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Wombles from the Lane

Wombles from the Lane is a project set up and run by educational charity digital:works.

Working with AFC Wimbledon, Wimbledon in Sporting History, Merton Local Studies & Archives and Wandsworth Heritage Services this project explores and records the history of AFC Wimbledon from a fans' perspective. Working alongside historians, local archives and digital-works staff, this project trained volunteers in research skills, oral history interviewing and recording skills.

The project recorded oral history interviews with fans and club staff to be given to relevant archives.

The interviews will be edited to make a documentary film - to be shown at various screenings and broadcast on television - and a series of podcasts.

This project website will house all of the full interviews, the podcasts, the film and cover the progress of the project.



Acknowledgements

This project is run by digital:works with the support of Wimbledon in Sporting History.

We are grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for their financial support.




digital-works logo

digital:works has been running oral history projects across London working with communities to explore the history of work and workers in the capital. Projects so far include printers on Fleet Street, bus workers, underground workers, black cab drivers, jewellers in Hatton Garden, tailors in Saville Row, the Thames Lightermen, Thames boatyards and more. Other projects explore the history of Battersea, North Kensington, Southall, Eel Pie Island, as well as some of London’s indoor and street markets. If you would like to see any of these wonderful films and find out more about digital:works please visit:
www.digital-works.co.uk.


The Greatest Story in Football

This project focuses 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 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.