The History of Cammell Laird Football Club.

George Higham, Cammell Laird FC Club Historian

Cammell Laird Football Club can trace its origins back to 1889 when a team from the Upper Boilers Shop of Laird Brothers (forerunners of the world famous shipyard whose name we carry to this day) played in Birkenhead Park under the name of Grange Football Club. However, the club soon changed to the rugby code and it was not until June 1907 that the Cammell Laird Institute Association Football Club was established. Its headquarters were the Cammell Laird Institute in Conway Street, Birkenhead and played on the old Prenton Park ground of Tranmere Rovers in the club colours of white shirts and blue knickers. Lairds first match was a 1-0 defeat by their hosts Tranmere Rovers in a pre-season friendly on 2nd September 1907.Lairds joined the West Cheshire League Division 1 and finished 9th of 14 in their inaugural season of 1907-08

Cammell Laird Football Club can trace its origins back to 1889 when a team from the Upper Boilers Shop of Laird Brothers (forerunners of the world famous shipyard whose name we carry to this day) played in Birkenhead Park under the name of Grange Football Club. However, the club soon changed to the rugby code and it was not until June 1907 that the Cammell Laird Institute Association Football Club was established. Its headquarters were the Cammell Laird Institute in Conway Street, Birkenhead and played on the old Prenton Park ground of Tranmere Rovers in the club colours of white shirts and blue knickers. Lairds first match was a 1-0 defeat by their hosts Tranmere Rovers in a pre-season friendly on 2nd September 1907.Lairds joined the West Cheshire League Division 1 and finished 9th of 14 in their inaugural season of 1907-08.

In September 1909, Lairds moved to their newly enclosed ground in Park Road North, Birkenhead Park where they stayed until 1921. At the end of their first season in the Park, Lairds finished bottom but retained their Division 1 status after being successful with their re-election speech.With the ending of the war, government orders for ships dried up consequently football was taken in-house with a departmental league of about 12 teams (affiliated to the Cheshire and Wirral Associations) and a representative team selected to compete in certain of the cup competitions of the Wirral Football Association.

The club played their cup-ties on their old Park Road North ground with league games being played at Bebington Oval. The new Cammell Laird Departmental League commenced on September 20th, 1919 and in April 1921 the renamed Cammell Laird Sports Club won the Shipley Cup.In the summer of 1922, the team moved to the St Peters Road, Birkenhead, registered with the Birkenhead League 2nd Division and changed their name to Kirklands F.C. (The name of the original clubhouse). The club won Wirral Minor ‘B’ Cup in 1924 and the Regent Cup in 1927.

At the commencement of the Second World War in September 1939 the club disbanded and the ground was badly damaged due to enemy action, this is unsurprising as the Cammell Laird Shipyard was one of the most prolific builders of warships for the Royal Navy.