1895–96 Thames Ironworks F.C. season conceded 68. 1895–96 Thames Ironworks F.C. season Thames Ironworks F.C., the club that would later become West Ham United F.C., was founded by Dave Taylor and Arnold Hills in 1895. Taylor was a foreman at the Thames Iron Works and a local football referee. Thanks to Ironworks owner Arnold Hills' financial backing, he was able to announce on 29 June 1895 the following in the company's weekly journal: Fifty would-be players paid half-a-crown for a year's membership, and Taylor spent the summer arranging the fixtures for Thames Ironworks F.C. and their reserves. Before the Irons played their first game Taylor
Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company Co. During its lifetime the yard produced 144 warships and numerous other vessels. In 1911 Hills petitioned Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, regarding the lack of new orders. He was unsuccessful, and the yard was forced to shut in 1912. Within two years the United Kingdom was at war with the German Empire, with the yard's last major ship taking part in the Battle of Jutland. Part of the company's Limmo Peninsula site was excavated during the construction of Crossrail in 2012. Employees at the Thames Ironworks formed a works football team, called Thames Ironworks Football Club.