I was tempted to leave you with the explanation given by young Herbie and Scoopy as to what lies behind this badge, but that would be cheating. (PIC 1) As well as that, West Ham no longer sport that badge nor do they still play at the Boleyn Ground. Anyway, thank you to the anonymous person who did not sign the compliment slip from West Ham but sent me loads of information including Herbie and Scoopy. To carry on where Herb and Scoops left off, West Ham’s previous badge dates back to 1968 and has hardly changed since. (PIC 2) It has a shield with a three-turreted castle behind crossed hammers. Beneath is a scroll with the club’s name, and all in the club’s famous colours of claret and blue.
Variations on this theme go way back, and they sported different colours along the line. (PIC 3) The mid-1980s saw a return to the emblem of the hammer. (PIC 4) Then they returned to the castle and hammers motif for the 1970s. (PIC 5) The 1960s saw a return to the hammers for The Hammers. (PIC 6) The picture shows West Hams favourite son and England World Cup 66 hero Bobby Moore wearing a shirt with the hammers embroidered into it. This badge goes back to the 1920s, albeit in different shaped shields. (PIC 7) And so we go around in a complete circle to today’s badge which is a return once again to the hammers, with the name of the club at the top. To avoid any confusion as fans head down their respective motorways, they are reminded to turn off for London thanks to the helpful information at the bottom of the badge. (PIC 8) In the hammerheads are the initials TIW, in homage of the original club West Ham originated from. West Ham was first formed in 1885 when they were then called Thames Ironworks FC, the ironworkers coming from the shipbuilding industry, and the hammers used were for closing rivets up in the building of ships. The ironworkers who formed the team wore their own crest or badge made of the Union flag and the club’s initials. Not being able to find a copy I made one up to show you what it would have looked like from the information I received. (PIC 9) “The Irons” as a nickname can still be heard from the terraces along with “Come on you Ammers”. West Ham have their own National Anthem which can also be heard from the terraces: “I’m forever blowing bubbles”, and to accompany the song an industrial size Magic Bubble tub blows bubbles across the pitch.
The hammers have been adopted from the coat of arms of the London Borough of West Ham. (PIC 10) The arms were granted in 1887. The crosier or Bishops Staff in the arms along with the crosier and sword in the crest, represents Stratford-Langthorne Abbey, holders of the manor. Also, in the crest is a sun, often meaning in heraldry immortality and kingship. The chevronells in the shield are from the arms of William de Montfitchet, founder of the Abbey, and the colours of red and gold have been reversed from the Montfitchet arms. The ship shows that the Borough houses much of London’s docklands. The now-famous hammers in the top-right quarter stand for the iron industry in the area. Incidentally the name Ham is derived from the old English word Hamm meaning a dry area of land between rivers or marshland, referring to the location of a settlement within boundaries formed by the Rivers Lea, Thames and Roding and their marshes. The motto in the scroll “DEO CONFIDIMUS” translates as, We Trust In God.
In 1900 the Thames Ironworks FC disbanded, but phoenix-like from the ashes of the forge arose West Ham United, and in 1904 they moved to the Boleyn Ground or Upton Park as it was more widely known. They played their first game there on September 2nd beating now rivals Millwall 3-0. The Hammers other rivals include Spurs and Chelsea. As Herbie and Scoopy mentioned earlier the castle on the badge is called Boleyn Castle. The castle was traditionally believed to be connected with Henry VIII’s Queen Anne Boleyn but that is incorrect. The castle was a building known as Green Street House. The house was built in 1544, eight years after the beheading of Anne Boleyn. Two turrets were added later to enhance the beauty of the grounds. A drawing of the turret on the frontage of the Green Street house was featured on the cover of the club’s programme and fully incorporated into the design in 1968. The buildings had many uses over the years. In turn, it has been a Reformatory, a Priory, for an order associated with the Catholic Church, the Boleyn Club, which funnily enough had a bowling green, and it was also used as offices for West Ham United FC. The building has now gone and a school now stands on the site. There are still connections that remain, like Castle Street and Priory Road on two sides of the old ground, plus Boleyn Road and the Boleyn Public House. West Ham now set out their stalls at the London Stadium and have done so since 2016. It has a capacity of 60,000, and is situated in Stratford at the Olympic Park. The stadium was primarily built for the 2012 Olympics, which gave us so many fond memories. Other memories are being made there now as The Hammers home ground. As mentioned before the name West Ham, is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word Hamm, and means a dry area of land between rivers referring to the Rivers Lea, Thames and Roding. So, West Ham means to the west of the dry land. To find out more on West Ham United then hammer down the door of www.whufc.com
