The fifth edition of Gone But Not Forgotten sees us head off to the land of the dragon for a little look at some Welsh sides who once graced the lush turf of the Welsh Leagues.

Ruabon Druids (1869 - 1923)
If Druids still existed they could lay claim to being the oldest club in Wales. That title currently belongs to Newtown FC who were founded in 1875. Six years previously, Plasmadoc FC were born in the village of Ruabon near Wrexham. After three years playing under this name the club merged with Ruabon Rovers and Ruabon Volunteers to form Ruabon Druids FC. Ruabon further cemented its place in Welsh football history when, in 1876, the Football Association of Wales was founded at a meeting in the village. This same year, Druids (as they were now commonly known) became the first Welsh side to enter the English FA Cup, although they withdrew without playing. They did, however, play the following season, beating Shropshire Wanderers in the First Round and eventually going out 8-0 to Royal Engineers in the Third Round. During their existence Druids won the Welsh Senior League on three occasions, the Welsh Amateur Cup once and the Welsh Cup eight times. The combination of their ground, Wynnstay Park, becoming unsuitable for the standard of football and World War I stopping football activities, led to the club suffering financially. They left their ground and combined with Rhosymefre FC, then in 1923 merged with Acrefair United to form Druids United and effectively end Ruabon Druids.
As a footnote. Druids United eventually amalgamated with Cefn Albion in the 1992, forming Cefn Druids who currently play in the Welsh Premier League.

Brymbo Victoria (c1900 - 1911)
The village of Brymbo, just West of Wrexham, has been represented by many teams over the years. Brymbo Institute started the ball rolling in 1890. For one year they were known as Brymbo Junior before Brymbo Victoria came into existence somewhere around the turn of the century. The names Institute,Green, Junior and Steelworks have all appeared after Brymbo since then but Victoria has recently popped up again with a reformation of the club as a North East Wales side in 2017 (although Brymbo FC are still playing in the Wrexham Area of the Welsh National League). The original Victoria era was very short-lived, with the club folding in 1911. However, during these 10 years the club saw unprecedented success winning the Wrexham and District League three times (1903,1904 & 1905(, with a runners-up spot sandwiched in there too. They were also beaten finalists in the Welsh Amateur Cup in 1908, winning the St Martins Charity Cup to make up for it.

Mid Rhondda (1912 - 1928)
South Wales has always been something of a rugby stronghold, so when Mid Rhondda FC were formed the same year as the Titanic went down, they were one of the earliest football clubs in the area. The club had a ready-made stadium in which to play, the 10,000 capacity Mid Rhondda Ground which had been built in the previous decade to provide an all round athletics and sports facility in South Wales. The club immediately applied, and was accepted, into the Southern League even though they didn't have an established squad. By 1919-20, already having the Southern League Division Two title in their records, they took the Welsh League by storm, winning the championship by beating Cardiff City into second place. To top it off, they also won the South Wales Cup with a 1-0 victory over Barry FC. The club played some challenge matches against big names from England in this period, beating Nottingham Forest, Derby County and Portsmouth in the process.
Unfortunately for Mid Rhondda, when the Football League incorporated the Southern League in to Division Three, the club were left in the Southern League and the team started to fall apart. To add to this the country's economic problems in the 1920s depressed the Rhondda area, meaning that fewer and fewer people had money to watch the team. The end came in 1928 when the debt-ridden club was forced to close.

Abergavenny Thursdays (1927 - 2013)
It's always great to come across teams that have, or had, unusual names, many of which have significant historical backgrounds. Thursdays are no different. Founded in 1927, the club got their (possibly) unique name from the fact that many Welsh towns at the time gave workers a half-day on Thursdays. This, in turn, led to many social clubs springing up to take advantage of the free time. The club's halcyon days started in the early 1950s with promotion to the top tier of the Welsh Football League in 1951. They won the Welsh League Cup the following year and proceeded to take the Welsh Division One title twice in succession from 1958 - 1960. The club then repeated this feat in the early 1990s, again winning back to back titles and gaining an invitation to become founding members of the League of Wales. Unfortunately for the club, the financial strains of the new league caused all sorts of problems, players left the club and they were relegated to Division One. A few seasons later they dropped down again after failing to win a single game which signalled the start of a severe decline which saw them drop down into the Gwent League system, from which they withdrew in 2013.

Borough United (1952 - 1969)
Formed by the merger of two sides, Conwy Borough and Llandudno Junction in 1952, Borough United had a short but very full existence. They played their games at Llandudno's old ground, Nanty-y-Coed and wore the same maroon and white colours as Junction had worn. As such they were seen as a continuation of the Llandudno side. They quickly became a force in the North of Wales, winning the Welsh League North in 1959 and 1963, a season in which they also won the Welsh Cup beating Football League side Newport County 2-1 over two legs. This victory led to the club qualifying for the UEFA Cup where they were drawn against Maltese outfit Sliema Wanderers. They drew 1-1 in Malta and then won the return leg 2-1, a game played at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground. This then set up a tie against Slovan Bratislava which Borough lost 4-0 on aggregate. No disgrace for a small part-time outfit up against a side who already had four Czech League Championships to their name. The end for Borough started in 1967 when they lost the use of Nant-y-Coed. They continued for a while in a minor Conwy League before folding in 1969.

