Boreham Wood FC

With all the excitement of the FA Cup at the weekend, it jogged memories of

@BOREHAM_WOODFC's incredible cup run in 2020/21, which saw this National League South (and soon to be National League thanks to their 2025 promotion) outfit defeat @AFCWimbledon  and Premier League's @afcbournemouth before falling to @Everton in the last 16.

So, let's belatedly do them the honour, and #GetTheBadgeIn for @BOREHAM_WOODFC

The team started in 1948 as a merger between Boreham Wood Rovers (formed 1919) and the fantastically named Royal Retournez FC. The two teams played next to each other, with the Royal's pitch jutting out from the Rovers' one. The Royals were a new team, formed by returning service personnel after the Second World War.

There was a bit of drama when rumours began to spread that the Royals were going to change their name to Boreham Wood FC and thereby become the de facto team of the town. Rovers, who felt they had more right to the name, called an emergency meeting of the two clubs.

A compromise was made – they'd both have the name – under one roof. The two teams merged, and Boreham Wood got its team.

Boreham, sitting today firmly in Hertfordshire's London commuter belt, doesn't have the most glamorous of starts. The first written record of the area in 1188 is the Pope (who owned large tracts of English land through the Church) gifting the wood at Boreham to the kitchens of the Abbey (presumably St Albans?) as a place to "feed their swine".

That said, its fortunes have improved in recent years. The railway arrived in 1868, connecting it to London and the Midlands, making it an attractive place to manufacture and later to live.

After the Second World War, its location was seen as the perfect place for the construction of council homes to rehouse those from London whose homes had been lost in the Blitz, and then later as part of the post-war slum clearances. The population grew rapidly, and it became a desirable location for London professionals.

But the real magic of Boreham Wood began further back, before the original Rovers team was made – in 1914. This is when the Neptune Film Company opened a studio. Drawn by the relative space of the area, combined with proximity to London, it became the perfect place for film studios to open up. And open they did. Many studios have operated from what are collectively known as the Elstree Studios (Elstree is the village next door, but most of the studios have been within Boreham Wood itself). It is sometimes known as the British Hollywood. You name it – it has probably been made in Boreham Wood.

Hitchcock, Kubrick, Lucas, Spielberg – to name a few who have worked there.

The Dambusters, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Where Eagles Dare, The Shining, Star Wars and Indiana Jones – to name a few of the movies.

And it might be easier to mention which British TV classics weren't made there, but to sample a few that were: EastEnders, Morecambe and Wise, The Muppets, Top of the Pops, Grange Hill, 'Allo 'Allo, Holby City.

Borehamwood quietly became the beating heart of British culture during the latter half of the 20th century.

And so that brings us more or less up to date. The football team currently sit 3rd in National League South. They develop not just movie stars but also football ones. Boreham Wood's academy has become a notable hotbed of footballing talent, repeatedly winning accolades for its work with youngsters on and off the pitch.

It is quite a history. From swine to the silver screen. Few towns have a bigger claim to embody the heart and soul of modern Britishness. I just wonder if the badge couldn't have encapsulated some of this heritage. Make the round badge a film reel? Feature the comedy and crying masks of drama? Heck – Star Wars was filmed there – have some crossed lightsabers! Do something with this remarkable heritage.

While that debate could go on, they have a fine team with a fine history, who every Saturday, look to put the town on the map for exploits on the pitch, not just at the pictures.