The 1919 affair
The 1919 affair is a set of articles taken from our complete history of Henry Norris at the Arsenal, dealing with one of the most interesting aspects of Norris’ time at the club: the election of Arsenal to the first division in 1919. Details of the full history of Henry Norris at the Arsenal are given at the end of this section on the “1919 affair”
The preliminaries
- April 1915: New revelations concerning perhaps the most important month in Arsenal’s history
- November / December 1915: the match fixing scandal comes to the fore: Norris is armed
The voting and the comments before and after the election
- The first suggestion that Arsenal could be elected to the 1st division.
- Arsenal in January 1919: rioting in the streets and the question of promotion
- What the media said about the election of Arsenal to the 1st division in 1919
- Arsenal prepare for the vote on who should be promoted to the First Division
- March 1919: The vote to extend the league and what the media said
- Why did the clubs vote for Arsenal rather than Tottenham in March 1919?
The Second Libel
The Third Allegation
The Fourth Allegation
Did Henry Norris really beg Leslie Knighton to stay and offer him the hugest bonus ever? And if so, why were there no new players?
- May/June 1921: Knighton the fantasist. The fourth allegation.
- Why did Arsenal manager Knighton turn down Man City but not buy players? Summer of 1921.
The Fifth Story:
The Sixth Allegation
- March 1922: Desperate times for Arsenal, Norris returns and the transfer limit allegation overturned
The Seventh Allegation
- Arsenal in the Summer 1923: another Knighton allegation but the evidence is again against him.
- Anticipation a plenty but another terrible start to the season: August 1923 – the non-signing of Moffatt.
The Eighth Level – wild fantasies and desperate stories.
The final round of misinformation and unsupported statements
Footnote: Knighton’s notoriously inaccurate autobiography reports his departure from Arsenal with a whole raft of statements which a review of the historical facts shows to be untrue, ranging from his “building a new team” in 1919, to the notion that he would have got Buchan at a much lower cost. He complains also about not getting a benefit match and claims Sir Henry Norris left him £100 in his will, stating that sacking Knighton was his biggest mistake. There is no evidence for any of this and with so many other statements in this section of his autobiography being plainly wrong, we may wonder about these.
Below is the complete index to our series Henry Norris at the Arsenal, which includes, of course, the 1919 affair.
Now here is the complete year by year account of Henry Norris at the Arsenal. We’re adding two or three new articles a week and as you can see, it is almost complete.
The Henry Norris Files Section 1 – 1910.
- Part 1. How Arsenal fell from grace.
- Part 2: heading for liquidation and the first thought of moving elsewhere
- Part 3: March and April 1910 – the crisis deepens
- Part 4: the proposed mergers with Tottenham and Chelsea.
- Part 5: The collapse of Woolwich Arsenal: how the rescue took shape.
- Part 6: It’s agreed, Arsenal stay in Plumstead for one (no two) years
- Part 7: Completing the takeover and preparing for the new season
- Part 8: July to December 1910. Bad news all round.
Section 2 – 1911
Section 3 – 1912
- 11: 1912 and Arsenal plan to move away from Plumstead
- 12: How Henry Norris chose Highbury as Arsenal’s new ground
- 13: Amid protests from the locals Arsenal’s future is secured
- 14: Arsenal relegated amidst allegations of match fixing
Section 4 – 1913 (parts 15 to 20)
- How Henry Norris secured Highbury for Arsenal in 1913.
- Norris at the Arsenal: 1913 and the opening weeks at Highbury
- When Highbury opened, and “Victoria Concordia Crescit” was introduced
- The players who launched Arsenal’s rebirth and Arsenal’s games in October 1913.
- The rebirth of Arsenal after the move to Highbury: November 1913.
- December 1913, the alleged redcurrent shirts, and Chapman comes to Highbury for the first time
Section 5 – 1914 (parts 21 to 28)
- Arsenal’s first ever FA Cup match at Highbury and a challenge for promotion: Jan 1914
- Arsenal February and March 1914; the wall falls down, the team slips up.
- The end of Woolwich Arsenal and of the first season at Highbury.
- Arsenal at the end of the world: May to August 1914.
- The newly named The Arsenal start their first season and go top of the League
- As the death toll mounts Arsenal keep playing: October 1914
- November 1914: The Times journalist goes to a reserve match without realising it.
- December 1914: The Footballers’ Battalion formed by Arsenal chairman and others
Section 6 – 1915 (parts 29 to 35)
- January 1915: Arsenal players start to leave their club for their country
- Arsenal in February and March 1915: the abandonment of football is announced and the result is… curious
- April 1915: New revelations concerning perhaps the most important month in Arsenal’s history
- Norris promoted, the League loses interest but football pulls itself back together.
