One of the most notable features of Lancing's history is the number of players who have returned to the club after playing elsewhere for a period. In this respect, if in no other, 1962-63 was a vintage season, with six men coming back to Culver Road, five of them with more than a century of appearances behind them.
Goalkeeper Ron Kerridge (119 matches for Lancing) came back from Worthing during the summer and went on to establish himself in the county side. Back, too, came the man who had replaced him, Nigel Wigglesworth, whom some rated the better 'keeper. He had a short spell with Leatherhead before moving briefly to the West Country. Also back during the summer came Roy Cooper (129 matches), after a season or so with local rivals Abbey Rovers, the team that later became Lancing and Sompting Legion. Cooper, always in the past a forward, and usually a winger, re-established himself at Culver Road as a centre-half. Formidable goalscorer Jim Ford (108 matches) came back from Lewes, long-serving Jim Lavery (128), a surprise Worthing signing in the season (he scored a last minute equaliser on his Woodside Road debut), was back at Culver Road by December and in the New Year, winger Alan Phillips (130) re-appeared, he had moved to Bracknell to live and work but was now back in Lancing at weekends. Coach Ken Shearwood was back too and that meant a revival of the controversial 4?2-4.
Shearwood's influence led to a rare honour for young Alex Gibson, a local boy who was one of several Lancing College boys to gain Public Schools honours under Shearwood's coaching. Gibson was selected for the university side Pegasus, though he had not played for Oxford University, where he was to begin his studies in October. His selection for Pegasus kept him out of Lancing's Amateur Cup meeting with Chichester.
Despite the return of so many good players, it was to be another dismal year for the club. Even the goalkeeping position continued to cause problems, towards the end of the season, defender Roger Spells had to take the green jersey for two games and John Brown was called upon to stand between the posts on one occasion for the reserves (seven goals went by him). Experienced defender Derek Cheal was moved into a forward role early in the season, effectively enough for him to finish with 21 goals. But still it was not to be Lancing's year.
They started respectably, drawing 2-2 with East Grinstead who were lucky to benefit from a penalty and a rare Kerridge slip. But then came three successive three-goal defeats and even Shearwood acknowledged that 4-2-4 was not working. "I still think it's the best style there is and I shall go on teaching it at Lancing College. But not here", he commented. The return to convential methods had no immediate effect, except, perhaps for the worse. Lancing went out of the FA Cup by 4-0 at Haywards Heath (they were to play in five cup competitions during the season and fall at the first hurdle each time). Then came a humiliating 7-0 Culver Road defeat by an average Bognor side, with Kerridge keeping the Rocks below double figures. Four changes were made for the next match, against Whitehawk, one of the casualities being the unfortunate Bob Bonetti, who had given away three penalties in the five matches he had played.
The changes paid off with a surprise 3-1 win over the highly rated Hawks. A superb individual effort from Gibson set Lancing on their way and although Hawks levelled the scores, Cheal, playing his first match up front and Graham Dowling added further goals. It was the first goal of the season for Dowling, the club's top scorer in 1961-62 but he was not to score again until April. The next match brought the second 5-2 defeat of the season at the hands of Chichester, in the Amateur Cup this time, and at home, but then came another league win, against Shoreham, with Bob Stevenson, the Cheltenham College student netting what was to prove his only goal of the season in his occasional appearances, after he had scored 12 in nine games in 1961-62.
The next three games brought crushing defeats and although Jim Ford returned during this period, that was balanced by the departure of Charlie Preston, who joined Wigmore, disillusioned with his in-and-out selection.
By the beginning of November, Lancing found themselves next to bottom in the table, one point ahead of Arundel who had two games in hand. It was a particularly critical situation because for the first time, two teams, instead of only one as in the past, would be relegated. As it happened, the next opponents were Arundel, at Lancing, and the home club gained a vital, if fortunate, win thanks to an own goal. That began a run of four wins in five games, which eased the position considerably. East Grinstead were beaten 3-0 away but then came defeat in the Senior Cup, a last minute goal disposing of complacent Lancing against almost unknown Division 2 side Horsham YMCA. The next league game also brought defeat, but then Lancing found the way to goal.
Cheal hit three goals and Paul Steele two in a 5-4 home win over Haywards Heath, although Gazette reporter Chris Harper found time to count 74 bad passes in the game, 43 of them by Lancing. Then Cheal and Steele hit two apiece as a devastating second half brought a 6-2 win at Hastings and a respectable mid-table position at last. Two more defeats followed, thanks to a wretched display against Sidley and bad luck at Whitehawk, but on Boxing Day Wigmore were beaten 3-2 in a remarkable game in which Lancing scored all five goals, Roy Cooper and Bob Stevenson obliging for Wiggy. And then it snowed...
It snowed to such effect that it was February 23rd before Lancing could play again. Grounds were frozen for more than a month and then flooded. Not since 1946-47 had such a winter been seen and now, as then, the season was extended to cope with the backlog of fixtures. Most leagues, including the Worthing and West Sussex, elected to press on. Not so the Sussex County League. After Lancing had returned to action with a defeat at Haywards Heath and a home draw with Rye, a meeting on Thursday March 7th resulted in the abandonment of the league programme and the introduction of an emergency competition, to be played in groups of four leading to a knock-out contest. Promotion, relegation and championship issues were left undecided.
It was a decision that attracted a good deal of adverse comment. Lancing were better placed than anyone, having only 12 league games left. Bognor, on the other hand, had 19 to play; yet it was they who led the opposition to the move. All to no avail, an emergency competition it was to be. Yet there was one curious twist left in the tale, matches already fixed for the next Saturday were to go ahead as full scale league games. That gave Lancing a chance to become the first side to win a league game against Lewes, who were then reaching their peak of County League achievment. And Lancing came so close; Lavery put them ahead and Kerridge kept them there until three minutes from time. How serious Lewes were treating the match, in the circumstances, remains open to question.
Lancing's emergency group looked a walkover for Whitehawk, second in the table, with Lancing the best placed of their three rivals, the others being Wigmore and Shoreham, the later seemingly headed for Division 2 before the season was halted. And indeed Lancing lost their opening game to Whitehawk, going down 3-1 at Culver Road. It was the lowest scoring of Lancing's six games, which produced in all 42 goals. The next three matches were all against Wigmore, the first resulting in a 4-5 defeat. Then came an RUR Cup tie, with Wiggy this time coming out on top 2-1. The RUR Cup had been scrapped early in February and it was a comment on the County League's plans that the County FA later decided to revive it.
The third match against Wiggy, in the emergency event again, brought Lancing a 7-3 win, in a match notable for some comic antics by Wigmore 'keeper Colin Churcher. It was suggested that Churcher was not the only man in Sussex who failed to treat the competition very seriously. Still, after Lancing had gained a creditable 4-4 draw at Whitehawk and lost home and away to Shoreham, it was Wiggy's unexpected win over Whitehawk that put Shoreham into the knock-out stage, which they eventually won.
And, after all this, it was decided to begin yet another competition, an invitation cup for Division 1 clubs knocked out in the group matches! Lancing had a bye to the last four, where they met Newhaven, whose striker, Ford, had scored all their seven goals in their win over Wigmore in the quarter final. When the teams met, it was three weeks since Lancing had last played and it was no great surprise that a season, which, in every respect, was best forgotten, ended with a 2-1 defeat at Culver Road.