For this, the fourth in the series of Gone But Not Forgotten, BotP heads North of the border to take a look at five Scottish clubs that are no longer with us. We start in a remote part of East Ayrshire alongside the Glenbuck Loch.

Glenbuck Cherrypickers (early 1870s - 1932)
The Cherrypickers only existed as a football club for around 50 years but, in that time, the club produced around 50 professional footballers, a remarkable statistic for a team from a small town that has never had a population greater than 1,200 people. Among these 50 professionals, seven went on to represent Scotland at international level, the most famous of these being former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly. All four of Shankly's brothers also played for Glenbuck,each one became a professional and brother Bob also made one international appearance. Glenbuck's unusual name, Cherrypickers, may have come from a couple of sources. During the Boer War the 11th Hussars regiment, which included men from Glenbuck, were known as the Cherry Pickers. However, the more likely origin (in my opinion) comes from the job of sorting coal from stones and debris in the local pits. This job was referred to a cherry picking and the workers who performed the task were cherry pickers. This origin for the name is backed up by the fact that the club folded in 1932 after the local coal pit was closed down. This was the main source of employment in Glenbuck and it's closure not only signalled the demise of the football club but also led to the town itself being abandoned.

Maryhill Hibernians / Maryhill Harp (1923 -1967)
The Maryhill area of Glasgow is known for being the setting for detective series Taggart and, in the footballing world, being the home of Partick Thistle FC. However, for just over 50 years between the 1920s and 1967, the area also boasted another team, Maryhill Hibernians (or Maryhill Harp as they were know from 1939 onward). This change of name is a significant and controversial part of the club's history. After a period a much success in the Scottish Junior League (SJL), Hibernians declared their intention to resign from the league and apply to join the Central League. Their resignation, however, was refused by the SJL so the club's committee chose the close the club down. Immediately a new club, Maryhill Harp, was formed and proceeded to apply for membership of the Central League. Unfortunately for the club their application was turned down and they were forced to re-apply to the SJL, who readmitted the club. Then the Second World War intervened, effectively shutting down the league. However, the new club were eventually accepted into the Central League for the war-time league season in 1941-42. The club eventually went under in 1967 after the Glasgow Corporation placed a compulsory purchase order on their Kelvinvale Park ground for new housing.

Duntocher Hibernian (1894 - 1980)
Duntocher is a village in West Dunbartonshire, not a million miles away from some more familiar Scottish football teams. Clydebank is the nearest town to Duntocher, just up the river Clyde lies Dumbarton and just over the other side of the river is Paisley, home of St Mirren. Duntocher Hibernian were founded in 1894 and, somewhat surprisingly for such a small village, continued to play football for 86 years. The club had some success in the Scottish Junior and Central Leagues, winning three titles in total. The club also produced a few famous names, Paddy Crerand and Celtic, Manchester United and Scotland fame being the most recognisable. Their most notorious former player, however, was probably Dick Beattie who went on to play for Celtic in the 1957 Scottish Cup Final. He later received a lifetime ban form the game for his part in the 1964 British Betting Scandal in which ten players, including Beattie, were jailed for between four years and four months.

Renton (1872 - 1922)
Like Duntocher, Renton hailed from Dunbartonshire an area that played a major part in early years of Scottish football. The club played in the first ever Scottish Cup competition in 1873-74, reaching the semi-final where they lost to Queen's Park. The following season they went one better and reached the final before again losing to Queen's Park. However, their peak period came in the second decade of their existence,winning the Scottish Cup twice and finishing runners-up once. They also competed in the English FA Cup during this time beating Accrington and Blackburn Rovers before going out to Preston. In 1888 they then challenged English FA Cup holders West Bromwich Albion to a game to decide the 'Football World Championship'. Renton won the game, in Glasgow, 4-1 leading to a 'Champion of teh World' sign being displayed on the pavilion of their home ground. The trophy they won that day is still on display in the football museum at Hampden Park. Financial pressures eventually saw the demise of Renton. The club continued to play in minor league football but eventually folded in 1922, but they will always be remembered as pioneers of the game in Scotland and, of course, Champions of the World.

Caledonian (1885-1994)
Hailing from the city of Inverness, Caledonian can lay claim to being the most successful Highland League team of all time. Although their record of 18 Highland League titles has since been equalled by Clachnacuddin, their record in other competitions, especially the Scottish Cup, sets them apart from anyone else. In the 1982-83 season they played 30 league games, winning 23, drawing 7, remaining unbeaten all season. They knocked 19 Scottish League sides out of the Cup over the years, most notably in 1992 when they put out Stenhousemuir and Clyde before taking Premier League St Johnstone to a replay which they eventually lost 3-0. In 1994 the club was dissolved during the merger with Inverness Thistle to form Inverness Caledonian Thistle who, of course, have managed to make it all the way into the Scottish Premier League (although are currently in the second tier). The merger most famously gave rise to the one of the most famous headlines of all time 'Super Cally Go Ballistic Celtic Are Atrocious', when Cally, the of Division One, beat Celtic 3-1 at Celtic Park in the Scottish Cup 3rd Round.