Our History
This annual football competition dates from 1927 and was originally known as the Buckingham Hospital Cup. After a break due to the War, the Hospital Cup lost its original name with the advent of the National Health Service and became the Buckingham Charity Cup. Funds were then raised for a variety of charities, not just the local cottage hospital.
Today, competing clubs are drawn not only from Buckinghamshire but also from Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire with the aim to raise funds for charitable and philanthropic organisations and currently generates over £3,000 per season.
Each club is given the opportunity to nominate a charity, whether local or national, to benefit from the monies raised which comes from club entry fees, gate receipts and raffles. This year’s nominated charities have included Willen Hospice, Buckingham Hospital League of Friends, Medical Detection Dogs and St Johns Ambulance.
In 1932 it was decided to run a Junior Cup Competition for the smaller villages in the area, the first winners being Steeple Claydon. Quainton also won this trophy, three times in-a-row, in 1935, 1936 and 1937, thus becoming one of only a handful of Clubs to win both Cups - the others being Hanslope, Steeple Claydon and Winslow United.
Buckingham Town won the senior competition 4 times in a row in the mid 1980's whilst Leighton Town made it a hatrick of wins between 2007 and 2009. Banbury United repeated Leighton's feat in the early 2010's.
In 1982 the Fred Tew Cup final was first held. Fred Tew was a keen local footballer and, when he hung up his boots, joined the Council of this Competition and the North Bucks League Committee. Fred visited most grounds in the area, becoming well known in the process. As his life came to an end, his last hours were spent in Buckingham Hospital and his family felt it would be appropriate to recognise his love of football by donating a trophy in his memory. The Fred Tew Cup final is played between the two losing semi finalists of the junior competition.