Wingate Football Club was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

. Established in 1946, the club merged with

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. north of Charing Cross, nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, London, Whetstone, Mill Hill and Hendon. It is ...

in 1991 to form Wingate & Finchley.

History

The club was formed in 1946 by Maurice Rebak, Harvey Sadow, Frank Davis, George Hyams and Asher Rebak, who aimed to create a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

club with the aim of fighting

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

. It was named after

Orde Wingate Major-general (United Kingdom), Major General Orde Charles Wingate, (26 February 1903 – 24 March 1944) was a senior British Army officer known for his creation of the Chindits, Chindit deep-penetration missions in Japanese-held territory duri ...

, who had been involved in training the

Haganah Haganah ( , ) was the main Zionist political violence, Zionist paramilitary organization that operated for the Yishuv in the Mandatory Palestine, British Mandate for Palestine. It was founded in 1920 to defend the Yishuv's presence in the reg ...

, the precursor to the

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

. They started playing in the

Middlesex Senior League Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the Thames in the south, the Lea to the east and the Colne to the west. A line of hi ...

, and were founder members of the

Parthenon League The Parthenon League was a association football, football league covering Greater London and the surrounding area. History The league was formed in 1951 with 11 clubs, nine of which had come from the Middlesex Senior League.

in 1951, winning the league in its first season.Parthenon League 1951–1966
Non-League Matters In 1952 they joined the Premier Division of the London League, where they remained for ten years until joining the

Delphian League The Delphian League was an English amateur football league covering Greater London and the surrounding area. The league was formed in 1951 with 14 clubs and was effectively a level below the Corinthian League.Athenian League The Athenian League was an England, English amateur association football, football league for clubs in and around London. The league was originally to be called the Corinthian League,Athenian Football League minutes 1912-1921 (National Football ...

. During their time in the Athenian league the club represented Great Britain in the

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics") is an international multi-sport event with summer and winter sports competitions featuring Jews and Israelis regardless of religion ...

. In 1972 the club's Hall Lane ground was demolished to make way for an extension of the

M1 motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

and they moved to Finchley's Summers Lane ground. In 1975, they merged with

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

to form Leyton-Wingate. In 1984 the club was re-established and joined Division One of the Herts County League. They won the division at the first attempt, and were promoted to the Premier Division. In 1987–88 the club won the Herts Senior Centenary Trophy. In 1989 they joined Division One of the South Midlands League, and after finishing second in their first season, were promoted to the Premier Division. After one season in the Premier Division they merged with Finchley to form Wingate & Finchley. The new club took Wingate's place in the South Midlands League, but played at Finchley's ground, which was renamed the Harry Abrahams Stadium in honour of a long-term Wingate supporter.

Colours

The club wore all royal blue.

Honours

*Parthenon League **Champions 1951–52 *Herts County League **Division One champions 1984–85 *Herts Senior Centenary Trophy **Winners 1987–88

References

{{reflist Association football clubs established in 1946 Jewish football clubs Jewish organisations based in the United Kingdom Defunct football clubs in London Defunct football clubs in England London League (football) Parthenon League Delphian League Athenian League South Midlands League Association football clubs disestablished in 1991 1946 establishments in England 1991 disestablishments in England Diaspora association football clubs in England