The Second World War
1939-1946
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See also Central Highland League
1939-40 Central League 1945-46 Eastern League 1945-46 Eastern League Cup
1945-46 Emergency competition 1939-40 Glasgow & District Reserve League
1942-1945 Highland Emergency League
1939-40 North Eastern League
1941-1945 North Eastern League Cup
1941-1945 Southern League
1940-1946 Southern League Cup
1940-1946 Summer Cup 1940-1945 Supplementary Cup
1945-46 Victory Cup 1945 War Emergency Cup 1939-40 |
When war was
declared by Britain on Germany on Sunday 3 September 1939, the league season
had been going since 12 August. After four games Rangers had been leading the
First Division by a point from Falkirk, while Dundee after five games were
ahead of the pack in the Second Division. The following day, the Government
had banned all places of entertainment and subsequently the Scottish FA
cancelled all player contracts although their registrations would
remain. On the Thursday, permission
was granted to allow friendly games except in Clydebank, Glasgow, Dundee,
Dunfermline and Edinburgh, these were regarded as prime candidates for
bombing raids. On the 13 September, the League competition was officially
abandoned but ways were looked at how to continue regional competitions.
Permission for these were granted by the Home Secretary on the 21st. The League
continued with their arrangements and on 26 September announced plans for two
regional divisions to commence on 21 October. The league would
compose of two divisions of sixteen clubs each – six clubs would be
jettisoned. As Edinburgh was only allowed three clubs, a toss of the coined
determined that St Bernards were let in ahead of Leith Athletic. What money
there was though was concentrated in the Western section. Aberdeen, Heart of
Midlothian and Hibernian, cut off from the lucrative fixtures with the big
Glasgow clubs announced they wouldn’t take part the following season unless
new arrangements could be agreed. Clubs were to suffer great losses because
of the arrangements Celtic were down over £7000 while Heart of Midlothian
posted losses of over £2500. Meantime
the Scottish FA organized a cup competition to replace the Scottish Cup,
which had also been suspended. The only entrants allowed were the surviving
League clubs. Although this left an odd number in the competition, appeals to
let either Edinburgh City or Leith Athletic play were ignored. The idea of
retuning to the peacetime arrangements for the 1940-41 season were abandoned
after the events at Dunkirk in May 1940 and the Scottish League subsequently
took the decision to closed down for the rest of the war on 6 June. Granted permission
to form their own leagues, the remaining clubs devised a new set-up which
would consist of a sixteen-club Southern League, basically the Regional West
section tweaked a little, and a North-Eastern League for clubs north of the
River Forth, although the latter wouldn’t start until 1941-42. The creation
of a Midland League for the interim season was attempted during the summer
but although Dundee United and Dunfermline Athletic had persuaded East Fife,
King’s Park, Raith Rovers and Stenhousemuir to take part, the lack of
enthusiasm of Dundee put paid to the idea. The structure of
the various leagues necessitated new competitions to increase the fixture
list – the Southern League had each club playing 30 games as opposed to 38
pre-war. Therefore a League Cup competition was introduced with the first
part being played in group stages, and to ensure the sport was played all
year round the Government sanctioned the Summer Cup competition. When the War ended
suddenly in 1945, there were no plans in place for the restart of official
Scottish League competitions. Instead an interim, expanded Southern League
was run, with clubs from the North Eastern League and other sides that were
in hibernation making up a two division structure. Promotion and relegation
were held off for a season until the Scottish League itself was revived.
Those clubs excluded formed an Eastern League. In 1946, the latter would be
incorporated into the Scottish League as C Division.
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