Q 01/05

West Ham United began life in 1895 as the works team of which company?

A) Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding

B) The Castle Shipping Line

C) Tate & Lyle sugar refiners

D) The Royal Docks Company

Answer · why

A) Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding

Owner Arnold Hills and foreman Dave Taylor announced the club in the Thames Ironworks Gazette; the yard's most famous ship was HMS Warrior.

Q 02/05

Which warship, the Royal Navy's first ironclad built by Thames Ironworks, gives its hull shape to the 2016 club crest?

A) HMS Thunderer

B) HMS Warrior

C) HMS Victory

D) HMS Dreadnought

Answer · why

B) HMS Warrior

The last ship built at the yard was the dreadnought HMS Thunderer in 1912.

Q 03/05

Thames Ironworks folded in June 1900 and relaunched as West Ham United under whom?

A) Ted Fenton

B) Charlie Paynter

C) Syd King

D) Arnold Hills

Answer · why

C) Syd King

King served 32 years before being sacked in 1932; Paynter, his assistant, then managed the club until 1950.

Q 04/05

According to one story, how did Thames Ironworks come by a claret and blue kit belonging to Aston Villa?

A) It was donated after a friendly

B) A player stole it from the laundry

C) Arnold Hills bought it at auction

D) A sprinter won it in a bet after a foot race

Answer · why

D) A sprinter won it in a bet after a foot race

William Belton reportedly won the race at a fair near Villa Park; the Villa player who lost reported the kit 'missing'.

Q 05/05

West Ham's first match at the Boleyn Ground in September 1904 was a 3-0 win over which fierce rivals?

A) Millwall

B) Tottenham Hotspur

C) Leyton Orient

D) Fulham

Answer · why

A) Millwall

Millwall were also an ironworks team, for a rival company; the Hammers-Lions rivalry is the club's oldest.