We start with three players of the same name, of whom two were related. The first of them was Byron Walton, a striker, who joined Hayes from Aylesbury United in August 1983 at the age of 18, having previously played for Millwall juniors. He made an immediate impact with his non-stop running and commitment and was voted Sportsman of the Year in his first season. During the following season he often found himself on the substitute’s bench and left for Wokingham Town in February 1985 in order to play first-team football. But he did not find satisfaction there and returned to Church Road during the close season. In 1985-6 he played a full season and joined Wycombe Wanderers at the end of the season, having played a total of 127+15 games during his two spells and having scored 40 goals. At Wycombe he was a regular in the first half of the 1986-7 season, at the end of which the Chairboys won the Isthmian League, but joined struggling Wealdstone in the Conference for the last part of the season. He stayed at Wealdstone for less than a year before starting a peripatetic existence at Hounslow, Windsor & Eton, Staines, Slough Town, Chesham United, and Yeading in 1992. He was later appointed manager of Windsor and then Egham Town, before joining Flackwell Heath in January 2004 as a player at the age of 38. At Flackwell Heath he was one of the veterans who played against the Real Madrid Masters Select XI in September 2005.

Byron’s younger brother, Stuart Walton, made two appearances in goal in 1984-5 and was substitute for the match against Middlesex Wanderers, which celebrated Hayes’ 75th anniversary. Two years younger than his brother, he had started with QPR, and later played for Slough Town, Wycombe Wanderers, Woking, Staines Town, Harrow Borough and Chesham United.

The last player of the name, Chris Walton, was the most significant. A winger, who was converted in time to full-back, he played for Hanwell Town in a pre-season friendly against Hayes in August 1986 and so impressed manager George Goode, that he was signed in time to make his debut as substitute in the opening game of the season at Carshalton, together with Les Ferdinand. He was already 23 years old and had previously played for Kingstonian, Feltham and Staines Town. At the end of his first season he was voted Most Improved Player. Although only 5’ 6” tall, he was converted to full-back mid-way through the 1987-8 season and played the majority of his games for Hayes in that position. In his nine seasons at Church Road, he was selected for Middlesex and the Isthmian League representative sides, and was twice voted Supporters’ Player of the Year, but he was never sent off and rarely cautioned. ‘Walts’ was released in October 1994. He had made 361+37 appearances and scored 37 goals, putting him in 7th place for appearances in Hayes’ all-time records. He joined Denham United immediately, but was soon at Ruislip Manor, and played for Wealdstone during 1995-6. Like his namesake, Chris also played for Flackwell Heath Veterans against Real Madrid in September 2005.

Our next entry, JW ‘Jimmy’ Ward, was also a full-back, but from an earlier era. He was a pupil at Featherstone Road School, playing against Clayton Road School, and went straight into the Southall 1st XI at the age of 16 in 1929. He joined Hayes in 1932 and settled into the first team straightaway at right back. In 1934 he decided to try his luck with Wimbledon in the Isthmian League, while retaining his registration with Hayes in the Athenian League, but, when Charlie Lethbridge broke his arm on the first day of the season, he came back and stayed until the outbreak of war. He was described as a classy player, adept with his head and a hard and accurate kicker, developing into Hayes’ regular penalty expert. He was selected for the Athenian League side and for Middlesex, and in May 1939 he was chosen for an FA XI against Guernsey, together with Joe Friday. During the 1930s he received several offers to sign for professional clubs. In 1939 he joined the Auxiliary Air Force, having previously worked for HMV, and in 1940 he narrowly escaped capture, when he was one of the last RAF personnel to leave France. Later in the war he was based in West Africa. After the war he returned to Hayes and played most of 1945-6, sustaining a broken and dislocated nose, and the first match of 1946-7. Over a period of 10 seasons, covering 14 elapsed years, he made a total of 252 appearances and scored 20 goals. In a time when a league season consisted of only 26 matches, he would have reached a higher position than 25th in total appearances but for the war. In August 1947 he was appointed Hayes coach, but he felt obliged to resign only two months later, and was replaced by former centre-forward Freddie Knight.

Jimmy’s namesake, John Ward, followed new manager Martin Hackett from Wembley in August 1978. He lived in Whitechapel, where he had just set up home, and was training to become a London taxi driver. But he left to join Finchley in December 1978, because he found the travel excessive. Nevertheless, he rejoined Hayes in March 1979 and stayed until the start of the following season. In his two spells, he made 21+4 appearances and scored two goals.

Lee Ward was a goalkeeper who came to Hayes from Watford in 1994 at the age of 18. He made an immediate impact in the Suburban League side when he went his first six matches without conceding a goal. But, as understudy to Gary Westwood, he found first-team chances hard to come by, making most of his five appearances in lesser cup competitions, and went briefly to Northwood in March 1995. A week later he was back, but he played no more first-team games and went to Edgware Town at the end of the season. He later played for Hemel Hempstead Town, Arlesey Town where he won a South Midlands League Champions medal, Newport Pagnell, Hornchurch and Ilford before becoming manager of London Colney in 2006.

