Solway Star
Formed 1911
Founder member of Scottish Division Three 1923. Lost membership when this division was abandoned in 1926.
Kit History
1912 (a,c)
1921-1922 (b)
1924-1925 (b)
Background
This romantically named club were based in the Royal Burgh of Annan in Dumfrieshire, a modest port on the Solway Firth. For the first three years of their existence, the club played only in cup and friendly games. This was common practice in the south western part of Scotland where communities were small and dispersed, making regular league competition less attractive. Indeed, several league competitions came and went over the years. Star spent only three seasons in league competition prior to joining the Scottish League (Southern District League 1914-15, Southern Counties League 1921-22 and then the Western League 1922-23.
In 1923 10 of the 12 Western League clubs were incorporated into the Scottish League as Division Three. The opportunity to play at this higher level must have appeared attractive but the additional travel (Solway and their neighbours now had to travel regularly to central and northern Scotland) and meet higher match guarantees. The few hundred spectators these little clubs could expect were not enough to cover the costs involved and in 1926 the competition was abandoned in chaos, with fixtures incomplete.
After a single season in the Scottish Alliance, and the Provincial League, Star were in and out of the South of Scotland League until 1933 when they resigned. They carried on playing cup and friendly matches until 1947 when they disbanded.
Solway Star shared their gold and black colours with Mid-Annandale (who played in nearby Lockerbie), Annan Athletic FC (formed 1942) and Annan RFC so there appears to be something of a local sporting tradition associated with this combination.
Sources
- (a) The Scottish League Clubs - Former Members IV (Norman Nichol 1994)
- (b) Alick Milne
- (c) Brian McColl