*Indicates unconfirmed information. Figures in brackets after English team names indicate all appearances made and goals scored in competitive matches for Football League clubs from 1888 onwards. For Scottish League clubs the figures show details of all competitive appearances and goals scored from 1946/47 onwards.
Les Fell
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Appearances: 44 Goals: 11
Date / Year of birth: 16th December 1920
Position: Winger
Season of first appearance: 1937/38
Season of last appearance: 1954/55
Also played for: Canterbury Waverley, Gravesend United, Charlton Athletic (23,5), Erith & Belvedere and Crystal Palace (69,8)
Fast player born in Leytonstone, London who had three spells with Margate and also played in an FA Cup Final. Les moved to Margate with his parents in 1930 aged ten and became a Margate supporter, he also sold programmes at Hartsdown.
As a schoolboy at the Central School he played for both Margate and Kent schoolboys and during a tour of Durham with Kent Boys Les played at Sunderland's Roker Park stadium. However after leaving school he didn't play football for a couple of years. This was due to Les not being physically big enough to play senior football.
However in the summer of 1936 - during the famous Arsenal 'nursery' period - he was invited to train with Margate by player-manager Jack Lambert.
Les then joined the club 'officially' for the 1937/38 season and made his first team debut aged just 16 in a Kent League match against Gillingham Reserves at Hartsdown Park on 4.9.37. Margate won 2-0 and Les scored one of the goals. He was playing as a striker at that time and also scored in his next two appearances before breaking his collar bone in the second of those games - a 3-2 win over Erith & Belvedere at Hartsdown on 11.9.37. After he had recovered Les usually played on the right wing and went on to spend virtually the whole of the remainder of his career in that position.
At the end of the 1937/38 campaign Arsenal pulled out of the 'nursery' agreement and as a result Margate went out of business. Les joined Canterbury Waverley for the 1938/39 season but then returned to Margate when the club reformed for the 1939/40 campaign.
He played regularly for Margate during the 1939/40 season, initially in the Kent League and then in the Kent Regional League formed after the outbreak of World War II, before all football ceased due to the hostilities.
During the war Les worked as a draughtsman at Rochester Airport for Short Brothers who built 'Stirling' bombers and 'Sunderland' flying boats. As it was essential work he wasn't called up for the armed forces but between the ages of 19 and 22 Les didn't kick a ball.
However during the 1942/43 season he played some football for Shorts Sports' works team and then joined Gravesend United. Whilst with them Les played against Charlton Rovers several times, they were a wartime Charlton Athletic 'nursery' team.
Les obviously made a favourable impression on the Charlton staff during those matches as on 28.10.44 he was asked to play for Charlton against Luton at The Valley. Charlton won 9-4 and having set up several goals Les was signed by the club.
He continued to work at Rochester Airport but as a part-time player established himself as Charlton's regular outside-right.
Les also made a notable one-off appearance for Erith & Belvedere at the end of 1944/45. On 12.5.45 he played for the Deres in the London Senior Cup Final and set up three of the goals in a 5-3 win over Tooting & Mitcham.
During the 1945/46 season Les played in all ten of Charlton's FA Cup ties in a run which took them to the 1946 Final at Wembley. He scored in the games against Fulham, Wolves and Preston and playing in the Final, the first after the war, was the highlight of his career. Charlton lost 4-1 to Derby after extra time and in the programme for the game Les was described as being "a lightning streak" and "as elusive as the Scarlet Pimpernel".
Due to a post-war gold shortage that meant there was only enough for the winners medals, Les actually received two runners-up medals, a bronze replica presented by the Queen Mother on the day and the official gold version several months later.
The 1946/47 campaign saw normal football service being resumed and on 7.9.46 Les made his 1st Division debut in a game against Manchester United at The Valley. A crowd of 44,088 saw United run out 3-1 winners but Les scored the Charlton goal. Later in 1946/47 he scored a hat-trick for the reserves against Crystal Palace.
During the seasons that followed Les made sporadic first team appearances, all in the 1st Division. The last of them was on 15.9.51 in a 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion. Les stayed with the club until 3.10.52 when he was sold to Crystal Palace for a fee of £2,500 after what he later described as "Eight happy years at The Valley." Les had made a total of 78 first team appearances for Charlton, scoring 18 goals. His tally included 65 wartime matches, during which he scored 16 goals.
Les spent the remainder of the 1952/53 season and the whole of 1953/54 with Palace but during his time with the Eagles he felt that he was losing his speed. Les felt that pace had been his greatest asset and at the end of the 1953/54 season he was released.
During the summer of 1954 Gillingham and Colchester showed an interest in signing Les but he elected to return to Margate instead.
Manager Almer Hall was delighted and in August 1954 said that "Fell will be a big asset to Margate and the Kent League generally." Les went on to become a fixture in the side during the 1954/55 campaign and made a total of 44 appearances, scoring 11 times . One of his goals was a superb solo effort in a 4-2 win at Tunbridge Wells in February 1955, Les ran from the halfway line and beat two defenders before firing home. He also scored in the Final of the Kent League Cup on 30.4.55 as Margate went down 3-2 to Tunbridge Wells. During the season Les played on both wings at various times and laid on many goals with his accurate crosses. On 28.8.54 he was praised by the Isle of Thanet Gazette for making "magnificent sorties down the wing".
However Les himself wasn't happy with his form and when he was released by the club at the end of the season he decided to retire, turning down an offer from Chatham. The final game of his career had been the Kent Senior Shield Final at Tunbridge Wells on 14.5.55.
After giving up football Les had no further involvement in the game but continued playing local club cricket until he was in his late 50's. He continued to work at Rochester Airport Works until his retirement in 1985.
In later years Les was invited to Charlton matches on numerous occasions and also attended various gatherings of former Charlton players.
In January 2005 he was interviewed about his career on Radio Kent and a few months later Les was a guest at The Valley when a statue of legendary Charlton goalkeeper Sam Bartram was unveiled. Later that day Les featured on the BBC's Newsroom Southeast programme, being interviewed outside the ground.
Les died aged 89 on 9.10.10, he'd been living in a care home near Gillingham at the time.
Les completed a questionnaire for this site which you can see here.
|
SEASON (CLUB) |
FULL (MAX) |
SUB |
GLS |
|
FAC |
KSC |
KLC |
KSS |
|
|
1954/55 (MFC) |
44 (46) |
N/A |
11 |
KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (5TH OF 17) |
2QR |
2R |
RU |
RU |
|
Played and
scored in Kent League Cup Final (30.04.55 - lost 3-2 to
Tunbridge Wells). Played in Kent Senior Shield Final (14.05.55 - lost 2-1 to Tunbridge Wells). | |||||||||