Melton Charity Cup
The Melton Charity Cup was established in July 1920 with the full title of the Melton Mowbray & District Cottage Hospital Charity Cup Competition. The aim was to raise funds for beds for the Melton War Memorial Hospital. The competition was also known as the Melton Mowbray War Memorial Hospital Cup Competition but was usually referred to as the Melton Hospital Cup.
This was one of the few football competitions that ran throughout the 2nd World War, albeit with limited participants.
Melton Hospital Cup
| Winners | Runners Up | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920/21 | Melton Corinthians | Denton Manor | 1 – 0 |
| 1921/22 | Thurmaston SS | A & J Shaws Ltd. | 2 – 1 (replay) |
| 1922/23 | Thurmaston SS | Melton Imperial | 2 – 1 |
| 1923/24 | Barrow Trinity | Humberstone St. Mary’s | 2 – 1 |
| 1924/25 | Barrow Trinity | Melton Imperial | 5 – 0 |
| 1925/26 | South Wigston Imperial | Humberstone St. Mary’s | 4 – 1 |
| 1926/27 | Melton WMC | Wigston Athletic | 4 – 3 (replay) |
| 1927/28 | South Wigston Imperial | Gent & Co. | 4 – 0 |
| 1928/29 | Rudkin & Laundon | Westcotes United | 2 – 1 |
| 1929/30 | South Wigston Imperial | Rudkin & Laundon | 5 – 2 |
| 1930/31 | Rudkin & Laundon | TW Rust & Co. | 8 – 0 |
| 1931/32 | Rudkin & Laundon | Holwell Works | 5 – 2 |
| 1932/33 | Enderby Town | TW Rust & Co. | 3 – 1 |
| 1933/34 | TW Rust & Co. | Holwell Works | 2 – 1 |
| 1934/35 | Waltham | Asfordby Valley Old Boys | 4 – 1 |
| 1935/36 | Bottesford | Midland Woodworkers | 3 – 2 |
| 1936/37 | Midland Woodworkers | Lee & Grinling’s | 2 – 1 (replay) |
| 1937/38 | Holwell Works | Lee & Grinling’s | 2 – 0 |
| 1938/39 | Holwell Works | Wellington Victoria | 1 – 0 |
| 1939/40 | Holwell Works | Midland Woodworkers | 4 – 1 |
| 1940/41 | Holwell Works | Midland Woodworkers | 2 – 1 |
| 1941/42 | Holwell Works | Midland Woodworkers | 4 – 2 |
| 1942/43 | Melton ATC | Holwell Works | 2 – 1 |
| 1943/44 | Midland Woodworkers | Holwell Works | 3 – 2 (replay) |
| 1944/45 | COD Old Dalby | RAF Leicester East | unknown |
| 1945/46 | REME | Melton Town | 3 – 0 |
| 1946/47 | Sproxton | Holwell Works Reserves | 2 – 1 |
Prior to the start of the 1947/48 season the competition had another name change. This was due to the formation of the National Health Service after the 2nd World War, meaning that the proceeds of competitions could not be paid into the Hospital Maintenance Fund. A number of different charities would now benefit from the proceeds of the competition. As a result of this change the competition was renamed the Melton Mowbray & District Charity Football Cup Competition, or the Melton Charity Cup for short.
