As Bury FC proudly run onto the pitch, the badge they sport on their shirts is the Bury town coat of arms. (PIC 1) The shield of the arms is quartered and the interweaving cross provides a clear allusion to the textile industry. In the top left quarter is an anvil, a symbol of metalworking. Top right is a fleece symbolising wool. The two shuttles in the bottom left is another reference to the textile industry, shuttles being used on a loom in conjunction with weaving. The bottom right quarter shows culms of the papyrus plant which is a representation to papermaking. All of these industries are local to the town. The crest shows a bee for industry between two branches of the cotton plant, again a symbol of the textile industry. The motto “VINCIT-OMNIA-INDUSTRIA” translates as, Industry Conquers All.
It has started to become fashionable to add stars to badges in order to give them a European feel and the two stars on the Bury badge were added in the 2011/12 season and represent their two FA Cup Final wins. Can’t remember them? Well that’s because you were not born, neither was your dad or your dad’s dad. In fact it was 1900 and 1903. The 2009/2010 season was the clubs 125th anniversary so in celebration sported an anniversary crest. (PIC 2)
Bury Football Club was founded on 24th April 1885 after a meeting in the White Horse Inn, in the town centre. The club became tenants of a field on Gigg Lane, which belonged to the Earl of Derby. This field has been home to the club ever since, renting it from the Earl of Derby until being able to afford to buy it outright in 1922. Today Gigg Lane or JD Stadium as sponsorship demands, holds 11,840 fans. In 2019, through no trouble of their own making, Bury found themselves being investigated for dodgy fundraising, but never received a penny from the alleged fundraisers, who then found themselves in court. Bury were expelled from the EFL on 27 August 2019, bringing their season to a sad and premature end. Football fans don’t like to see clubs go to the wall unfairly and unjustly so hopefully, the truth will set them free and they will be reinstated to their former league status. The FA and other agencies involved need to take a long hard look at themselves before wiping out 135 years of footballing history so quickly and without good reason. How many clubs have had a bit of financial fluctuation but have always survived. I and millions more wish Bury all the best for the future.
Bury were elected to the Football League in 1894, and just prior to that Bury were nicknamed “The Shakers”. The nickname stems from a Lancashire Senior Cup game against Everton when just before the match the club chairman, JT Ingham announced: “We’ll give um a good shaking, in fact we are the shakers”, and “The Shakers” they remain. The name Bury is derived from Burg or Burh, meaning fort, and is another Anglo-Saxon name for a town or borough. Bury’s rivals are Bolton, Rochdale and Preston.
An unsigned compliment slip from Bury means I do not know who to thank for the floppy disc with the Bury Crest on, but thanks anyway to whoever you may be. Yes, this work first began life in the days of floppy discs bought from Woolworths. Ask your mums and dad’s kids, and then ask your grandad how he used to turn the TV over and use the telephone, you may find it amusing. To find more on Bury FC, particularly what is happening with them at the moment then, shake, rattle, and roll your way to www.buryfc.co.uk It was announced today 21/07/2020, “New club Bury AFC have been allocated a place in next season’s North West Counties League Division One North”.
