THIS week marks the 100th anniversary of one of English football’s most enduring clubs’ first and only visit to Barry for a competitive league fixture.

On September 26, 1914, Coventry City would travel to Jenner Park for a Southern League Division Two match against the fledgling home side, watched by a crowd of around 2,000 fans.

Two goals from player-manager Syd Beaumont steered Barry to a 2-0 victory that afternoon, though Coventry would win the return match at Highfield Road by three goals to nil the following January.

The Sky Blues would eventually finish fifth, four places clear of Barry, in a division which also hosted the likes of Brentford, Swansea and eventual winners Stoke City.

Among the Sky Blues team at Jenner Park were ex-Everton duo Robert Turner and John Allan and former Newcastle United men Tommy Lowes and Sid Blake.

Blake had started his career in the north east as a winger, before moving to Queen’s Park Rangers and being converted into a goalkeeper.

Another of the Coventry City side in September 1914 was former Middlesbrough right-half John Harkins, who had been bought out of the Army by the Teesside club in 1906.

Returning to duty in 1915, after making 18 appearances in Coventry colours, Harkins was killed in action the following year, during the defence of Kut Al Amara in Iraq.

Teammate Tom Morris, another who played in the Jenner Park match, also lost his life in conflict, with Barry skipper James Wightman among the countless Barrians to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Barry Town United intends to mark the centenary of the Great War with several features across the coming months; with the club’s annual armistice memorial scheduled for November at Jenner Park.

Anyone interested in learning more about the club and the town’s footballing history is encouraged to e-mail barrytownunited@live.co.uk.