NEW ARRIVALS

West Auckland Sir Thomas Lipton trophy medal

This medal was won in 1909 by Tommy Gill of West Auckland in the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy. This competition was organised in Torino, Italy, by the British industrialist Sir Thomas Lipton. The medal is extremely important as this competition is often referred to as the first “World Cup”.

It involved clubs from England, Italy, Switzerland and Germany, with West Auckland from County Durham representing England after the English FA declined the invitation. The unknown West Auckland defeated FC Winterthur of Switzerland 2-0 to win the trophy and they retained the trophy 2 years later when they thrashed Juventus 6-1. In 1994 the trophy was stolen from the West Auckland working men's club and has never been recovered.

In 1982 West Auckland's historic triumph featured in a BBC TV comedy drama programme starring Dennis Waterman - The World Cup: The Captain's Tale.