- Arsenal move into the London Combination in September 1915
- Arsenal in wartime: Norris’ genius for administration comes to the fore but reduces Arsenal’s playing staff.
- November / December 1915: the match fixing scandal comes to the fore: Norris is armed
Section 7: – 1916 (part 36 to 43)
- Arsenal in wartime: January 1916. The end of the first wartime league.
- Arsenal, February 1916: the 2nd league and a terrible tragedy on the pitch
- Arsenal: March – May 1916. The team in decline, entry to football taxed for the first time.
- Arsenal wartime league tables and player appearances: 1915/16
- Arsenal at war; Tottenham move out of WHL, Arsenal hit rock bottom. June to Sept 1916.
- Arsenal Oct 1916: a tragic death, a slow recovery
- Arsenal in wartime: November and December 1916
Section 8: 1917 (part 44 to 54
- January 1917: Arsenal’s upturn continues, gang culture in London, turmoil in Russia.
- Arsenal in February 1917: Arsenal on the up, George Allison’s contribution.
- Arsenal – March 1917. Measles, price rises, women start to serve.
- Arsenal in April and May 1917. Norris goes missing, Arsenal continue winning.
- Norris at the Arsenal: Arsenal Players in the wartime league, 1916/17
- Henry Norris is knighted for setting up the Footballers’ Battalion. June 1917
- Sir Henry Norris promoted to Lt Colonel in recognition of his work in the War Office
- September 1917: Arsenal’s form definitely on the up.
- October 1917: Arsenal slip into sharp decline; Norris gains a new appointment
- Arsenal at the end of 1917. Crowds collapse, results poor, the war drags on.
Section 9: 1918 and the end of the war (part 55 to 62)
- Arsenal in 1918: Chapman’s downfall, votes for women, schooling for all, Arsenal erratic
- Norris at the Arsenal: March 1918, crowds drop, rationing, the war turns
- April 1918: the third wartime league ends; Ireland rebels against conscription.
- The 1917/18 season; Arsenal’s players and the final league table
- Autumn 1918: Arsenal winning, the war grinds to an end, crowds return
- November 1918: war ends, FA / League quarrel, Henry Norris is called on (again).
- Norris at the Arsenal. 1-10 December 1918; allegations of corruption heard in court.
- Arsenal, 11 – 31 December 1918. A 9-2 victory, the chairman becomes an MP, footballers unionise.
Section 10: 1919, the reform of football, the promotion of The Arsenal (part 63 to 77)
- The first suggestion that Arsenal could be elected to the 1st division.
- Arsenal in January 1919: rioting in the streets and the question of promotion
- What the media said about the election of Arsenal to the 1st division in 1919
- Arsenal prepare for the vote on who should be promoted to the First Division
- March 1919: The vote to extend the league and what the media said
- Why did the clubs vote for Arsenal rather than Tottenham in March 1919?
- Arsenal in March 1919: the London Victory Cup and its consequences
- April 1919: the end of wartime football (at least for 20 years)
- May 1919: war football ends and the wonderful Alf Baker is signed
- Summer of 1919. Widespread rioting as Arsenal prepare for division 1.
- August 1919: Arsenal return to the First Division for the next 99 years
- Arsenal establish themselves in the Division 1 amidst scandal, profiteering and strikes.
- October 1919: Chapman banned for life, Leeds kicked out, Whittaker joins
- November 1919: Arsenal solid but in debt, Labour advances, another goalscorer, Norris honoured.
- 1919: The first Christmas for the new expanded league
Section 11: 1920 – the second half of the first post-war season and onward (part 78 to 86
- January 1920: Arsenal’s solid start as a 1st division team falters
- February 1920: the press discuss Arsenal (and gets it totally wrong.)
- March 1920: Henry Norris threatened at Parliament, Arsenal win 2 lose 2.
- April 1920 Arsenal gain mid-table security in their first season back.
- The FA thanks Norris, the League expanded again. May 1920.
- Exposing the second libel against Henry Norris: the summer of 1920.
- Arsenal hire a music hall star as their new centre forward. October 1920
- When Arsenal were willing to criticise the press; Arsenal in November 1920.
- Arsenal meet the king, Ireland split in two, Scotland says no. December 1920.
Section 12: 1921 (part 87 to 97)
- The first north London derbies, Knighton gets another star; Highbury’s top crowd: Jan 1921
- The 3rd Knighton allegation against Norris: did he sell much-needed Fred Pagnam just for profit?
- Arsenal’s worst home defeat, but a quick recovery pulls things around. March 1921
- April 1921: Strikes, the best run of the season, and a film of a 1921 game.
- May/June 1921: Knighton the fantasist. The fourth allegation.
