Wombles From The Lane is a project set up and run by educational charity digital:works.
The project focused on an oral history of Wimbledon Football Club at a time when it returned to it's home in the London Borough of Merton for the first time in 30 years. Often cited as the greatest story in football, they are the only club to have won both the FA Amateur Cup and the FA Cup. As a non-league club they beat top-flight Burnley in 1975 and took then-current Champions Leeds to a replay in the next round. In 1977 they joined the football league and took just 9 season to reach the top flight and beat Liverpool to win the FA Cup just two season later in 1988. In 2002 the FA agreed to allow their owners to move the club to Milton Keynes - an unheard of move in British football. The fans joined together and created AFC Wimbledon - A Fan's Club - and started back in non-league in the Combined Counties League Premier Division. Just 9 years later they made it back to the football league and eventually back to Wimbledon in their new ground in Plough Lane.
Working with historians, local archives and digital-works staff, this project trained volunteers in research skills, oral history interviewing and recording skills.
The project recorded 26 in-depth oral history interviews with fans, volunteers and staff of the club.
These full interviews are being given to Merton Archives, Wandsworth Heritage Service, Wimbledon in Sporting History and Bishopsgate Institute.
The interviews have been edited to make this documentary film and a series of podcasts.
This project page will house all of the full interviews, the podcasts and the film.
We are grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for financially supporting this project.
View the Project Website
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