Melton Charity Cup
| Winners | Runners Up | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947/48 | Midland Woodworkers | Somerby | 2 – 1 |
| 1948/49 | Harby United | Melton Old Grammarians | 3 – 1 |
| 1949/50 | Asfordby | Harby United | 1 – 0 |
| 1950/51 | Holwell Works | Melton Town | 3 – 1 |
| 1951/52 | Asfordby | Holwell Works Reserves | 5 – 3 |
| 1952/53 | RAF Cottesmore | Redmile | 8 – 1 |
| 1953/54 | RAF Cottesmore | Long Clawson | 8 – 2 |
| 1954/55 | Oakham Imperial | Stathern Olympic | 7 – 1 |
| 1955/56 | Oakham Imperial | Holwell Works | 6 – 3 (replay) |
| 1956/57 | Oakham Imperial | Holwell Works | 6 – 4 |
| 1957/58 | Oakham Imperial | Melton Old Grammarians | 4 – 2 |
| 1958/59 | Melton Old Grammarians | Asfordby | 3 – 0 |
| 1959/60 | Melton Old Grammarians | Oakham Imperial | 2 – 1 |
| 1960/61 | Syston St. Peter’s | Oakham Imperial | 5 – 0 |
| 1961/62 | Holwell Works | Syston St. Peter’s | 2 – 1 |
| 1962/63 | Melton Old Grammarians | Holwell Works | 7 – 1 |
| 1963/64 | Holwell Works | Melton Old Grammarians | 2 – 1 (replay) |
| 1964/65 | Melton Old Grammarians | Midland Woodworkers | 2 – 1 |
| 1965/66 | Melton Old Grammarians | Petfoods | 9 – 0 |
| 1966/67 | Midland Woodworkers | Melton Old Grammarians | 2 – 1 |
| 1967/68 | Wigston COB | Petfoods | 3 – 1 (replay) |
| 1968/69 | Wigston COB | Petfoods | 3 – 0 |
| 1969/70 | Wigston COB | Groby | 3 – 1 |
| 1970/71 | Holwell Works | Melton Old Grammarians | 3 – 2 |
| 1971/72 | Holwell Works | Melton Old Grammarians | 1 – 0 |
| 1972/73 | Melton Town | Quorn | 3 – 2 |
| 1973/74 | Petfoods | Melton Town | 4 – 3 (replay) |
| 1974/75 | Petfoods | Sewstern Rovers | unknown |
| 1975/76 | Melton Town | Quorn | 3 – 1 |
| 1976/77 | Melton Town | Holwell Works | 2 – 1 |
| 1977/78 | Welby Lane United | Melton Town | 3 – 1 |
| 1978/79 | Holwell Works | Quorn | 7 – 1 |
| 1979/80 | Holwell Works | Melton Town | 3 – 0 |
| 1980/81 | Melton Town | Quorn | 4 – 0 |
| 1981/82 | Quorn | Holwell Works | 2 – 2 (8 – 7 pens replay) |
| 1982/83 | Quorn | Melton Town | 2 – 1 |
| 1983/84 | Holwell Works | Melton Town | 3 – 1 |
| 1984/85 | Quorn | Petfoods | 2 – 0 (replay) |
| 1985/86 | Holwell Works | Petfoods | 1 – 0 |
| 1986/87 | Melton Town | Pedigree Petfoods | 2 – 0 |
| 1987/88 | Quorn | Pedigree Petfoods | 2 – 1 (replay) |
| 1988/89 | Holwell Sports | Melton Town | 6 – 0 |
| 1989/90 | Melton Town | Pedigree Petfoods | 5 – 3 |
| 1990/91 | Melton Town | Melton WMC | 5 – 0 |
| 1991/92 | Holwell Sports | Melton Town | 3 – 0 |
| 1992/93 | Croxton Kerrial | Holwell Sports | 2 – 1 |
| 1993/94 | Holwell Sports | Pedigree Petfoods | 3 – 0 |
| 1994/95 | Holwell Sports | Cottesmore Amateurs | 4 – 2 |
| 1995/96 | Holwell Sports | Quorn | 2 – 0 |
| 1996/97 | Cottesmore Amateurs | Pedigree Petfoods | 9 – 3 |
| 1997/98 | Holwell Sports | Asfordby Amateurs | 2 – 0 (replay) |
| 1998/99 | not completed | ||
| 1999/00 | no competition | ||
| 2000/01 | no competition | ||
| 2001/02 | Melton Mowbray | Waltham Athletic | 7 – 0 |
| 2002/03 | Holwell Sports | Asfordby Amateurs | 3 – 2 |
| 2003/04 | Welby Lane United | Asfordby Amateurs | 4 – 2 |
| 2004/05 | Asfordby Amateurs | Holwell Sports | 1 – 1 (4 – 2 pens) |
| 2005/06 | Holwell Sports | Asfordby Amateurs | 1 – 0 |
| 2006/07 | Asfordby Amateurs | Holwell Sports | 4 – 0 |
| 2007/08 | Holwell Sports | Asfordby Amateurs | 0 – 0 (5 – 4 pens) |
| 2008/09 | Holwell Sports | Cottesmore Amateurs | 5 – 2 |
| 2009/10 | Melton Mowbray | Holwell Sports | 0 – 0 (3 – 0 pens) |
| 2010/11 | Holwell Sports | Queniborough | 2 – 0 |
| 2011/12 | abandoned |
The competition had a brief pause between 1998 and 2001. This was due to trouble scheduling fixtures, the 1998/99 competition was not completed due to the backlog of fixtures.
The final season for the Melton Charity Cup as an adult football competition was in 2011/12, which ended up being abandoned due to fighting in the final between Holwell Sports and Thurmaston Town.
The Melton Charity Cup continued for a few more years as a youth competition for under 15s teams. The last record I have of this being played is in the 2017/18 season which again was hit by problems with postponements due to bad weather over the winter months.