If You Know Your History ...

28th September 2005

Whilst the traditional colours of the ancient Wessex standard are red and gold, the yellow and blue of the new Wessex Wombles standard has been seen before in a historical context. Although its colours were inverted, a yellow and blue wyvern logo adorned the vehicles and troops of the 43rd Wessex Division. Serving most notably in the bocage of Normandy soon after D-Day, the wyvern lived up to its fearsome mythical reputation and the division proved adept in the difficult conditions of the hedge choked Normandy countryside. This was heavily due to its preparation in similar surroundings in England, unlike other formations familiarity with wide open deserts. The 43rd also provided support to airborne forces in the famous Operation Market Garden around Arnhem and its bridging engineers spanned many a river, including the Seine and the Rhine. Although the division disbanded in 1945, the wyvern still survives as the emblem of the 43rd Wessex Brigade, a TA organisation encompassing much of Southwest England, much as the Wessex Wombles do, albeit for a different purpose.

Raise the new standard!

18th September 2005

Thanks to the (now rehabilitated) Laird of Basingstoke, the new Wessex standard made it's proud debut at the otherwise very undistinguised Worthing match on Saturday. Switching to the club colours rather than the traditional red and gold of Wessex, the new standard has been designed to fly proudly at grounds the length and breadth of the country; hopefully with improved results in the future!

CHAMPIONS!

15th May 2005

The Wessex Wombles 5-a-side team were today victorious in the inaugural Regional Dons Tournament besting the squads from Surrey, Kent and Mercia on the hallowed turf at the Meadow of Kings. The 5 nobles who made it in time for the first match were victorious against Mercia with a goal from Baron von Fat Cat before half-time; the 1-0 win being completed thanks to a solid defensive display from the massed ranks of nobility in front of goal.

Things looked a bit dicey for a while when, after an injury, we were reduced to 4 players prior to the grudge match against Surrey - who very generously let us loan one of their 37 man squad; welcome Sir Jack. We fell behind 1-0 in the first half, but an inspired substitution by King Matt turned the tables as Urse, juggler of the King's balls, proceeded to mesmerise the Surrey serfs and pulled the nobles back level. Wessex thus went into the final game against Kent needing a draw to secure the title, and swiftly took a 2 goal lead through Urse's magic silver boots. Kent pulled one back whilst the nobles were having a breather but we hung on to record a second victory and the title.

A full report with pictures, post match quotes and general gloating will eventually be posted. In the meanwhile, don't forget that Wessex Wombles badges are still available if you wish to show your allegiance to the champions, and for a mere £10 you can have your picture taken with the trophy and any member of the winning squad ...

Standard Bearer Sacked!

20th April 2005

It is with deep regret that the Wessex Wombles nobility have had to remove Callum, Laird of Basingstoke, from his post as bearer of the Royal Standard...

It appears that whilst taking care of the distinctive red and yellow wyvern banner after last week's joust against Tooting & Mitcham, he embibed "one too many" pints of Wimbledon's finest Mead and promptly left it in a hostelry. A reward is offered for the return of our banner (hopefully, this will be the privilege of being the first to throw a rotten tomato at Laird Callum in the stocks), so please keep your eyes peeled when travelling through the Surrey badlands ...

Wear it with pride ...

5th April 2005

The Wessex badgers have completed paw-crafting their first official AFC Wimbledon (i.e. we actually asked Ivor) supporters club badge. We are rather proud of the finished article (look at the detail on the Wyvern) and have made it available to members and the general populace alike, please see the Goodies link above for details.

Further Web Wizardry ...

31st March 2005

In a move as dazzling as Urse's boots, the Wessex Wombles Message Board has been upgraded from a Blog into a true multi-topic forum.

May the king bless all nobles (and peasants) who post in her ...

Wessex Standard to be raised at the Meadow of Kings ...

8th March 2005

The proud new standard of the Wessex Wombles has been completed by our master seamstresses (possibly) and it has now made it's first pilgramage from Baron von FatCat's front room to the West Bank. This red and gold Wyvern will soon be a feature of every Dons game and many Dons Online video clips of Butts scoring ...

Wessex Unites in Blue and Yellow

12th March 2005

Thanks to a creative brainwave, plus a lot of sewing from his Auntie Ethel (possibly), Sir Alan the Wight Knight of Newport wove 2 fantastic shirts mixing the colours of AFC Wimbledon and Newport IoW. These shirts were signed by both teams at the Dons home game against the Islanders, and after flirting with the idea of being raffled in aid of the 2 supporters trusts, are to be framed and hung in the respective club bars as a reminder of Newport's first game as a fans owned club. Lets hope we get to see more of each other in pre-season friendlies and cup competitions over the next few years!

New Wessex Wombles Message Board

13th February 2005

The Round Table is here ...

A new forum for discussion has been opened to the Wessex nobility in the form of a "blog" based message board. This board is aimed to provide a forum to exchange details regarding events, travel to games, etc. As such, new posts can only be made by WW nobles, although comments are open to all registered "bloggers" to allow interaction with other fan groups ...

Wessex Wombles Sign Everard

2nd February 2005

The Wessex wombles have already captured our first big signing...

Captain Caveman, aka Matt Everard, has joined the Wessex Wombles, along with his better half. The Wessex nobles have now set their sights on the capture of Andy Sullivan. Watch this space...

Wessex Wombles Form on IoW Ferry

31st January 2005

A car-sharing experiment went horribly wrong when four Wessex based AFC Wimbledon fans created a new supporters group to while away the hour long ferry journey back from the Newport fixture. Watch this space for details of future road trips.