1899–1900 Thames Ironworks F.C. season match sales of any shares one-to-one. At the end of June, Thames Ironworks F.C. resigned from the Southern League and were officially wound up. On 5 July 1900 they reformed under the new name of West Ham United F.C. and accepted an offer of the Southern League place left vacant by Thames Ironworks. Lew Bowen, a Welsh clerk at the Iron Works Company was appointed as the first West Ham United club secretary. Bowen had previously written Thames Ironworks match reports for the "Thames Iron Works Gazette", also known as "TIWG". He would retain twelve Thames Ironworks players for the
Thames Ironworks F.C. Taylor returned to refereeing, handing over organizational duties to Ted Harsent, who became the first club secretary. The birth of Thames Ironworks F.C. coincided with the demise of Old Castle Swifts, the first professional football club in Essex. Thames took over the tenancy of Castle Swifts' Hermit Road ground in Canning Town and signed a number of Old Castle Swifts players, including former Woolwich Arsenal full back Robert Stevenson, who became the club's first ever captain and is credited as being the team's first player of note. The Ironworks played their first ever fixture against Royal Ordnance reserves on 7