How PoW Charlie took over as Albion boss - and set a record which stood for almost 85 years

Their mastermind Charlie Webb was being detained in Mainz at the end of the First World War when chairman Henry Miles wrote and asked him to become first team manager when he returned to England.

Webb, already admired for his playing career at the Goldstone as an inside-left, went on to become one of the club’s most revered bosses.

He was the brains behind a record run of 16 league games without defeat which was set on January 28, 1931 and was finally beaten when their modern-day successors played MK Dons yesterday.

Yet the start was novel to say the least.

Webb later recalled: “Injury against Millwall in 1915 had terminated my playing days but football was still to be my life, as I learned three years later sitting in a German POW camp awaiting repatriation after the armistice, a letter from the late Mr H J Miles, chairman of the club, before me with the invitation to succeed as manager the late Mr J Robson, who had moved to Manchester United.”

Like Chris Hughton, Webb, pictured above, was an Irish international brought up away from the Emerald Isle. In Edinburgh, in fact, then Tarring, as the son of a soldier.

Like Hughton, his team’s matches tended to be close-fought affairs, certainly in 1930-31.

Ten of the first 11 in the 16-game run were single-goal wins or draws.

Later in his career, he turned down the chance to take over at Tottenham, where Hughton made his name, and went on to manage Albion in an astonishing 1,215 games between 1919 and 1947.

He remains both Albion’s youngest and oldest manager although Hughton, who turns 57 next month, will relieve him of the latter if he stays for four more years.

Sixteen without defeat was not enough to secure promotion from Division Three South as only the champions went up. But fourth was a decent effort.

Like the current team, Charlie’s marvels went on their lengthy series totally out of the blue.

Albion were 18th and playing to crowds of less than 5,000, often on Wednesday afternoons, in September 1930. Goal machine Hugh Vallance and star full-back Jack Curran had just left the club for what was chronicled as “a serious misdemeanour.”

The run started with a 1-0 home win over Swindon thanks to a goal from Dan Kirkwood in front of 3,716 on October 8.

Their first six games in the run included three draws, the last of them a satisfying 2-2 away to would-be champions Notts County.

Then they enjoyed five wins in seven outings and the goals started flying in.

There was a 3-3 draw at Bristol Rovers on Christmas Day. Then defender-turned-forward Jack Carruthers blasted a hat-trick as his side won the return meeting 4-0 the following day.

A bumper crowd of 9,133 turned out for that one and most were back again 24 hours later to see Gillingham trounced 5-0 as Geordie Nicol scored four.

Nicol was the saviour with a second-half double as Albion grabbed a 2-2 draw at Exeter City.

After drawing 1-1 at home to QPR and beating Torquay 3-0, the run ended in a 2-1 defeat away to Northampton. But they won two and drew one of the next three games.

The run took Webb’s men from 18th place to second after game 16 but they finished ten points – or five wins – off the top.

The fixture list included Thames – a short-lived club set up to use the Custom House speedway stadium in East London – and Clapton Orient. Fulham are the only club who opposed Albion in both their 16-game unbeaten runs.

Webb died in 1973, aged 86. There is a plaque outside his former home (which he also used as an ad-hoc ticket office ahead of big matches) in Frith Road, near the Goldstone.

The footballing PoW has his chapter in club history assured.

His place, and that of his team, in the record books was relinquished yesterday. But they had a good run for their money - in more ways than one.

(With thanks to Tim Carder for help with research).

How they did it...

Swindon (h) 1-0; C.Palace (h) 1-1; Norwich (h) 1-0; Thames (a) 0-0; Clapton Orient (h) 3-1; Notts Co (a) 2-2; Watford (h) 1-0; Bournemouth (a) 2-1; Fulham (a) 1-0; Walsall (a) 0-0; Bristol R (a) 3-3; Bristol R (h) 4-0; Gillingham (h) 5-0; Exeter (a) 2-2; QPR (h) 1-1; Torquay (h) 3-0.

Summary (W D L): 9-7-0. Goals: 30-11.

Who were Webb's wonders?

Leading them out: Albion were captained by an experienced full-back who arrived as a free agent. But, unlike recent stand-in skipper Bruno, Birmingham-born Frank Brett played on the left, had worked at Cadbury’s and previously played non-league. Harry Marsden and Billy Moffatt, a Scot signed from Portsmouth, both had stints at right-back during the run.

Goal-getters: Geordie Nicol, a 26-year-old Scot, only had one good season for the club and this was it. Stepping up after goal machine Hugh Vallance left, he scored 19 times in 22 outings. Converted defender Jack Carruthers also had a stint in attack and scored eight in 11 while powerful-shooting Scottish inside-right Dan Kirkwood scored 17 and Potter Smith, from Tyneside, also chipped in.

Razzle-dazzle: The goalscoring Scottish winger in this side was Bobby Farrell from Dundee. More extrovert than his modern-day successor Jamie Murphy, who scored the winner yesterday, he shared the current star's goal-getting knack. Farrell went on to score 95 times for the club and became landlord of the Adur Hotel on Hove seafront.

In goal: Portslade-born Stan Webb worked locally for the gas company and played in the County League until having a successful trial with Albion. He later turned out for Southwick before emigrating to Australia.

The protector: Former miner Paul Mooney was one of several Scots at the club and was great in the air at centre-half.

Engine room: Like the current side, this team had a lot of experience. Ex-Norwich right-half Reg Wilkinson and left-sided Harry Dutton, from Middlesex, had been around the block.

The record-breaker: And, finally, here is one total from then which might never be surpassed.

Outside-left Tug Wilson, pictured above, was midway through a 14-year Albion career which included a club record 566 appearances. That after the Yorkshireman was rejected by Sheffield Wednesday for being too small.