The first is Albert Wainwright, who joined Hayes from Clapton in 1930 in response to an advertisement for players, which had been organised by Mortimer Miller. At Clapton he had been captain of the reserves, so a guaranteed place in Hayes’ first team was a definite improvement. Wainwright held his own at centre-half all season and played in the Amateur Cup final at Highbury in 1931. He was also selected for the Athenian League against champions Barnet in August 1931. He continued to play for Hayes until Christmas 1933, when he lost his place to Jack Richards. He made 84 appearances and scored two goals, both at the end of the 1930-1 season. He continued to live in the district, being recorded in the 1946 Electoral Roll at Weymouth Road, and in 1981 in West Drayton, where he was friendly with former team-mate Jack Maskell.

Through most of the Great Western Suburban League and Spartan League days Bob Walker was a regular, first of all at outside-right, and later as left-half. He made a scoring debut at the end of the 1921-2 season in a 6-0 demolition of Maidenhead United, and made a total of 144 appearances, scoring 11 goals over the next five seasons. He won league championship medals in 1922-3 and 1923-4, was a member of the sides which won the Middlesex Senior Cup and Charity Cup in 1925-6, shared the Middlesex Charity Cup with Southall in 1922-3 and 1923-4, and drew with Brentford in the FA Cup, and which reached the quarter-finals of the Amateur Cup in 1923-4. His last appearance in the stripes was in 1938, when he played for Hayes Past against Hayes Present. The Hayes Past squad makes interesting reading: Tom Holding; AR Cole, Bill Ramsay, Bert Gower; Alf Sceeny, Bert Pacey, Henry Osborn, Bob Walker; Cyril Knight, Sonny Long, Harry Deamer, Jack Smith, George Treasure, Bert Smith, Arthur Findlator. The newspaper report states that the first half was goalless, but does not give the final score out of respect for age.

When he was first appointed manager, Terry Brown brought in a number of players whom he had known in his previous job at Wokingham. One of these was Jason Walkington. A left-sided midfielder. he had previously been at Basingstoke Town, Southampton and Windsor & Eton. He made 22+7 appearances during the 1994-5 season and scored two goals.

D Wallage was pitched into goal at the age of 18 in February 1934, when Ralph Carr left to join Sutton United. He had been playing in the reserves since joining from St Albans City at the start of the 1933-4 season, and had already made his first-team debut against Brentford in the London Challenge Cup. He made most of his appearances for Hayes during this season and won a Middlesex Charity Cup medal at Brentford. Next season he started as first-choice keeper, but lost his place to Fred Cole and then GF White. When Tom Holding returned to Hayes from Leyton in November 1935, his chances were limited to times of injury. Nevertheless he went on the tour of the Low Countries with the Athenian League representative team in 1935 and played against Antwerp and Amsterdam. He made his last of 30 appearances for Hayes on the opening day of the 1936-7 season.

In the days of ‘wonderboys’, Pat ‘Paddy’ Walsh was to Hayes as the likes of Pat Neil were to Portsmouth, England amateurs and Cambridge University. Paddy was a pupil at Ealing Grammar School, who joined Hayes in 1954 at the age of 16, having captained youth team Yeading in 1953-4, playing alongside Dudley Baker, and having played for England Grammar Schools at Hampden Park. While he made only 16 appearances over five seasons, mainly in university vacations and when he was not needed by Pegasus, he played in some significant matches and scored some important goals among a total of six. He was adaptable – an early ‘total footballer’ – and played at inside-forward, wing-half or on the wing. He had to combine playing for Hayes with playing for his school team, studying, and preparing for examinations. He went up to Oxford in 1955 to study Medicine and gained his Blue at soccer. His most important season for Hayes was 1956-7. Although it was the season when Hayes won the Athenian League for the only time, he played little part, appearing only in four of the first five matches – all won – before going back to university. But, with Jimmy Watts injured and Les Champelovier absent on international duty, he took over during Hayes’ Amateur Cup run to the semi-finals. He signed amateur forms with Brentford in 1957 and, when he joined Southall in 1958, where he was described as ‘slow’, he signed as an amateur with Arsenal. At the time he was under consideration for the British Olympic team, and was reserve for England amateurs. Upon graduating in 1959, he started a 2-year course as a medical student at Charing Cross Hospital. He joined Hounslow in December 1960.

Paddy’s namesake, Kevin Walsh, was an inside-forward who had started with QPR juniors and joined Hayes from Kingstonian in 1968. He made 66+1 appearances, scoring 17 goals, before quitting in February 1970 when Don Stoker took over as manager from Eddie Gibbins, and demoted him to the substitute’s bench. At the time he was described as ‘skilful, but lazy and unwilling to work hard’. He joined Cheshunt for the rest of the season and played for Croydon Amateurs in 1970-1. He made one further appearance for Hayes in August 1972.

Our last entry is Wally Walter, who took over in goal from Hugh Hart when the latter resigned on a matter of principle. He had served at Gallipoli in 1915, been wounded and honourably discharged. On demobilisation, he joined GWR in the Spartan League and then played for Yiewsley. He came to Hayes in December 1922 and held down the goalkeeping position until 1930, making a total of 235 appearances. County and Spartan League representative honours came his way, as well as three league championship medals, one Middlesex Senior Cup and four Charity Cup winners medals. On his doctor’s advice he took off the 1930-1 season, Hayes’ first at Athenian League level, although he may have played in the last match of the season. By now, with the team which Mortimer Miller had built, Tom Holding was back in goal and there was no place for a returning Wally Walter. He gives the impression of being a character; unlike most other players, the newspapers of the day carried several snippets of information about him, whose significance has been lost in time. Apparently he was known as ‘Caster’ and was keen on painting and rugby. When he had given up playing, he took to refereeing. Among the matches where he took the whistle were the Hayes v Hayesco pre-season friendly in August 1934, and the charity match Hayes Wasps v ARP Services at Church Road in December 1939. Interviewed for the Hayes FC Handbook in 1948-9, he said that the greatest game he ever played was that with Brentford in 1923.

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