The first evidence of a football club from Stock is found in the Essex F.A records for the season 1908-1909. The records show the team as Stock F.C. and they finished fifth out of seven teams in division 2 of the Chelmsford & Mid Essex League. This club is registered with the F.A. the following season as well, although it does not appear in the Chelmsford & Mid Essex league. It then disappears from the F.A. records until the season 1914 -1915 when there is a registration of a Stock Utd. F.C. but due to the outbreak of the first world war the leagues are suspended until 1919 when Stock Utd F.C. once again register with the Essex F.A. It is interesting to note that the club noticeboard is headed "Stock Utd F.C. founded 1919". The question of whether there was a link between the post Great War club and Stock Utd F.C. or Stock F.C. registered with the F.A. from before the Great War remains unanswered at present.

The first registration with the Chelmsford & Mid Essex League after World War One is in 1920-1921 when Stock Utd are shown as playing in Division 2 South.

Certainly from the early 1930s the ground was in Back Lane, past Brookmans Road, roughly where Dakyn Drive & the bungalows are situated and during this time the players changed in the Cock Inn. Ex player Peter Keeling's sister can recall watching with a friend on the doorstep of her parents house at number 1 Back Lane the players walking to the pitch from the Cock Inn on match days. Phil Cottee recalls hearing a rumour that in the 1920s some games were played on a pitch at Stanlarks which was down Park Lane next to Greenwoods.

In 1935-36 the club's "committee room" is listed as being in Stafford House. It is not clear where this was in the village & for how long it served as the club's official meeting place. The club fixture cards from the early 1930s reveal a strong military involvement in the running of the club. Vice presidents included Lt Col Welsh in 1931-32. Then in 1933-34 he is joined by Major Moore & Capt Hayhurst France. Lt Col Welsh is not listed in 1935-36, but Moore & Hayhurst France are still acting & they were joined by Admiral Sir Vernon Haggard JP. Two other JPs were involved with the club during this period, president R Adam Ellis & vice president H Wright. In 1935-36 there was even a religious representation with rev G C Lambert serving as a vice president.

There is very little information on where club members lived during the early years. Club secretary Alf Cable lived at Home Cottage next to the Chapel in 1914 & was still there in the 1919-20 season. It is believed Alf Cable's family ran the garage in Mill Road throughout this period. In the Brentwood & District League handbook for the 1935-36 season W Elliott's address is given as Cherry Tree cottage in Stock and reserve team captain A Woodward was living in Mill Road. Around the same time patron Mrs Owers ran the village shop & fellow patron Percy Moules was the publican at the Bakers Arms.

Travelling to away matches was not just a case of jumping in the car as few people owned them in the 1920s & 1930s. The 1935-36 Brentwood & District League handbook lists Billericay station - LNER and Eastern National buses under details of how to travel to Stock Utd. There is a story that a charabang was sometimes used to travel to away games in the 1930s from the village garage in Mill Road.

Notifying players of matches & who was in the team was achieved by putting up details in the village post office after WW2 & there is no reason to suppose that a similar method of communication was not used between the wars. Apparently some players who lived further afield were notified by telegram!

Until 1935-36 there was only one team playing in the Chelmsford & Mid Essex League, but the records for the 1935-36 season show a reserve team registered with the Brentwood & District League as "Stock Utd A" & participating in the Churchill Johnson cup. A reserve team also existed in the 1937-38 season this time playing in division 4 of the Chelmsford & Mid Essex League, finishing 4th with 24 points. Evidence of a reserve side is not found again until 1967-68.

The club played a variety of different villages, factories & even army units in the 1930s. Below is a small selection from the fixture cards which used to be printed for each season. In 1935-36 the printer was F C Norman of Stock.

Stock Utd legend Dave Elliot recalls being told that before WW2 the team played the fire brigade & if the fire bell went off during a game on their pitch the players all ran off to their fire engine!

Unfortunately, to date little evidence has been found of individual players connected to the club in its early years. Dave Elliot says there was a well told story of one Stock player from between the wars who used to take his cap off to tackle. Another Stock player from the 1930s was Dave's uncle Walter Elliot who was a member of the 1st airborne division in World War 2 & was tragically killed at Arnhem in September 1944. W Pipkin who managed Stock Utd 1st team from 1976 - 1982 was a member of Tottenham Hotspur youth just before WW2 & went into the Royal engineers where he saw service blowing up military obstacles during the war.

The earliest club photograph which is included with this history shows the team from 1936-37 wearing the familiar red & green halves & displaying the Laindon Charity Cup, along with the Chelmsford & Mid Essex League division 3 winners trophy. Also evident in the picture are two heavy brown leather footballs and the old style football boots which used to be worn. All the players in this picture have recently been identified. Their names are given here:

Players in team photo 1936 37:
Back row left to right: A Stammers, B Watson, H Elliott, A Dixon, Val Taylor, Percy Dixon, Fred Makings, Tommy Allen, Charlie Doe. Middle row left to right: Fred Dixon, Jess Elliott, H Rayner, Les Mapes, Front row left to right: John Cottee, V Woodward, F Rayner, J Wright, Alf Porter

From at least the 1930s the club's pitch was in Back Lane, past Brookmans Road, roughly where Dakyn Drive & the bungalows are now situated.