” may be translated as, Ever Pressing Forward.
The arms continue to influence another of Crewe’s old badges. The lion remains, although now fully red, and it holds the wheel with six spokes from the arms in its paws. Below is a roundel where we find the club’s name encircling an old panelled football. (PIC 3) In 1997 Crewe were promoted to the First Division for the first time in their history after beating Brentford 1-0 in the play-off at Wembley and to celebrate the chairman called for the new badge in picture one. The general opinion of the fans is that they prefer the old one in picture three. The only reasons why I can imagine that they prefer the other is that the present badge is small and seems insignificant on the shirts, also the lion bears no relation to the Crewe family lion, and there are no symbols of either the railway or any other of the town’s heritage. What they have in effect is a small shield with the club’s name, a lion that would look more at home on an egg than it does on the football, and inside a wreath presumably commemorating the death of the old badge. As you can probably tell I am with the fans on this one so hopefully the fat controller will think again and open up a competition in the matchday programme and on the club’s website to design a badge that all at the club can be proud of, and therefore make the badge’s feature larger in the history of Crewe Alexandra than they have been.
The name Crewe comes from the Welsh word Criu, meaning, weir or crossing, and featured in the Domesday or Doomsday Book where it is recorded as Creu. Crewe’s nicknames are “The Railwaymen” and “The Alex”. The Alexandra Stadium, a 10,153 capacity ground still known to all as Gresty Road is where the club ply their trade on a Saturday afternoon and sometimes Sundays or even weekdays. Local rivals are Stoke City, Port Vale and Wrexham. If you want more on “The Railwaymen” then get online at www.crewealex.net