- Arsenal and the League 1920/1: the crowds and Arsenal’s team
- Why did Arsenal manager Knighton turn down Man City but not buy players? Summer of 1921.
- The Arsenal collapse of autumn 1921: Knighton’s curious positional strategy
- When Arsenal hit rock bottom of the League. October 1921
- Arsenal in November 1921: the fog, the goal rush, the resignation.
- Man U take over from Arsenal at the foot of the league
Section 13: 1922 (part 98 to 106)
- Arsenal in January 1922. Norris returns, progress resumes
- Arsenal in Feb 1922. Norris missing, Cup success, relegation threatens, and a monkey
- March 1922: Desperate times for Arsenal, Norris returns and the £2000 transfer limit allegation overturned
- April 1922: Arsenal and Man U fight against relegation. Only one survives.
- 1922: Arsenal’s end of the season tour and summary of games
- Norris breaks free, transfer fees spiral, terrorism returns, fixtures look awful. Arsenal – Summer of 1922.
- Arsenal Sept 1922: the first Hill-Wood arrives, Spurs seriously warned, Arsenal debts reduced
- October 1922: Henry Norris withdraws, Arsenal in dire straits
- Arsenal descend to the depths and miraculously rise from the abyss
Section 14: 1923 (part 107 to 109)
- Jan/Feb 1923. A settled Arsenal and the victories finally start coming.
- March 1923: The curious case of Henry White; March 1923
- Spring 1923: Arsenal clear of relegation; real progress at last?
- Arsenal in the Summer 1923: another Knighton allegation but the evidence is against him.
- Anticipation a plenty but another terrible start to the season: August 1923
- Arsenal in September 1923: recovery after a terrible start; a new insight into Henry Norris
- October 1923: Arsenal learn variable tactics as the vultures circle over Henry Norris
- Arsenal to beat the world record transfer fee? The club’s history: November 1923
- Arsenal in Dec 1923. Misreporting in the press, Chapman appears, Norris’ political career
Section 15: 1924 (part 110 to 119)
- Jan 1924: Arsenal slip dangerously while Cardiff, Bolton and Huddersfield march upwards
- Arsenal in February 1924: Under Knighton’s guidance the club is sinking fast
- Arsenal closer and closer to relegation but Ramsay comes to the rescue March 1924
- Arsenal in the spring of 1924. Relegation is avoided; Chapman wins the League
- Arsenal in the summer: 1924: the tour, and a review of the transfers.
- 1924/5: Knighton’s best start and a look back to Norris’ work at Fulham
- Oct 1924. The press attack Knighton (wrongly), an Arsenal star is born, and changing the offside law
- Arsenal in November 1924: transfer funds are found, recovery seems likely, rules are changed.
- Arsenal manager in fantasy land; bidding for Charlie Buchan. The truth revealed.
Section 16: 1925 (part 120 to 129)
- Managerial fantasies about West Ham, as a deep rot sets in. Arsenal in January 1925.
- Experimenting with the offside law as Arsenal lose six in a row.
- Arsenal in March 1925: The run of consecutive defeats ends, but recovery is slight
- April 1925: the end is nigh; Arsenal escape, experiments continue, a new dawn approaches
- Arsenal in the summer of 1925: Knighton out and the club advertises for a manager
- When Arsenal’s 15 year plan to become the biggest club in the league, came to fruition.
- October 1925: the month that turned English football inside out, and back again.
- Arsenal reach the top of the 1st division for the first time ever.
- Dec 1925: Arsenal’s winning run comes to an end but they stay top of the League.
Section 16: 1926 (part 130 to 137)
- Jan 1926: Arsenal top of the league and winning in the cup. Norris walking away.
- Feb 1926: Injuries, shock team selections, Arsenal slip up
- March 1926: The title slips away from Arsenal but second place looks a real possibility.
- April 1926: Arsenal come 2nd – the best performance yet – and the National Strike is calle
- Arsenal in the Summer of 1926: the summer tour and the start of the bus affair
- Autumn 1926: The Chapman magic starts to fade
- December 1926: Henry Norris takes on the FA with no holds barred
Section 17: 1927 onwards (part 138 to 146)
- Arsenal in January 1927: Sir Henry Norris acts strangely
- Chaos at the Arsenal. The dramatic and bizarre story of February 1927.
- Arsenal in March 1927: from regular turmoil to the edge of the cliff
- Film of the first Arsenal cup final and the continuing investigation into Arsenal accounts
- Sir Henry Norris prepares to leave Arsenal, his job complete. May/June 1927
- Summer 1927: Sir Henry Norris leaves the Arsenal
- After Sir Henry leaves Arsenal and the legal disputes wend their way.
- When the FA told Arsenal, “remove this director, or we kick you out of football”
- Henry Norris at the Arsenal: 1928 to the end.