Leatherhead

Leatherhead Football Club is a football club based in Leatherhead, Surrey, England. The club is nicknamed The Tanners and plays home at Fetcham Grove. They play in the Bostik Isthmian League Premier Division. The club is affiliated to the Surrey County Football Association and is a FA Charter Standard club The club was founded in 1907 as Leatherhead Rose, and originally played friendlies. In 1909 they joined the Dorking and District League, and won the league at the first attempt. After the First World War the team rejoined that league and again won the league championship. The following season they joined the Kingston and District League, and went on to win three league titles before the Second World War. Leatherhead also had another local club, Leatherhead United, formed in 1924, who won Division One of the Sutton and District League in the 1925–26 season. United also finished third in the Premier League in the 1928–29 season, behind Leatherhead Rose who were runners-up. In the early 1930s Fetcham Grove-based United joined the Surrey Junior League and became Champions at the end of the 1933–34 season. This enabled United to join the Surrey Intermediate League, but they were relegated after a few seasons at the end of the 1936–37 campaign. After the Second World War officials of the two clubs met; and on 27 May 1946 Leatherhead Football Club was officially formed at a public meeting. The two clubs pooled their financial resources and chose United's Fetcham Grove ground for their home pitch. The club then joined the Surrey Senior League for the start of the 1946–47 season. They won that league four times in a row, and left the league to join the Metropolitan & District League for the 1950–51 season. The next season they became founding members of the Delphian League. The team played in the Delphian League for seven seasons before joining the Corinthian League. In the 1962–63 season they became the last ever Corinthian League champions, as the league was disbanded. Along with most of the other sides, they joined the enlarged Athenian League in the new Division One. At the end of their first season in Division One they were promoted to the Premier Division as Champions.