Non league club speak on claims of having the Grim Reaper on their crest

Non league club East Thurrock United have chosen to speak out on claims of having the Grim Reaper on their rather unique crest.

Rather bizarrely, the Essex based outfit have had questions sent to them about the logo’s design, and there’s actually quite an interesting story behind it.

‘The Rocks’ uploaded some photos which included the crest, as well as a segment all about it from, The Beautiful History book which sees football club badges tell the story of Great Britain.

The Isthmian League club tweeted: “Absolutely love this from @BeautifulBadge 💛🖤💛🖤💛

“Unfortunately, people still ask why we have the Grim Reaper or Old Father Time on our badge.

“Thomas Baker from Fobbing, just up the road from our Rookery Hill ground was the local leader, and got Hung, Drawn & Quartered for his involvement (Ouch!!).”

Absolutely love this @BeautifulBadge 💛🖤💛🖤💛

Unfortunately, people still ask why we have the Grim Reaper or Old Father Time on our badge.

Thomas Baker from Fobbing, just up the road from our ground was the local leader, and got Hung, Drawn & Quartered for his involvement !! https://t.co/UNMIZvmxOX

— East Thurrock United FC – The Rocks. (@1EastThurrockFC) September 10, 2021

The Beautiful History say in their impressive book: “The Peasants’ Revolt was the first great popular uprising in English history.

“The trigger was the poll tax, needed to pay Richard II’s wars in France. Although everyone had to pay, many refused. They were also unhappy at the attempts to keep down their pay after the Black Death.

“The rebellion only lasted a month. Men from Essex and Kent under their leader Wat Tyler marched on London, arrived with bows, sticks and farm implements like scythes. They forced the king to negotiate although he did not keep his promises.

“The natives were restless throughout the land. Local riots continued the great nobles too were unhappy. The greatest warrior of all was Harry Percy, son of the 1st Earl of Northumberland. He was called Hotspur because he urged his horses to greater speeds and was always ready to attack. He fought the Scots who called him Hotspur, the Welsh, Irish, the French, and eventually his king over money. He died in battle against him.”

Read more on this and why not buy this fascinating book by clicking HERE.

MORE ABOUT EAST THURROCK UNITED

East Thurrock United are based in Corringham, Essex, England. They are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division, the seventh tier of English football, and play at Rookery Hill.

The club was founded on the 27th of April 1969 by a group of fans who felt that the area around Corringham and Stanford-le-Hope should have a senior non league football team, following the successful Corringham Social Sunday league team. The new club played in the Southern Essex Combination for the 1969–70 season and finished third in the league, before joining the reserve section of the Greater London League in 1970. They went on to win the division at the first attempt. The league merged with the Metropolitan League at the end of the season to form the Metropolitan–London League, with East Thurrock remaining in the reserve division. After winning the division in 1971–72, they moved up to the senior divisions, joining Division Two. They also won this division at the first attempt and were promoted to Division One.

After the league merged with the Spartan League to form the London Spartan League in 1975, East Thurrock were placed in Division Two. They remained in Division Two until restructuring saw them moved into the Premier Division in 1978. In 1979 the club switched to the Essex Senior League. In 1988–89 they won the League Cup, a feat they repeated in 1991–92, a season that also saw them finish third in the league, earning promotion to Division Three of the Isthmian League. In 1999–2000 they were Division Three champions, earning promotion to Division Two. Two seasons later they were placed in Division One North upon league reorganisation, before being moved into the Eastern Division of the Southern League for the 2004–05 season as part of wider restructuring of the non-League pyramid. After finishing as Eastern Division runners-up in the first season, they were promoted and moved back to the Isthmian League, joining its Premier Division.

East Thurrock were relegated back to Division One North of the Isthmian League at the end of the 2007–08 season following a one-point deduction for fielding an ineligible player. They finished as runners-up in 2008–09, qualifying for the promotion play-offs, but lost 1–0 to Concord Rangers in the semi-finals. A fifth-place finish the 2009–10 saw the club qualify for the play-offs again, but they were again beaten 1–0 by Concord Rangers in the semi-finals. In 2010–11 the club won the division and were promoted to the Premier Division. In 2011–12 they reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, losing 3–0 at home to Macclesfield Town. The following season saw them finish fifth in the Isthmian League Premier Division, qualifying for the play-offs. However, they lost 1–0 to Lowestoft Town in the semi-finals.

In 2014–15, East Thurrock reached the first round of the FA Cup again, this time losing 2–0 at Hartlepool United. In the following season they finished third in the Premier Division, again qualifying for the play-offs. The club beat Tonbridge Angels 2–0 in the semi-finals and Dulwich Hamlet 3–1 in the final in front of a record crowd of 1,661, resulting in promotion to the National League South. After three seasons in the sixth tier, the club finished second-from-bottom of the National League South in 2018–19, and were relegated back to the Isthmian League’s Premier Division in a season that also saw them win the Essex Senior Cup for the first time in their history, defeating Chelmsford City 3–1 in the final.