The Salvation Army Football Club made its first tentative steps with friendly matches against the Baptist Church Fellowship of Youth Teams around 1987 and soon the interest grew to formalise the Club and enter into a bona fide league. Submissions were made to the Suffolk and Ipswich League after some help from local football tour de force Alan Sparkes, himself a former member of the Salvation Army in his younger days, and in 1988 were voted on to the League at their Annual General Meeting.

It was soon realised the club could not compete with just lads from Stowmarket Salvation Army and those from Diss, Ipswich, Felixstowe, Norton, Lavenham and Hadleigh swelled the ranks. Friends of the players linked to the Salvation Army were also invited but before the first game at Dennington on 10th September 1988 was played the Army did not have a recognised kit and played the first game in Nortons old white faded shirts with frayed cuffs and torn necks. Very soon afterwards one of the players and subsequent Chairman, Mark Cross, donated a set of blue shirts and from that day the clubs first kit although changing in style has remained a predominant blue.

Unfortunately the players from other Salvation Army areas dwindled with just the Felixstowe and Ipswich lads remaining loyal but even then in decreasing amounts and so the club became more of a Community Club allowing other players to join through recommendations from existing players on the understanding that players realised they represented the name of the Salvation Army whether they used it as their Church or not. However, to this day members of the church of the Salvation Army have continually played and run the club with the Constitution stating three of the five officers of the club must be members of the Salvation Army.

The club has made steady if unspectacular progress throughout the years and the first team and reserves currently play in Divisions 2 and 4 of the Suffolk and Ipswich League, the highest achieved by both teams.

The progress on the field can be attributed to three first team managers and one reserve manager. John Ellitson’s two spells with the club saw a progression up the divisions and even a final of the Suffolk Primary Cup in 1999.

It was to be the last Primary Cup ever to go to a replay after a 1-1 draw against our fierce rivals Bacton at Old Newton, Stuart Lincoln’s goal equalising the earlier effort. The replay at Haughley United was played on a pitch resembling more of a swimming pool than a pitch with heavy rain and puddles making the game somewhat of a farce and the conditions stopping the ball running. In hindsight the game should never had been played but after going 2-0 down the Army battled back to 2-2 with goals from Ali Coyne and Dean Harvey only to be beaten by Jim Friend’s late late thunderbolt which was a goal good enough to win any cup final, even against the Army.

Ellitson wanted the club to progress even further and thought that he had taken it as far as he could, but he has always maintained his links with the club and is the clubs reserve team linesman . This gave Darryll Knock an opportunity to bring his no nonsense approach from years of centre half experience to management. Knock excelled and it was he that got the Army into Division 2 and finished their first season there in 6th position which remains the high water mark for the club in league football.

The following season Danny Reynolds, who had joined the club as a player but suffered continuing injury to his troublesome knee, took over when Knock finished as manager and from that 2004-05 season to present Reynolds has kept the team in Division 2 all the time, with the exception of one season as Assistant Manager, as first team boss. He too, like Ellitson, would feel the anguish of losing the Primary Cup Final in 2009 to Redgrave Rangers by the only goal of the game at Walsham Le Willows and went close to a final appearance the following season but losing in the semi final to Glemsford.

Reynolds brought the first piece of silverware to the club winning the George Rice Memorial Invitational Tropy in 2007 and successfully defended it in 2008. He is a Level 2 coach and is recognised as the most successful first team manager in the clubs history.

Vice Chairman Paul Salmon is also the Reserve Team Manager and a Level 2 coach and his extra time goal in the 1999 Primary Cup Semi Final at Elmswell sank Stanton Reserves to earn the Army their first Primary Cup Final and himself a place in the footballing history of the club. Paul is now the most successful Reserve Team manager the club has had and his no nonsense approach is very much out of the Darryll Knock school of man management. Salmon steered his Reserves to cup glory in 2008 winning the curiously named Kitz ‘N’ Pieces Cup on a memorable evening at Framlingham against Stowupland Falcons ‘A’. Goals from Jamie Laflin and Phil Baker providing the club with their first league cup. With Reynolds then going on to win the 2008 Rice Cup the Army celebrated their 20th Season by parading two trophies at Stowmarket Town FC who hosted the reunion match. All previous players were announced as they ran onto the pitch and the final two were Danny Reynolds proudly holding the Rice Cup and Paul Salmon holding the Kitz N Pieces Cup. All a far cry from those tattered old shirts in September 1988.