Charlton Invicta’s Daniel Crump discusses the Football v Homophobia campaign

As part of Charlton Athletic’s Football v Homophobia Week of Action, CACT has chosen to spotlight a member of its LGBTQ+ football team Charlton Invicta FC: meet Daniel Crump CACT recently caught up with Daniel about his time with Invicta and the importance of raising awareness of homophobia in football.

When did you join Charlton Invicta?

“I started playing for Invicta in 2018. I already knew Gary Ginnaw, Invicta’s Chair and Co-Founder, as I played for another LGBTQ side. I was invited down to a game and haven’t looked back.” What was life like growing up playing and watching football?

“It hasn’t always been easy. I’m a huge Tottenham Hotspur supporter and have played football all my life. I have heard some people say LGBTQ+ people can’t and shouldn’t play football which really knocked my confidence and made me question coming out.

“When I came out I first told my friends and family – the ones who went to watch Spurs with me every week – and nothing changed. They treated me just the same because I was the same person.

“When playing football you shouldn’t think about someone’s gender or sexuality; it’s about enjoying the game, working for each other and trying to get 3 points.”

Have you ever experienced homophobia during a match?

“I have experienced homophobic chants. I once called someone out who was shocked that I said something. During the rest of the match nothing further was said. You still hear some chants. We need to continue to educate to change mindsets.”

Tell us about FootballvHomophobia.

“FootballvHomophobia exists to challenge discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression in all football. The campaign engages in campaigning, education and guidance to make football safe, welcoming and inclusive for LGBTQ+ people, promote engagement and increase LGBTQ+ representation and visibility.”

How important are LGBTQ+ clubs like Invicta?

“LGBTQ+ football clubs like Invicta are massively important. They create a safe space for people to play football and enjoy playing a sport that they love no matter their gender or sexuality. Invicta isn’t just a football club, it’s a family that allows people to be and express themselves.”

Charlton Athletic are celebrating the Football v Homophobia campaign with a dedicated fixture on Saturday 28 January at The Valley and Charlton Women will be dedicating their game on 29 January.

To keep up to date with Invicta, follow them on Twitter @CharltonInvicta

Mary Mills

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve written articles about various steam road vehicles which passed through or originated in Greenwich and the surrounding area. Some of these were for individual transport and others were for a number of people and both were based on the sort of horse-drawn vehicle which was available at the time. There were some attempts at setting up a public transport service based on these vehicles. Although some of the ‘carriages’ could undertake considerable distances they all had problems which made them impractical for daily use - including water and coal supplies and suitable road surfaces. In addition there was some hostility from bodies which maintained roads because it was perceived they caused damage. It is thus difficult to find any which were made after the 1860s and most schemes had ended before 1850. So there is a big gap in time until we get to the next Greenwich based powered vehicle manufacturer.

There were a couple of big firms in Greenwich which produced powered road vehicles in the late 19th century and early 20th century and some experimental works. This week I want to look at what was eventually an unsuccessful attempt to produce viable road vehicles in the last few years of what had been a major manufacturing company.

I have written before about Penn’s engineering works on Blackheath Road. They were on the site which is now generally called ‘Wickes’. The first John Penn had opened the works in 1799 to make agricultural equipment. His son was to turn the works into a premier manufacturer of marine steam engines and similar equipment with a worldwide reputation for excellence. By the 1890s however the firm had begun to lose money, although orders were still coming in. In 1899 they were amalgamated / taken over by Thames Ironworks.