Thames Valley Travellers
Encyclopedia
Thames Valley Travellers are a football hooligan group
associated with the English football club Fulham
.
The first recognised firm associated with the club was known as the Fulham Suicide Squad and was formed in the early 1980s by Chris 'Chubby' Henderson, also of the Chelsea Headhunters, at a time when the clubs played in different divisions. The firms main rivalries were with Brentford and Queens Park Rangers although other clubs became rivals for short periods of time such as Brighton FC and later Gillingham FC.
The FSS disbanded in the early 90's when Henderson fled the country on bail and for a few years there was no firm associated with the club. However in the very late 90's a new firm, mostly made up of old faces from the FSS, came to form known as H-Block in reference to the area of the ground where they used to watch the match.
The only firms still in existence today are the 'Fulham Youth' and the 'U5s'. Fulham Youth are still active, although the name can be misleading as most of the firms core members would not apply to this criteria since the firm started. The U5's are a group of 16-18 year olds who often team with the Fulham Youth for rivalry matches.
Football hooliganism
Football hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...
associated with the English football club Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...
.
Background
While it is commonly assumed that the firm associated with Fulham FC was known as the 'Thames Valley Travellers' this is in fact incorrect. The group was known as 'The Thames Bank Travellers' but were not actually an active hooligan firm, though they were often involved in fights due to their habits of getting overly drunk and taunting opposition fans.The first recognised firm associated with the club was known as the Fulham Suicide Squad and was formed in the early 1980s by Chris 'Chubby' Henderson, also of the Chelsea Headhunters, at a time when the clubs played in different divisions. The firms main rivalries were with Brentford and Queens Park Rangers although other clubs became rivals for short periods of time such as Brighton FC and later Gillingham FC.
The FSS disbanded in the early 90's when Henderson fled the country on bail and for a few years there was no firm associated with the club. However in the very late 90's a new firm, mostly made up of old faces from the FSS, came to form known as H-Block in reference to the area of the ground where they used to watch the match.
The only firms still in existence today are the 'Fulham Youth' and the 'U5s'. Fulham Youth are still active, although the name can be misleading as most of the firms core members would not apply to this criteria since the firm started. The U5's are a group of 16-18 year olds who often team with the Fulham Youth for rivalry matches.