An extraordinary archive of Derby County memorabilia, including a signed photo of the 1946 FA Cup winning team, has been discovered in a house ‘trapped in time’.
A multitude of items were found scattered all over a Derby property. They include documents relating to the club’s accounts and business, rare football programmes, team pictures, a 1937-38 season ticket, blank player contracts, away dressing room passes and a photo album from the team’s visit to Germany in 1934.
The album includes a picture of Derby County players giving the Nazi salute. They were ordered to do so by Hitler’s officials – backed by British diplomats. However, goalkeeper Jack Kirby famously refused.
All the items belonged to Gilbert Dickenson, director of Derby County from the late 1930s to the mid-50s. Gilbert passed away at the age of 68 in 1959 and, following the death of his son, Kenneth, at the age of 86 in January 2021, relatives have had to clear the family home in Littleover.
A member of the family, a 43-year-old factory worker from Derby, said: “We hadn’t got a clue what we would find. The house hadn’t been touched for years and it’d been empty for a long time. Nothing had been thrown away. There was stuff everywhere.
“We put everything that we thought may be of value to one side. But we’re not big football fans and didn’t immediately realise the significance of some of the Derby County memorabilia, such as the signed football photo from 1946. At first, we didn’t know what the German photo album was all about either.
“There were football programmes everywhere. We had to go into every nook and cranny. A lot of Derby County paperwork was in a chest in the hall.
“Gilbert was my great grandmother’s brother. He was born in 1891 to a large family in the Gerard Street area of Derby. He was an active member of Derby Rowing Club and Swimming Club and served in the First World War. Later, he qualified as a chartered accountant and had his own practice in Sadler Gate. He was an active member of various clubs and was invited to join the board of directors at Derby County in the late 1930s.”
Gilbert’s collection is now being assessed and catalogued ahead of sale at Hansons Auctioneers, Etwall, Derbyshire, on December 2. Due to the volume of items, it’s too early to provide an exact overall estimate. However, Hansons owner Charles Hanson said the rarity of some of the finds could see it selling for in excess of £5,000.
Charles visited the property where the finds were made and was stunned by what he described as ‘a house trapped in time’. As well as the football memorabilia, he found Art Deco pottery and Christmas lights from the 1930s with original spare bulbs.
But he was particularly surprised to find items relating to Derby County’s finances more than 70 years ago. A letter sent by the Football League to Derby County, dated January 26, 1946 states: “I note that no correspondence is available relating to the settlement in July 1946 of the PAYE tax arrears… I have not received a copy of the authority given to Westminster Bank to pay the summer wages of 1946… I see that no records exist which would enable our auditors to verify the receipts from the programmes and other sources’.
“Given the fact that the club’s current financial situation forced them into administration in September 2021, I found it fascinating to read about the difficulties they were facing in the 1940s,” said Charles. “Another letter dated September 4, 1942 mentions salary arrears due to George Jobey, who managed the Rams from 1925 to 1941.”
Other correspondence and newspaper cuttings from 1946 relate to an FA Cup final tickets scandal. A Derby Telegraph front page dated April 26, 1946 is headlined, ‘Cup-final ticket profiteers busy in Derby’.
The next day – April 27, 1946 – Derby famously triumphed at Wembley – their one and only FA Cup final win. The Rams beat Charlton Athletic 4-1 after extra time. Charlton’s Bert Turner scored an own goal and then scored for his own team. He became the first player to score for both sides in an FA Cup final. Extra time goals from Peter Doherty and Jackie Stamps sealed the win for DCFC. The match action is also captured in a Derby Telegraph front page from April 27, 1946 which Gilbert saved for posterity.
“The memorabilia relating to the FA Cup win, which also includes an autographed souvenir brochure from Christmas 1946, could be extremely sought after by Rams fans,” said David Wilson-Turner, head of Hansons’ sports memorabilia department. “After all, this was one of Derby County’s finest moments, and there haven’t been too many of those. It was also the first FA Cup final to take place after the Second World War.
“This collection is an extraordinary treasure trove of memorabilia. It’s been fascinating to look through it. Some of the programmes are rare, too – and there are lots of them. For example, there’s a 1949 Chelsea v Derby programme, a 1945 DCFC v Aston Villa programme and a Waterford FC programme from 1946.
“We expect the 1934 commemorative photo album of Derby County’s visit to Germany to be sought after. The Rams were invited to play four pre-season games friendlies at a time when the world was naïve about Hitler.
“The players didn’t want to give the Nazi salute but were pressured to do so by the British ambassador. The matches didn’t go Derby’s way, either. The Rams lost 5-0 in Cologne, 5-2 in Frankfurt, 1-0 in Dusseldorf and drew 1-1 in Dortmund.
“By keeping every possible programme and scrap of paper linked to his time as a director at Derby County in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, Mr Dickenson has unwittingly left a valuable historical archive that will fascinate football historians as well as supporters.”
The Gilbert Dickenson memorabilia is due to sold on December 2 in a Football and Sporting Auction at Hansons Auctioneers, Heage Lane, Etwall, Derbyshire. To find out more, or to arrange a free sports memorabilia valuation email: [email protected].
