COLNE Dynamoes were more than just a football team. They were a phenomenon who rose from the Sunday morning park pitches to an unforgettable FA Vase triumph at Wembley stadium and the verge of the Football Conference. In the second of a three-part series, we look at how the club started and how the Dynamoes grew into a nationwide name.

SUCCESS for Colne Dynamoes was instant. Okay, the Nelson and Colne League Division One title in the 1963-64 season may not register in many memory banks – but it was significant and set the tone for a quarter of a century of glory.

The Dynamoes were formed by Graham White and his old Primet High School pal Trevor Riddiough – and with a dozen or so former Primet pupils the journey began.

That first team was packed with names that bring memories flowing back, goalkeeper big Brian Clarke was a true character on and off the field, while Gordon Ellis was known as one of the very finest full backs to play in the then strong amateur leagues of East Lancashire in the 50s and 60s.

The Dynamoes also had the three famous Gibbons brothers in their ranks, Keith, Peter and captain Barrie, while Rodney Booth was a midfielder who was also well known as a Nelson cricketer.

The legendary Keith Carradice and Peter Bourne were stars in the team as were White and Riddiough, Peter Skelton, Mick O’Shea, David Heaton and the current chairman of Colne CC, Trevor Lonsdale.

That first season for the Dynamoes in the Nelson and Colne League Division One saw them win the title in tremendous style with the record books showing figures of 24 games played with 20 wins, three draws and just one defeat.

They scored 102 goals and conceded 26 with that sole defeat coming against a then all-conquering Nelson Grammar School Old Boys team.

Home games then were played on a pitch at the lower pitch at Holt House before they eventually settled on the site at the top of Holt House where the current Colne FC play.

It was originally used for cricket but after the council granted planning permission, which caused a deal of controversy with cricketers, the club developed a stadium on the site.

As Colne grew into something big, the slope became notorious and full-back Mally Wright used to joke that one leg had to be longer and stronger than the other in order to cope with playing in the bottom corner.

Colne developed a style that suited the pitch and it was a style that took them all the way to glory.

“We probably weren’t the best side football-wise but we were effective,” said Simon Westwell, who skippered Colne to their FA Vase win in 1988.

After the early years of Nelson and Colne League glory, the Dynamoes joined the Lancashire Combination in 1975 and saw a sustained period of success, with seven consecutive top-seven finishes, including being runners-up three years in a row between 1980 and 1982 before the Dynamoes became founder members of the North West Counties League in 1982.

They were placed in the Third Division - and won it at the first attempt to gain promotion to the Second Division.

Colne were consistent in the Second Division without really threatening promotion but with White now investing heavily after making his fortune through his business Riddiough’s timber and property, Holt House was taking shape.

He also invested on the pitch and Colne were elevated to the top flight of the North West Counties League in time for the 1987/99 season after a dozen teams left the competition to form the Northern Premier League’s First Division.

While that promotion may have been fortunate as the Dynamoes finished in eighth spot, there was nothing lucky about the following campaign.

Rossendale United were expected to be right up there and entered that campaign as title favourites but they were pipped to the crown by the Dynamoes, who took the title on goal difference after the sides both finished with 24 wins, seven draws and three defeats from their games.

Colne’s run to the FA Vase crown didn’t affect their run to the title and they claimed that coveted promotion into the NPL set-up.

Thanks to Wembley and White’s spending spree, people were starting to take note of the Dynamoes, they were on the brink of something big.