Many of the supporters I have talked with about the development of the Arsenal anniversary files have told me that on finding the whole set of 7000+ anniversaries on this set the first thing they have done is look to see what happened on their birthday.
And I think of this because today, by chance, is my birthday, and I have (since I first started researching the anniversaries) been taken by the fact that the first AGM of Woolwich Arsenal FC happened on this day in 1893. I have also always been taken by the story of Jack Humble, a man who seems to have been involved in the club since its foundation, and a man who went on to serve as a club director until 1927 when the Hill-Wood family organised their coup and took over the club. Their rule then lasted until they sold to the Kroenke empire.
I think it is fair to say that until the AISA Arsenal History Society came along, Jack Humble had been completely forgotten by the club and the wider world, and I am pleased to have been able to do a little to bring his importance in the history of Arsenal back into focus.
Meanwhile if you would like to know what happened to Arsenal on your birthday, just look in the right column of this page and scroll down until you get to “Pages”. Under that you will see the 12 months of the year – choose the appropriate month and all the anniversaries for that month are listed.
The data gets updated with corrections and new info added regularly, and a complete update is undertaken once a year as we work through the month in question. But if you spot an error or something missing please do email Tony@schools.co.uk with the info.
Here are today’s anniversaries.
22 June 1893: The first AGM of Woolwich Arsenal was held under the chairmanship of Jack Humble; as the club’s first directors were elected ahead of entry into the Football League for the first time. Humble later took a break as an Arsenal director but returned to serve with Norris until 1927.
22 June 1894: Robert Turnbull born. He played initially for the Royal Engineers AFC – who appeared in four of the first eight FA Cup finals, and who were pioneers of the passing game. He joined Arsenal in 1921 as an amateur.
22 June 1900: Frederick Coles joined from Nottingham Forest. Little is known of his pre-Arsenal life but he is recorded as having also played for Notts County and Nottingham Post Office, probably the only Arsenal man to have done so.
22 June 1901: George Lawrence, benefactor extraordinaire to the Woolwich Arsenal, and the club’s very first historian, died of a heart attack. He is one of the men, without whom there would have been no Arsenal.
22 June 1904: James Henry Bigden joined Arsenal from West Ham. He was a local lad, and having been a near ever-present player over two seasons there was considerable upset in West Ham as he and other key players moved.
22 June 1911: The coronation of George V.
22 June 1921: The King opened the new Parliament of N Ireland, and three days later the months of drought ended with heavy rain. Two days after that the coal strike ended. The mood of the country lifted.
22 June 1922: There was outrage as it became known that Irish Republican Army activists had killed Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP (a leading opponent of the separation of Ireland into two states) at the front door of his house in Belgravia.
22 June 1925: Herbert Chapman took up the job of Secretary Manager of Arsenal FC. It was a moment of supreme importance within the club, ranking alongside the move to professionalism in 1891, the application to join the League in 1893, the rescue of the club by Henry Norris in 1910 and the move to Highbury in 1913.
22 June 1983: Arsenal signed Charlie Nicholas. He played 84 times for Celtic scoring 48 goals and when Terry Neill wrote his autobiography he made the signing of Charlie the first chapter of his book. In December 1983 Terry Neill was sacked. Nicholas later became a pundit for Sky.
22 June 1988: Graham Rix transferred to Caen, followed by Le Havre and Dundee. He retired in 1993 from playing, went to Chelsea where he became youth team coach, and also played once in an end of season game in 1995 against Arsenal.
22 June 1998: David Seaman and Tony Adams played in England 1 Romania 2 in the World Cup Finals in France. Only Sherringham in the England team was older than the Arsenal pair. In 2019 Adams became the honorary President of the Rugby Football League.
22 June 2000: Nigel Winterburn, a member of the most famous defence in football history, joined WHU on a free transfer (also reported as 23 June). Since retiring he has done some work as a defensive coach and some media work.
22 June 2017: Arsenal announced that Asano’s loan to Stuttgart had been extended for another season. Having joined Arsenal in 2016 from Sanfrecce Hiroshima he never played for the club, but went on loan to Stuttgard and Hannover 96 before joining Partizan in 2019.
