Cray Wanderers F.C.
Cray Wanderers FC - the second oldest football club in the world - is believed to have first adopted a club crest (an altered version of the former Orpington Urban District Council's coat of arms) in 1964.
Club chairman and secretary at this time was the legendary Mick Slater. It was he who was responsible for the crest's introduction, with the aim of trying to establish a visual connection between the club and its home town of Orpington. The club's roots lay in 'The Crays' (the industrial and farming outskirts of the town) and Mick was keen for Orpington Urban District Council to see it as an asset to the town, hoping the council would support his ambitions to improve the club's headquarters at Grassmeade in Chelsfield Road (St Mary Cray).
No such help was particularly forthcoming from the council and, in 1973, when the club's landlords decided to sell its land for redevelopment, Cray Wanderers FC moved to a new ground in Oxford Road (Footscray, near Sidcup). By this time, the old Orpington UDC had been absorbed by Bromley Borough Council, but ironically the club's new home lay instead in an area controlled by Bexley Borough Council. Despite this the club decided to maintain the crest it had been using for the previous nine years, and continues to do so today.
On the shield, three wavy lines (blue and white on colour versions) represent the River Cray; two mural crowns mark the urban development in the northern and central parts of the district; while the sword and chain are taken from the badge of the nearby Royal Air Force base at Biggin Hill.
A border around the shield (green on colour versions) represents the Green Belt around London, of which areas of Orpington are part.
Above the shield, a further mural crown (the symbol of civic government) makes the crest distinctive to Orpington, while a white (Invicta) horse represents the county of Kent.
Missing from the arms of the former Orpington UDC is its motto, 'Progredior' meaning 'I progress'. This has been replaced by the club's formation date.
Thanks to Jerry Dowlen, Club Historian at Cray Wanderers FC, for the above crest and information. (Additional information from Civic Heraldry website.)
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