Bermondsey has been the home of Tommy Steel, Michael Barrymore, Jade from Big Brother, David Haye, Millwall supporters and me. Yes, when I moved from Southampton to seek my fame and fortune this is where I landed, and I like it here so I’d better be careful what I say! Well, we all know about Millwall’s reputation, but fair play to them, it has cost them money but they have come a long way in stamping out the “No one likes us we don’t care” element, and the fans that remain do care about their club. Many thanks, go to Rick Bradbrook for finding time to reply to me and my request to the club for badge information.
Millwall originated from across the river to where they are now on the Isle of Dogs, where Millwall actually is. The isle apparently got its name from Edward IIIs greyhounds, they made so much noise he stuck them out of the way on the isle. Please do not quote me on that as it may well be a fable. On the Isle of Dogs was a jam factory called Morton’s. In 1885, the workers at the factory formed Millwall Rovers, then Millwall Athletic, and finally just Millwall. The name on top of the headed letter that I received is, The Millwall Football and Athletic Company (1985) PLC, but the lads round here refer to it as just plain old Millwaaaaall. The majority of the workers at the Morton jam and preserve factory were of Scottish extraction, and consequently the club’s colours mirrored the Scottish flag of blue and white.
They played at four different locations while on the Isle of Dogs including, Glengall Road and East Ferry Road. Because of the location of the Isle of Dogs, and the fact people did not live there, but only worked there, made crowds hard to draw to matches. So in 1910, Millwall moved across the river to the more populated New Cross, and the famous Den in Cold Blow Lane. The Den, of course, refers to the lion’s den as in the nickname of “The Lions”. This stems from the lion which is the emblem that adorns the badge of Millwall FC. As I mentioned earlier the jam factory’s workers were Scottish, so although the old club badge can be mistaken for Chelsea’s badge at a distance the major difference is that Millwall’s lion is Scottish. (PIC1) This badge has a leaping lion and the club’s name in the roundel, simple really. In 1999, to see in the Millennium, Millwall adopted their old white kits and the old shield badge which they have retained until recently. (PIC 2) The two rampant lions are above an old football, and the club’s name is in the scroll at the bottom. Although both lions are described as rampant only one is, as far as heraldic terms go. To be rampant means standing and facing to the right, that is the right of the wearer or left to the onlooker. As I said, the lion is from the Scottish National Arms, which has Millwall’s lion on the shield. (PIC 3) The arms are described thus: “the shield, Gold, a lion rampant gules armed and langued azure”. This means, the lion is standing looking right, and is coloured red, it has a tongue which is a different colour to its body, in this case, azure or blue. The crest has a lion described as, “sejant affronted on a royal crown”. This means, squatting and facing the viewer. It holds a sword and sceptre. The supporters are unicorns with royal crowns on their heads, and antique crowns around their necks. One bears the banner of Scotland and the other of St Andrew. The unicorns are chained as legend has it that a unicorn can only be tamed by a virgin, and not wanting to cast aspersions on the lasses of Scotland they are likely to remain chained for some considerable time. “IN DEFENS” is the royal Scottish motto, and means unsurprisingly, In Defence. Below is the motto of the Order of the Thistle which states “NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSIT” which translates as, No One Provokes Me With Impunity, and anyone who has ever provoked a Millwall supporter knows exactly what that means.
The biggest thing I have heard Millwall supporters say they regret about leaving the old Cold Blow Lane ground is, they miss the atmosphere it had. Indeed through the years, the old Den was a formidable place for any team to visit. Millwall moved to the New Den in August 1992 and it is a breeze block of a place that does not have the mood of the old place, but Millwall have made it just as hard to go there and three decades later, memories of the old Den have been replaced with memories of the New Den. It holds just over 20,000, and if I can’t get to Southampton I sometimes go there myself, but keep that to yourself.
The place from where Millwall gets its name was originally called Pomfret Manor, and then Marshwall. The embankments on the Thames were built to drain surrounding marshland so the local farmers could graze their livestock there. The walled embankments also had a lot of windmills built on top of them to catch the strong winds across the Isle of Dogs. The windmills gave Millwall most of its trade as well as its name. Millwall’s local rivals are West Ham, Charlton, and Crystal Palace, but they have also made a few other rivals along the way, too numerous to mention, but they don’t care. To find out more on “The Lions” swallow your pride and go to www.millwallfc.co.uk
