Photo was taken in May 1946, as the only two games in which these eleven played together were on Saturday 4th May 1946 away to Moor Green in the final Birmingham Combination game of the season and the following Saturday away to Oxford City for the Oxford Hospital Cup. Spencer won 4-1 at Moor Green, the Spencer goals coming from Doug McPhee, Bob Christie and two from Alan Orr but lost 2-1 to Oxford City, Dave Davidson scoring the Spencer goal.

Two of these Spencer players would at a later date play in the Football League:

Alan Orr

Alan Orr was born in Glasgow in 1923 and before playing for Banbury Spencer was with Third Lanark. His first game for Spencer was on Friday 19th April 1946 in a home Birmingham Combination game against Birmingham City Transport. Alan, playing at centre-forward, got a hat-trick as Spencer won 3-1. He would play just four more league games and one Oxford Hospital Cup game for the club and those were between then and the end of the season but remarkably in those five games he scored 8 goals, all in the Birmingham Combination which made him the club’s top league goalscorer that season! After leaving Spencer, Alan had a spell with Renfrew FC but was soon back with Third Lanark as he played for them once again between 1947 and 1951. Football League Division Two side Nottingham Forest would then sign him from the Glasgow based club in August 1951. He would play primarily at wing half for Forest making a total of 46 appearances over the four seasons 1951/52 to 1954/55. In those 46 games he would though not score a single goal for the club. Alan would then play for Peterborough United who were then in the Midland League.

Dave Davidson

Dave Davidson was born in Lanark in 1920. He played for Douglas Water Thistle a junior side in the village of Douglas Water in South Lanarkshire prior to becoming a professional with Bradford Park Avenue for whom he signed in May 1938.He never made a Football League appearance for Bradford prior to the outbreak of War in September 1939 but did make one appearance for them in War Time football competitions in both season 1939/40 and 1943/44.

Davidson played for Banbury Spencer in season 1945/46 whilst he was stationed in the forces at Wycombe. According to newspaper reports of the time he was a nephew of then Banbury Spencer manager Jimmy Cringan. His first appearance for the club was on Saturday 12th January 1946 away to Birmingham City “A”. Remarkably he would play at left back, left half, inside left, left wing and at centre forward in the 15 Birmingham Combination games that he played for Spencer through to the end of that season. Despite his constant changing of position he would finish up the club’s second top league goalscorer that season, albeit with just six goals. Three of those six goals came in one game on Tuesday 23rd April 1946 when he scored all three of the club’s goals in a 3-1 home win over Moor Green.

Dave then returned to Bradford Park Avenue in the summer of 1946 making his Football League debut for the Yorkshire club in their opening Division 2 game of the 1946/47 season playing at left half away to Chesterfield in a 1-1 draw in front of a crowd of 14,473. He would go on to make a total of 13 Football League appearances for Bradford, all at left half, his last game for the club being at home to Burnley on Saturday 14th December 1946.

In January 1947 Dave moved to Division Three South side Leyton Orient where he made 84 league appearances between seasons 1946/47 and 1949/50 inclusive. He again demonstrated his versatility at Orient because though initially signed as a wing half he switched to full back when regular back Ledger Ritson broke his leg at the start of the 1948/49 season, then when the club found themselves in need of a centre half Davidson filled that gap and later Orient decided that he could do a decent job in the attack and he was played at centre forward! He only scored one goal in his Football League career that being for Orient in a 3-0 home win over Bristol Rovers on Good Friday April 4th 1947.

Dave’s last game for Orient was on Saturday 25th February 1950 at home to Aldershot in a Division Three South game. He was then sacked by Orient after some off the field misdemeanour (no further details known) and joined Headington United in April 1950 playing for them in their last seven Southern League games of that season. He started season 1950/51 in Headington’s first team but after playing in six of the club’s first seven Southern League games of that season he never made another first team appearance for the club, being relegated to the reserves where he remained until the end of the season.

Dave then moved to Wellingborough in Northamptonshire to take up employment in the town at Rubber Improvement Ltd Works and played for local United Counties League side Wellingborough Town. He had played regularly for the Doughboys at wing half in season 1953/54 when sadly, having moved back to London, but continuing to travel to play football for Wellingborough, he was found dead in bed at his lodgings in Hackney in February 1954 at the age of just 33! His death was attributed to heart trouble.

Additional Info:
Goalkeeper Bill Saunders, forward Dick Pike and centre-half Bob Salmond had all played in the Football League prior to the Second World War. Saunders and Pike for West Bromwich Albion and Salmond for Portsmouth and Chelsea.