Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company for his workers at a time when 10- and 12-hour shifts were more common in industrial work. In 1895 Hills helped to set up a football club for the Works' employees, Thames Ironworks F.C. and within their first two years they had entered the FA Cup and the London League. As a result of the committee's desire to employ professional players, the Thames Ironworks F.C. was wound up in June 1900 and West Ham United F.C. was formed a month later. Merged with the engine builder John Penn and Sons in 1899 as the Thames Iron Works, Shipbuilding and Engineering
1898–99 Thames Ironworks F.C. season 1898–99 Thames Ironworks F.C. season The 1898–99 season was Thames Ironworks' fourth season after the club's formation in 1895. During the summer of 1898, Thames Ironworks became a professional outfit for the first time, to match their new status as new members of the Southern League. It was a decision reluctantly taken by Ironworks chairman Arnold Hills, who had always believed in the classical ideal of competitive sport being for its own sake. But with the success the club had been enjoying, together with the increased crowds at their Memorial Grounds venue, he relented, and was quoted as saying ""It