The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company originated from the Ditchburn and Mare Shipbuilding Company, in 1837. They were a large shipyard and ironworks, situated on both sides of Bow Creek.
In March 1895, the Old Castle Swifts Football Club, the first professional football club in Essex, went bankrupt. They had been formed in 1892 by Donald Currie, a Scottish shipowner.
Following the collapse of the Old Castle Swifts Football Club, the Chairman of Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, Arnold Hills, saw an opportunity to start his own works team and provided the money to take over the tenancy of the now vacant football ground on Hermit Road, Canning Town.
Meanwhile, the company's foreman, Dave Taylor, who was also a local football referee, placed an advert in the company's newspaper, 'The Thames Iron Works Gazette', asking for players to form a works football team. Fifty ironworkers answered the advert and so was born Thames Ironworks Football Club.
Each player paid half-a-crown for one year's membership, while Dave Taylor set about arranging fixtures for Thames Ironworks F.C. and their reserves.
Arnold Hills was a philanthropist, advocate for temperance and vegetarianism, and an outstanding sportsman. He also believed that a happy workforce was a more productive workforce. So, in addition to the football team, he introduced a cricket team, an operatic society and the Thames Ironworks band.
Arnold Hills was a former student and football Blue of Oxford University, so he chose dark blue as the colours of the team for their debut season.
The following season they changed to a sky blue top, white shorts and claret socks.
1895-96
Although predominantly made up of ironworkers, from Thames Ironworks, the team also took on some Old Castle Swifts players.
Their first match was against Royal Ordnance reserves on September 7, 1895, with the game ending 1-1.
On October 12, Thames Ironworks met Chatham Town in the first qualifying round of the F.A. Cup, which they lost 0-5.
On December 14, they suffered their worst defeat, losing 6-0 to Millwall Athletic.
On March 21, 1896, "The Irons", as their fans had begun calling them, met Barking in the West Ham Charity Cup final. The match was drawn 2-2. They replayed the match on March 28, where the game was drawn 0-0. On April 20, the final was replayed, which "The Irons" won 1-0, lifting a trophy in their first season.
1896-97
Although West Ham was part of Essex, Arnold Hills, their Chairman, was also president of the London League, helping to draft the rules. This made it easy for him to 'transfer' Thames Ironworks F.C. seamlessly into the London League.
On September 19, 1896, they played their first competitive game in the London League, beating the Crouch End Vampires F.C. 3-0.
In October they went out in the first round qualifier for the F.A. Cup. They were evicted from the Hermit Road ground, later that month, for a breach of their tenancy agreement. This resulted in them using other grounds, until Arnold Hills could lease some land, in early 1897, at Browning Road, East Ham.
"The Irons" made their way through to the final of the West Ham Charity Cup final, losing 1-0 to West Ham Garfield.
Thames Ironworks F.C. finished runners up in the London League.
1897-98
During the break between seasons, Arnold Hills had personally funded a huge, purpose-built sporting arena at the Memorial Grounds, Plaistow, costing £20,000.
The club committee introduced players' insurance, for the first time, meaning players would be covered against loss of wages caused by injuries sustained from playing football.
Thames Ironworks F.C. won their first six games of the season.
On October 16, 1897, "The Irons" faced St Albans F.C. in the F.A. Cup, losing 2-0.
They ended 1897 at the top of the table and unbeaten in the London League.
On December 31, 1898, Charlie Dove, who had been with the team since its inception, deputised for the goalkeeper, giving him the distinction of having played in every position. They won the game 4-0, so Charlie Dove kept a clean sheet, too.
In 1898, Thames Ironworks F.C. finished the season unbeaten at home, topping the table by one point. They had won twelve, drawn three and lost one.
Following the end of the season, Thames Ironworks F.C. applied to join the Southern League, which was granted.
1898-99
During the summer of 1898 Thames Ironworks F.C. became a professional side, to match their status as members of the Southern League Division Two.
On September 10, Thames Ironworks F.C. began their season with renewed energy, following some new signings, beating Shepherd's Bush 3-0.
On October 29, they arrived an hour late at an away game, with Wycombe Wanderers, after they missed their train. They lost the match 4-1, This was their only defeat of the season, winning seventeen of the eighteen remaining matches and drawing one.
On April 15, 1899, 3,000 fans turned up at the Memorial Grounds to watch the final match of the season, where "The Irons" beat Maidenhead 10-0.
1899-1900
On September 16, 1899, kicked off their first match in the Southern League Division One with a 1-0 loss to Reading.
The season was a tough one, with big wins being followed by huge losses, in more ways than one, One of their best players, Tom Bradshaw, whose health had begun to deteriorate, died on December 25.
Seven defeats in a row would follow, before four draws and five wins made sure that they stayed off bottom place, finishing fourteenth out of fifteen.
June 1900
The Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company, after acquiring another engineering firm in a financial takeover, became a Limited Company, with 4,000 ten shilling shares sold to Ironworks staff and the public. Arnold Hills matched sales of shares one-to-one.
On Friday June 29, 1900, Thames Ironworks F.C. resigned from the Southern League and the club officially closed.
On July 5, 1900, the club reformed under the name of West Ham United Football Club, entering the Southern League Division One in the space vacated by Thames Ironworks F.C. They also used the Memorial Grounds for their home matches, until 1904, when they moved to Boleyn Ground, in the Upton Park area.
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