Wing Village FC - Wing Sports & Social Club

Wing Village FC

Wing Sports & Social Club

Leighton Road

Wing

Leighton Buzzard 

LU7 0NW

FA Full Time

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Ground Number: 1428

Saturday 10th May 2025
Wing Village 1-2 MK United
North Bucks & District Premier

WING VILLAGE FC - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in 1896 as Wing Village FC. Their first notable achievement came in 1911 when they won the Oving Cup. They also won the Marsworth Cup in 1928. They were long-time members of the Aylesbury & District League, winning the Premier Division title in 1967, 1978 and 1980. They also won it three times in a row between 1997 & 1999 by which time they were known as Wing FC, although the names appear to be interchangeable. They are also six-time winners of the Thomas Field Shield, whilst their reserves have won the Division 1 title twice. Recent records are a little harder to find. They are currently in the North Bucks League, where they finished 10th in the Premier Division in 2018. They were Division 1 champions in 2023 and then went on to finish a credible 5th place in the Premier Division last season. This league sits at step 8 of the non-league pyramid and feeds into the Spartan South Midlands Division 2.

During the War, football grounds and teams in Buckinghamshire made themselves available to troops billeted in the area should they want to have a match. During World War 2, the RAF’s OTU 26 at Wing had a football team which included English internationals Ivor Broadis and Bill Williams, and Wycombe Wanderers players George Jackson and Arthur Hallwood. The village is on the main A418 road between Aylesbury and Leighton Buzzard. It is about 8 miles north-east of Aylesbury, 3 miles west of Leighton Buzzard, and 12 miles south of Milton Keynes. The population is just over 2,700. In 1971, the Roskill Commission identified the disused RAF Wing as the best site for a four-runway national hub airport, generally known as Cublington Airport. This attracted considerable opposition on environmental and noise nuisance grounds, and the plans were first changed to focus on a coastal site at Maplin Sands in the Thames Estuary and eventually scrapped altogether.

MY VISIT 

Options were really starting to dry up by now, at least if you wanted something at step 7 or a decent day out. There were still hundreds of games on, but these were mainly at lower levels, where the social media and communication are not as reliable. So, I whittled it down to around ten when the Football Traveller came out on Wednesday. Then on Thursday, it was reduced to five choices, and I got in contact with Colin to see if he had any preferences. I decided that if he fancied something in the car, I would favour Runwell Sports v Toby. With no pubs of note and it being cheaper by car if we split the petrol, it made sense to do it that way, rather than by public transport. If he went elsewhere, I'd favour a treble in the Chatham area - a revisit to Chatham Town for a 10:30 am final between Dover Rangers and Old Roan, followed by a couple of games at the RSME Sports Ground, including the 1875 FA Cup Final Rematch. Other options were ACD United, Bromelians and a final at Tipton Town FC.

I drove home from the game at Hashtag United on Wednesday. It had been a good evening catching up with everyone, and Colin's voice box certainly got a good workout. I dropped him off at 9.40 and got home myself just before 10. I managed to get my photos sorted and blog up before I went to sleep. Due to only getting just over four hours of sleep for the second night in a row, I was drowsy the next morning. This was the main reason I'll probably not bother with Wycombe's 2nd leg playoff at Charlton, as it'll probably mean getting back with less than three hours of sleep. I was tired enough on Friday, but at least I had a game to look forward to. I spent the afternoon researching Runwell Sports, only to learn that the fixture was postponed. This was probably due to Toby pulling out of their last two games, given that they were bottom of the league. I had them down next Saturday too, but that looks unlikely to happen. Annoying, but I can just use the work for a future visit.

By the time Friday finished, I had decided on my game, and it was to be a double. Firstly, Wing Village at 2 PM and, owing to a quirk of kickoff times, Stewkley at 4 PM. The real clincher was being able to go to Farmfoods in Aylesbury to stock up on food. I'd already dismissed the Chatham idea as I didn't want to get up early. I also shelved the idea of Bromelians or Norsemen on the train as there was no social media presence, and I didn't want to be left stranded without a game. Colin was off doing his own thing, either at cricket in Thame or football in Sarratt or 61FC Luton. Following the disappointment of Holmer Green losing on penalties, we left Abbey Rangers just before 10. I dropped Colin off at 10.30 and got home myself 20 minutes later. I updated my Abbey Rangers blog and got that up as well as having a couple of drinks. I would have kicked off my research into the following days' teams, but I decided to get into bed instead.

I awoke at 6.30 after six hours of sleep. After getting up and getting ready, I left at 8 am. I walked down to Lidl and, as I wanted to get back quicker, got the bus home. I still got a good 7 miles in, though. I was back at 11 and spent time researching today's clubs. This took a while with information very sporadic, but I enjoyed it as ever. I left later than expected at 1.10 and despite some slow drivers, the road was pretty clear. I got to the ground ten minutes before kickoff and parked up at the social club. They only did Thatchers Gold on the Cider front, so I headed to the pitch where the teams were just kicking off.

 

Wing Village sat 9th in the league, having won six, drawn four and lost ten of their games so far. They'd won one of their last five; the last result was a 4-1 loss at Old Bradwell United Development. MK United were top of the league, but the title was out of their hands if 2nd place Stewkley won all of their games. They'd won their last four, including when they beat Wing 7-0 in the Premier Division Challenge Trophy Semi-Final, a few weeks ago. In the league, they had triumphed 5-1 in the return fixture. MK United started the brightest, and they missed a golden opportunity a few minutes in. A great ball from the right found a striker clear on goal, but his shot hit the post. The visitors had a couple more chances, but it was Wing who took a surprise lead on 11 minutes. A cross was put in from the left side and headed home at the near post. Both sides continued to have chances but the visitors were on top. Good organisation and a great flying save on 25 minutes preserved Wing's lead, though. The hosts had some chances on the bread,k but it was all MK United. Another couple of great saves kept Wing's lead but it could only last for so long. On 41 minutes, the MK #17 headed home from close range following a series of corners. The second half was calmer, but still with MK on top. Finally, the pressure told on 72 minutes, a striker got away from the defence and finished past the keeper with a composed finish from just outside of the area. Wing wouldn't lie down, though, and on 80 minutes they would have equalised but for a great save from the MK keeper. 

THE GROUND

WING RECREATION GROUND is a basic but pleasant venue. There is a social club attached to it, which appears pleasant. There are also a couple of pubs and a shop in the nearby village, which looks good. The ground itself is just a pitch with movable goals, a rope surround and dugouts. The best side to stand is the far side, away from the constant drone of traffic, which takes away from what looks like a nice village.