Burnley: Archive exhibition celebrates club's strong links to town

Burnley FC arrive home to fans after narrowly losing the FA Cup Final in 1947

The story of Burnley Football Club and how they are "strongly intertwined" with the town is the focus of a new exhibition.

Clarets Collected celebrates the illustrious past of the Premier League club which won the 1914 FA Cup.

Archivist David Tilsley, who is leading the project featuring rare relics, said it also reflected how the Clarets were "the heart" of the town.

"Almost everyone in the town has a connection to the club," he said.

Dating back to 1882, Burnley were one of the original 12 founding clubs of the Football League.

Former players Colin Waldron, Frank Casper, Alex Elder, Jim Thomson and Brian O'Neil attended the official launch of the exhibition at Burnley Library.

Mr Tilsley said one of the highlights of the exhibition was a football rattle emblazoned with Up the Clarets, dating back to the 1950s.

Two men were convicted of breaking into Turf Moor's dressing room in 1907 and stealing footballs and shirts

Another was "mugshots" of two men who broke into dressing rooms at Turf Moor in 1907 and stole two shirts and two footballs.

He said a policeman spotted Albert Jackson and John Ryan the following day and become suspicious because they had a football each.

Both were later convicted and sentenced to prison with hard labour, he said.

A 1950s football rattle, handmade by Richard Kitching, is one of the gems in the exhibition

Burnley FC players having fun in training in 1971

The project has seen the Friends of Lancashire Archives join forces with fans, experts, Burnley Football Club in the Community, the National Football Museum and Lancashire County Council to help preserve the club's story.

Mr Tilsley, who is a senior archivist at the council, said the club was the "heart" of the "football town".

"It dominates the town and is strongly entwined with it."

Frank Casper played for the club and then went on to manage them

Barry Kilby and Mike Garlick, who both held the post of chairman, were also at the VIP opening on Friday.

Author Mike Smith will be giving a talk about the club's history when the exhibition opens to the public between 11:00 GMT and 14:00 before the Clarets host Crystal Palace at 15:00.

Former Burnley and Manchester United star Colin Waldron

The exhibition will run for two years at the library and feature special events when the Clarets play at home.

Any fans with donations or anyone interested in volunteering to help with the project is asked to contact the archives department at the council.

Lancashire County Councillor Peter Buckley said he was "delighted the illustrious past of Burnley Football Club is being celebrated by this Lancashire Archives and local history project".

The cabinet member for community and cultural services said it was a "wonderful resource".

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