This insight into the history of Mersea Island FC was provided by our good friend Tim Tricker of Great Bentley FC, We will use it as a backbone of our research and try and add more details and facts from our own reseach.

While it is known that Mersea had a football team as far back as the 1880's Their earliest involvement with a league competition was in 1902-03,When Mersea Pirates joined Division Two of the Colchester & District League for four seasons.They rejoined that league in 1908-09,As West Mersea,But were still nicknamed the 'The Pirates',Achieving their best position of third two years later. When the league changed it's name to the Essex & Suffolk Border League,In 1911-12,West Mersea were founder members,But on finishing bottom of Division Two B,They folded to after the war.Resuming in Division Two in 1919-20,They had a run of nine seasons in the Border League,Finishing second in 1924-25 and 1926-27. 

Although i dont know where they played before the war, They were definitely on the glebe during the 1920's with large crowds frequently in evidense.About 1,100 attended a 1920 against Brightlingsea, While 800 witnesseda championship decider against Frinton in 1925, And four bus loads of supporters journeyed to Coggeshall in 1927.

In 1928-29 West Mersea also entered a side in the Brightlingsea & District League, But without enough players to go round they were forced to drop out of the Border League after only one game. In 1930-31 they became West Mersea Rovers and during that season moved to the Peace Memorial Ground, Playing as Mersea British Legion Rover's the following year,The club continued to change it's name on a regular basis in the 1930's, They became Mersea Island British Legion,Mersea British Legion, And then just plain Mersea for one season, 1935-36, When they were runner's up to Tiptree United in the Tolleshunt D'arcy Cup, And moved back to the Glebe, Before settling on their current name in 1936-37. Runners-up to Tollesbury in the T.D Cup in 1937-38, Mersea Island entered a Reserve side in the Border League the season before the war, And their top half of Division Two position appearedbetter than the 1st'sbottom place in the Brightlingsea top Division.

They rejoined the Brightlingsea Leahue in 1946-47, And reformed the Reserves, When the Leaguebecame the Colchester & East Essex league in 1949-50, The 1st's were runners up in Division one in 1950-51, And spent four years in the Premier, While the Reserves came second in Division Four in 1951-52,Financial difficultiesbeset the Islandersin the mid-50's. And it took drastic action from a new committee, Including long-time Chairman, Sid Vince, His brother Peter, Treasurer, and Vice-Chairman, Lou Green, put the Club back on track, By the end of the decade Mersea had slumped to Division Three, with the Reserves, who had disbanded for a couple of season's, in Five,

The 60's were a different propersition, However, As they gained successive promotions, Between1961-62 and 1963-64, Taking them back to the Premier. Up until they won the Great Bromley Cup in 1965-66, The Mersea team had always been selected by the committee, But the appointment of ex-Colchester United stalwart Ronnie Hunt,Two years later, Gave them the extra impetus to continue the climb, In his first season 1967-68, They were runners - up to Alresford in the League Cup, And over the next three years they were Champions twice, And runners-upin between in the league, Won a hat-trick of Amos Cup Finals, Against Paxmans, St Mary Magdalene and St Osyth, Brought home the Essex Junior Cupafter defeating Pheonix City, 3-0 in 1969-70, And completed a fabulous Colchester League quadruple, When adding the League and Great Bromley Cups to their 1971 haul. Just for good measure the Reserves secured their only league title ever when they won  Division Three.

With Hunt at the helm Mersea continured their upward thrust, Finishing second in Division Two of the Border League, Which they had joined in 1971-72, They were also runners-up in the Essex Junior Cup, Losing 2-1 to Great Parndon, And it was around this time that the Club built their own Clubhouse and Changing-rooms, Two years later they won the Division One title, While the Reserves had reached the Premier Division of the Colchester League, And in 1974-75 the 1st's were runners-up to West End United in the K.O. Cup.

After eight years in charge, Ronnie Hunt moved on, But a year later Mersea secured the services of another former COL. U . man in Edgar Rumney, And after finishing runners-up in the Premier, And winnig the K.O. CUP 3-2 versus Bury Town Reserves, In 1978-79 they clinched a magnificent double twelve months later, Comfortably winning the League Championship, And beating Halstead Town 1-0 to lift the K.O. Cup .

The Club were runners-p again in the Premier in 1980-81, But they were unable to gain senior status needed to progress, And when Edgar left the team went into decline, Dropping back to Division Two by 1986-87, Second spot soon put them back into Division One however, And they upgraded their facilities with the addition of extra changing rooms in 1988. In 1991-92 they were runners-up in Division One , Butn failed to to get promotionas they didn't have the necessary intermediate status, The same applied when they won the Division the following year, The Reserves won the Reserve K.O.Cup in 1993-94 beating Bramston CML Reserves on penalties,

THAT IS WHERE I WILL LEAVE IT FOR NOW, ANYBODYWHO  CAN HELP ADD MORE DETAILS PLEASE GET IN TOUCH, WE WILL ENDEAVOUR TO RESEARCH MORE OF THE EDGAR AND BOBBY WILKINSON ERA ONWARDS TO THE MODERN DAY PLEASE BE PATIENT AS THIS WILL TAKE SOME TIME,YOURS SPIKE