Swindon Town have been playing football at the County Ground since 1896, they did however play for three years prior to this at the County Ground … yes, you read that right, that particular County Ground was the cricket ground adjacent to the current football County Ground !!
Like most football clubs Swindon had their football ground commandeered by the Army in the 2nd World War when POW’s were held in huts built on the pitch.
The football ground has of course been extensively developed since then but below is a picture taken from a 1970’s Football Review magazine showing the ground as it looked … without POW’s !!
The text on the picture reads as follows;
“Swindon Towns County ground has a top capacity of 31,500 with seating for 8,314. The record gate was set for a third round FA Cup tie against Arsenal in January 1972 – 32,000. The playing surface mesures 117 yards by 78 yards. Inset: Swindon Towns manager Les Allen.”
The picture above is available for sale (along with loads more Swindon football memorabilia) on our main site Footybits, a link to which is at the top of this page.