Although he joined Hayes from Brentford at the start of the club's Isthmian League career in 1971, forward Paul Ward lived at Walthamstow. After making 7+3 appearances, scoring one goal, he found the travelling to Hayes excessive and left to join a club nearer to his home.

Bertie Wardle merits his place here as he was a Botwell Mission officer during the club's first two seasons in senior amateur football. In 1919 he was appointed honorary treasurer, and a year later he became honorary secretary. But he surprised everyone when, at the 1921 AGM, he announced his resignation. In July 1914 a Mr B Wardle attended the Uxbridge & District Junior League AGM, representing West Drayton Juniors, alongside a Mr Harris from Botwell Mission, who announced his club's intention to leave the league before the 1914-15 season, which never materialised.

It is always difficult to describe someone who has recently played for the club; there has been no passage of time to gain an objective view of the player’s impact. Such is the case with David Warner, younger brother of Kevin, who joined the club from Brook House, having failed to enhance his reputation at Watford, mainly because of a knee injury, which he never really succeeded in overcoming. There seems little doubt that he was a talented forward, but his impact at Hayes was not as great as was hoped. His proneness to injury accounted for his total of only 83+21 appearances over four seasons from 2001 to 2004, and his tally of 21 goals. He always looked good, but his inability to score regularly was a disappointment. The way in which he and Michael Currie tormented the Aldershot Town defence in March 2003, for example, was not borne out by their tally of one meagre goal. David eventually left to join the growing former Hayes contingent at Windsor in March 2004 before moving to Staines in the summer of 2006 to link up once again with Kevin.

Older brother Kevin Warner started his career with Wimbledon before moving to Brook House from whom he joined in 2001 and immediately became a fans favourite due to his never say die attitude. He was a battling midfielder and reluctant left-back who for one so diminutive in stature could outjump most opponents. He was twice voted Player of the Year in his five seasons with the club, gained FA XI honours and was selected to tour Japan with Middlesex Wanderers in the summer of 2005 but sadly missed out through injury. Having made 234+3 appearances, scoring 34 goals, he decided a change of scene was needed and signed for Staines Town of the Ryman League in June 2006. He returned briefly at the end of the 2006/07 season making a further two appearances and adding another goal to his tally.

A former pupil at Mellow Lane School, and a Middlesex and London Schools player, Ron Warner was a student at Borough Road College when he stood in for the unavailable John Pratt in goal against Edgware Town in the final match of the 1964-5 season. Although an away fixture, the match was played at Church Road as Edgware's ground was unavailable, as it had been all season. Although this was his only game for Hayes, he enjoyed a 3-0 win. In August 1965 he deputised for Gerry Cakebread at Hillingdon Borough, but left for Hounslow a year later as he was not assured of a place.

Michael Watkins joined Hayes from Maidenhead Borough in the summer of 2004. He made 5+1 appearances in goal during the 2004-5 season, before returning to Maidenhead at the end of the campaign. His substitute appearance came when regular goalkeeper Kevin Davies was sent off in the FA Trophy match against Tooting & Mitcham United.

Paul Watkins was a defender who joined Hayes at the end of January 1995 from Harefield United. He made 11 appearances in defence before joining Northwood, for whom he played for many seasons.

In the summer after Hayes had won the Athenian League in 1957 for the first and only time, Vic Watson arrived from Yiewsley, where he could not get a guaranteed place. He had returned to Yiewsley after two seasons with Tunbridge Wells Rangers under Jim Taylor, who lived at Cowley and later managed Uxbridge. He was a 6’ 1”, 12 stone centre-half, noted for his strong and robust approach, but had to slot into right-back, as Derek Williams was the undisputed pivot. When Williams came to the end of his career, his place was taken by Dave Hall, another recruit from Yiewsley. In March 1959 Vic got his chance to play at centre-half when Hall was asked to play at centre-forward, with great success. Vic seized his chance so well that Hall could not get his place back and announced in August 1959 that he would not be available owing to the demands of his job as a shipping manager. Early in the 1960-1 season Vic was again selected to play at right-back and joined Uxbridge; but he was back again one month later, when he was assured that he would be selected at centre-half. In December 1961 he announced that he would not be able to attend training, as he had started up in business for himself, and asked not to be selected. Finally, in September 1963 he made a come-back with the reserves and played his final first-team game in April 1964. Over six seasons from 1957 to 1964 he made 155 appearances. Among the honours which he had won were selections as skipper for both the Kent County side and an FA Amateur XI in March 1961.

Although he was born at Airdrie, John Watt had lived most of his life at High Wycombe when he joined Chesham United as his first club. From there he went to Watford as an apprentice. After four seasons, in which he made one Football League appearance and was selected for a Scottish youth trial, he joined Hayes in the summer of 1974 at the age of 19. A machine fitter for an engineering firm, he made 7+1 appearances for Hayes before being released from his contract in November 1974 and joining Maidenhead United.

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