| Full name | 6th Galloway Rifle Volunteers Football Club | |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Granite Toon, [1] the Black and Red [2] | |
| Founded | 1892 | |
| Dissolved | 1908 | |
| Ground | Maidenholm Park, Dalbeattie | |
The 6th Galloway Rifle Volunteers Football Club was a football team based in Dalbeattie, Scotland.
The 6th Kirkcudbrightshire Rifle Volunteers were formed on 23 June 1869 [3] in response to increasing unrest within Continental Europe and the British Empire. In 1880 the battalion was renamed as H Company of the Galloway Rifle Volunteer Corps. [4] The division was based in Dalbeattie, Dumfries until the re-organisation of private militias in 1908 when all volunteer forces in Galloway were absorbed into the Territorial Forces and the 5th King's Own Scottish Borderers Regiment.
The football club was founded in 1892, retaining the old number but keeping the new geographical designation; it was originally in the shadow of the 5th KRV, with regimental members often preferring to play for the 5th or its reserves. [5] Within a year the club was therefore split when those who preferred to admit non-volunteers left, and both sections tusselled over the right to the name 6th G.R.V., [6] ultimately won by the splitters. The club thence enjoyed a fierce rivalry with Douglas Wanderers F.C., by 1897 disputing the unofficial title of the best club in the south of Scotland with the Wanderers, [7] matches said to be "in dog-fight order". [8]
The club's first success was reaching the final of the Stewartry Cup, a competition for second XIs and junior teams in Kirkcudbrightshire, in 1894, losing to the Barholm Rovers of Creetown. [9] The club had already entered the Scottish Cup for the first time at the start of the 1893–94 season, and admitted non-Volunteer members, [10] but scratched before its first tie. [11]
The club became a senior member of the Scottish Football Association in 1896, [12] and won through to the first round proper of the Cup four times, albeit losing every time; the club's most notable opponent was Celtic in 1898–99, losing 8–1 at home in front of a crowd of a mere 700. [13] The club's final appearance in the first round came in 1904–05, when the club was drawn at home to Cowdenbeath F.C., but switched the tie after a financial inducement. [14]
The 1905–06 Scottish Cup was the club's final entry; it gained its biggest competition win, 11–1 over Garlieston, [15] but it does not seem to have played any matches after losing in the Southern Counties Cup first round at the start of the 1907–08 season, and the club was definitely defunct after the Volunteer movements were absorbed elsewhere in 1908.
The club played in the Stewartry League in 1896–97, finishing as champions, but the League only had three entrants, and the two other entrants did not play their final match. The following season the club started in the Southern Counties League, but resigned after one match. [16]
The leading local competition in the club's early years was the Law Cup, for clubs in Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire, awarded by T. Law of Castle Douglas, and the Volunteers were winners in 1896–97 and 1900–01, although by this time it was subordinate to the Southern Counties Cup. [17] The club won the Southern Counties Consolation Cup, for clubs eliminated in the earlier rounds, in 1898–99. [18]
The club played in light blue for its first two seasons, changing to red and black shirts with navy knickers in 1894. [19]
The club originally played at The Flatts, [20] moving to Maidenholm Park in the 1890s. [21]
Kirkcudbright is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.
Kirkcudbrightshire, or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975, the area has formed part of Dumfries and Galloway for local government purposes. Kirkcudbrightshire continues to be used as a registration county for land registration. A lower-tier district called Stewartry covered the majority of the historic county from 1975 to 1996. The area of Stewartry district is still used as a lieutenancy area. Dumfries and Galloway Council also has a Stewartry area committee.
Dalbeattie is a town in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Dalbeattie is in a wooded valley on the Urr Water 4 miles (6 km) east of Castle Douglas and 12 miles (19 km) south west of Dumfries. The town is famed for its granite industry and for being the home town of William McMaster Murdoch, the First Officer of the RMS Titanic.
The South of Scotland Football League (SoSFL) is a senior football league based in south-west Scotland. The league sits at level 6 on the Scottish football league system, acting as a feeder to the Lowland Football League.
Before the South of Scotland Football League was formed in 1946, there had been previous attempts to introduce league competitions in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland since the 1890s. These early attempts invariably foundered because of the very small townships in the area and a tendency for the clubs to concentrate on the myriad of cup competitions that were in operation.
Saint Cuthbert Wanderers Football Club are a football club from the town of Kirkcudbright in the Stewartry in Galloway, Scotland. They play in the South of Scotland Football League.
Barholm Rovers Football Club were a football team based in Creetown, Dumfries & Galloway. They were formed in 1884 and were original members of the Stewartry Football League based in Kirkcudbrightshire which started in 1894–95.
The 5th Kirkcudbrightshire Rifle Volunteers Football Club was a football team based in Dumfries, Scotland.
Kirkgunȝeon is a village and civil parish in Dumfries and Galloway, south west Scotland. The village is 10.4 miles (16.7 km) south west of Dumfries and 4.1 miles (6.6 km) north east of Dalbeattie. The civil parish is in the former county of Kirkcudbrightshire, and is bounded by the parishes Lochrutton to the north, Urr to the west, Colvend and Southwick to the south and New Abbey to the east.
Queen of the South Wanderers F.C. was an association football club from Dumfries, Dumfriesshire, Scotland.
Dumfries Hibernians Football Club, also referred to as Dumfries Hibernian, was a short-lived football team based in Dumfries, Scotland.
Nithsdale Football Club was an association football club from Dumfries, Scotland.
Dumfries Wanderers F.C. was an association football club from Dumfries in Scotland.
Moffat F.C. was an association football club from Moffat in Dumfriesshire.
The Maxwelltown Volunteers Football Club was a football team based in Dumfries, Scotland.
Douglas Wanderers F.C. was an association football club from Castle Douglas in Dumfriesshire.
The Scottish Football Combination was a football league football structure set up in Scotland for clubs outside the Scottish Football League and the reserves of some of the League members.
The Churchill Cup was an association football cup competition for clubs in the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Wigtownshire, and Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. The competition was founded in 1881 and was last competed for in the 1894–95 season. Before the emergence of the Southern Counties Cup, it was the most prestigious local tournament for clubs in the south of Scotland.
