Len Revell

*Indicates unconfirmed information. Figures in brackets after English team names indicate all appearances made and goals scored in competitive matches for Football League clubs from 1888 onwards. For Scottish League clubs the figures show details of all competitive appearances and goals scored from 1946/47 onwards.

Len Revell

Appearances: 103 Goals: 1

Date / Year of birth: 28th October 1927

Position: Defender / Midfielder

Season of first appearance: 1946/47

Season of last appearance: 1958/59

Also played for: Ashford Town and Snowdown Colliery Welfare

Long-serving player who grew up in Thanet and had two spells with Margate following World War II. They were split by a stint with Ashford that spanned the 1949/50 to 1951/52 seasons.

Len first appeared for Margate during the 1946/47 season, the club's first after re-forming. He spent the majority of the campaign in the reserves but also made two first team appearances. Len made his debut on 16.11.46 when Margate beat Snowdown 5-1 at Hartsdown Park but had to wait until 10.5.47 for his next first team opportunity.

However he featured more regularly during the 1947/48 campaign, making nine first team appearances. He had to wait until 26.12.47 for his chance but finished the season with a run of six matches to seemingly establish himself.

Len wasn't able to gain a regular place during the 1948/49 campaign either, although he did make 18 appearances. He scored one goal during the season, a remarkable lob from just inside his own half in a 5-3 win over Canterbury at Hartsdown on 4.12.48 - the City keeper was Peter Peters. Len also came to the attention of several Football League clubs during the season and played trial games for Leyton Orient. He also represented Kent but joined Ashford in the summer of 1949.

Len's second spell at Margate began in December 1951 and he made 15 appearances before the end of the 1951/52 campaign.

He was then almost ever-present during the 1952/53 season, making 40 appearances without scoring, and on 9.5.53 Len was part of the side that drew 1-1 with visitors Folkestone to share the Kent Senior Shield.

The 1953/54 season was a nightmare for him as he broke his ankle in a game against Betteshanger at Hartsdown Park in September 1953. Len didn't make another first team appearance during the season although he played a few times for the reserves towards the end of the campaign.

Len also spent almost the entire 1954/55 season in the reserves, only getting a first team chance in April 1955 when regular centre-back Brian Moffatt was injured. Len then went on to play in most of the season's remaining games and finished up with 11 first team appearances to his credit.

However he found himself back in the reserves for the whole of the 1955/56 season.

The 1956/57 campaign was another in which Len failed to make a single first team appearance and he only played twice for the reserves during the season. That was due to him suffering from a serious chest complaint which saw him hospitalised several times.

However he eventually recovered his health and spent the 1957/58 season in the reserves, making just one first team appearance.

The 1958/59 season turned out to be Len's last at Margate and once again he spent most of it in the reserves. However on 17.1.59 he made a rare appearance for the senior side when he played in 5-3 defeat at Dartford. It was a Kent Senior Shield tie and Len also made one more first team appearance during the season. His final match for the club was on 22.4.59, a 3-3 Kent League draw at Tunbridge Wells - 13 and a half years after his first. At the end of the campaign Len was released.

He later became a well-known local bowls player and was still playing cricket for Westgate in the summer of 1973.

Len died on 16.7.01 aged 73 and had still been living locally at the time. His ashes were scattered on the pitch at Hartsdown Park. An article in the Isle of Thanet Gazette marking Len's passing described him as "a multi-talented sportsman" and a "key player" for Margate in the years after the Second World War. Len's widow June told the paper "He was very modest and didn't talk much about what he'd achieved apart from to people who he'd actually played with. They were all happy days, and he always played just for the love of sport."

SEASON (CLUB)

FULL (MAX)

SUB

GLS

 

FAC

KSC

KLC

KSS

 

1946/47 (MFC)

2 (38)

N/A

0

KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (1ST OF 16)

PR 

2R

N/A 

SF

 

     Margate won Kent League title.

SEASON (CLUB)

FULL (MAX)

SUB

GLS

    

FAC

KSC

KLC

KSS

 

1947/48 (MFC)

9 (47)

N/A

0

KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (1ST OF 18)

1QR

1R

W

W
     Margate won Kent League title. 

SEASON (CLUB)

FULL (MAX)

SUB

GLS

 

FAC

KSC

KLC

KSS

 

1948/49 (MFC)

18 (41)

N/A

1

KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (10TH OF 18)

PR

2R

2R

1R

 

SEASON (CLUB)

FULL (MAX)

SUB

GLS

               

FAC

KSC

KLC

KSS

 

1951/52 (MFC)

15 (38)

N/A

0

KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (4TH OF 17)

1QR

2R

1R

N/A

SEASON (CLUB)

FULL (MAX)

SUB

GLS

              

FAC

KSC

KLC

KSS

 

1952/53 (MFC)

40 (43)

N/A

0

KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (11TH OF 17)

PR

2R

RU

JW

 

     Played in Kent Senior Shield Final (09.05.53 - drew 1-1 with Folkestone to share trophy).
     Played in Kent League Cup Final (06.05.53 - lost 2-0 to Tunbridge Wells).

SEASON (CLUB)

FULL (MAX)

SUB

GLS

              

FAC

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KLC

KSS

 

1953/54 (MFC)

5 (40)

N/A

0

KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (2ND OF 16)

2QR

1R

W

1R

 

SEASON (CLUB)

FULL (MAX)

SUB

GLS

                

FAC

KSC

KLC

KSS

 

1954/55 (MFC)

11 (46)

N/A

0

KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (5TH OF 17)

2QR

2R

RU

RU

 

     Played in Kent League Cup Final (30.04.55 - lost 3-2 to Tunbridge Wells).
     Played in Kent Senior Shield Final (14.05.55 - lost 2-1 to Tunbridge Wells).

SEASON (CLUB)

FULL (MAX)

SUB

GLS

  

FAC

KSC

KLC

KSS

 

1957/58 (MFC)

1 (48)

N/A

0

KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (2ND OF 18)

1R

SF

RU

SF

 

SEASON (CLUB)

FULL (MAX)

SUB

GLS

 

FAC

KSC

KLC

KSS

TMC

1958/59 (MFC)

2 (51)

N/A

0

KENT LEAGUE DIVISION ONE (5TH OF 18)

1R

3R

RU

1R

GR