BROMSGROVE Sporting Football Club is appealing for local people to help track down a little piece of local footballing history.

Each year the club on Birmingham Road, hosts the Smedley Crooke Memorial Charity Cup, which is open to non-league clubs across Worcestershire, Warwickshire, and the West Midlands.

The cup was donated in 1919 by the then MP for Birmingham Deritend, Sir John Smedley Crooke to honour all of the sportsmen who had lost their lives in the First World War.

Over the years the club has lost contact with the Smedley Crooke family, but the club is hoping it might be able to track down any surviving members to let them know about the great work the cup has done.

Phil Baker, director of communications at Bromsgrove Sporting, said: “Unfortunately with the passage of time, the trophy has lost connection with its donor and the Smedley Crooke family. However we think it would be appropriate if we could establish contact with any descendants of Sir John and re-build that link particularly as we are only three years away from celebrating the centenary of the competition’s inception.

“If anybody reading is related to Sir John Smedley Crooke or could point me in the right direction then we at Bromsgrove Sporting would be delighted to hear from them. Our understanding is that some relatives lived in the Bromsgrove area as recently as 20 years ago.”

The cup competition raises money for a number of local charities, including Midland Air Ambulance, Princess of Wales Community Hospital League of Friends, Mercia Accident Rescue, and Primrose Hospice, and Bromsgrove Sporting were the proud winners in 2014.

Anyone who believes they might be related to Sir John, or who knows of anyone with a connection to the Smedley Crooke family, can get in touch with Phil Baker by writing to philjbaker@btinternet.com.