After the celebrations had subsided in the village the Committee returned to more mundane matters and in the next meeting, which was held on Wednesday, June 12th 1963 at The Vicarage, the clubs funds were back on the agenda. It was recorded that from the Dance a profit of approximately £36.0.0. was to hand. It was pointed out that the monies for dance tickets sold by Pitts Social Club was not yet to hand, i.e. 30 tickets at 3/6 = £5.5.0.

The actual receipts were as follows:  £12.5.0~70 dance tickets, £49.0.0~Derby draw tickets, £6.5.0~Internal draw tickets and £3.15.0~Refreshments. A total of £71.5.0 

The meeting adjourned in agreement that the Club in the 1963-64 season would enter the Hants Junior, North Hants Junior and Andover League Cup competitions, in addition to competing in the Andover League Div. I.

The next meeting held on Tuesday, 9th July 1963 at the vicarage saw the election of Selection Committee. 

1st Team:  the Chairman proposed that S. Ball and F. Morgan, who were on the Committee last season should be re-elected.   There was nobody against.  He then proposed that F. Hollister be elected, again there was no objection. 

2nd Team:  L. Reeves proposed T. London and C. Ball, there was no objection.

 Selection Committees therefore:

1st Team:         S. Ball, F. Morgan and F. Hollister

2nd Team:        T. London and C. Ball

In the meeting held at the Vicarage on Monday, 12th August 1963, the installation of washing facilities was discussed and Mr. Reeves recited the letter he had sent to the Chairman of the Parish Council and also the reply received which was positive. He also read a letter from the Clerk to the Parish Council in which it was stated that the Parish Council had accepted a tender for levelling etc the bottom portion of the extension to the recreation ground and that it was hoped this would be completed by 30th September.

Mr. Reeves said he would approach Mr. Haigh and ask if he would again accept the appointment of V/Chairman. It was agreed that Mr. Beale be asked to accept the appointment of President. The following would be asked to become V/Presidents:  W/Commander Fearan, Mr. Gordon Clark, Mr. Little, Admiral Forster (Ret.), Mrs. Parker, Lord Rank, Mr. M. Govett, Gen. D. C. Bullen-Smith, Mrs. Talbot, Mr. Read, Mrs. Smith (Ash Farm), Commander Watkins, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Wills (Bransbury Manor).

With the season drawing ever closer the meeting held on Monday 26th August held in the Village Hall saw the selection of Captains and Vice/Captains of 1st and 2nd teams. M. Carter proposed and L.Reeves seconded that L.Vaill be first team captain.  There being no other nominations he was unanimously voted Captain.  G. Bell proposed and D.Luff  seconded that M. Carter be first team Vice/Captain.  Again there being no other nominations he was unanimously voted Vice/Captain.

The Vicar generously said he would donate £5 toward the purchase of hose for the installation of washing facilities, provided the Club dug the trench for the installation of same. The Vicar agreed to deal with the insuring of both teams.

The secretary said he had also written to those 14 persons who had been proposed as Vice/Presidents and the eight who had accepted the appointment were:  Admiral Forster, Mr. Gordon Clark, Mrs. Anne Smith, Mrs. Parker, Mrs. Talbot, Mr. Bullen-Smith, Mr. Watkins and Mr. Read and of those eight, Mrs. Parker had sent a donation of £1.1.0, Mrs. Talbot £1 and Mr. Read £2.

It was agreed that a dance would be held in Pitts Social Club on Saturday 7th September, after Mr. Hollister had said that the matter had been discussed at Pitts Social Club meeting on Friday 23rd August and Mr. Reeves had said that he had spoken to The Chairman of Pitts Social Club upon the same subject. 

The entrance fee to dance would be 3/6, tickets to be limited to 100.  Time of dance 8 p.m. - 11.45 p.m.

After such a successful season, to achieve the same heights in the 1st Division would have been some feat.

In 1963-1964, Barton Stacey proved to be the third best team in the Andover and District Leagues by finishing in third place in Division I. They reached the semi-final of the Andover League Cup, losing to Andover Blue Star who ultimately won Division I and they incidentally were the only team to complete the double against them in the League. In the North Hants 'A' Cup Barton were defeated in the first round, again by Blue Star. In the Hants 'A' Cup they lost to Enham Alamein (who were League Division 1 runners up) in the second round, having beaten neighbours Sutton Scotney 7:1 in the first round.

22 league matches were played, resulting as follows: won 13, drew 3 and losing 6, scoring 94 goals with 64 against us. Two other league matches against Quarley were played, which were won 5:0 and 6:2 but unfortunately Quarley withdrew from the league just before the end of the season, so those results had to be deleted from the league table. 5 cup matches in all were played, winning 2 and losing 3, scoring 18 goals with 17 against. So the summary of all games played reads: played 27, won 15, drew 2 and lost 9 with total goals scored 112 with 81 against. Top goal scorer for the season was once again T. Vaill with 53, followed by his brother Les with 22, then a drop to 10 by G. Johnston who was unfortunately posted from the area after only 13 games. Of the total of 27 matches played, T. Vaill was the only player with a 100% appearance record, A. Freeman missed only one match, W. Blanchard and L. Vaill missed two matches, G. Bell 3, D.Luff and D. Kingston 4 each, R. Baird, whom was lost just before the end of the season, missed 8 matches and M. Carter who was injured near the end of the season missed 9 matches as did R. Thatcher.So it can be said that 10 players played regularly each week but in the 27 matches played, a total of 27 different players were called upon during the season.

The Second XI in their first season, as was to be expected, did not have a very good season. They played a total of 24 league and cup matches, winning 2, drawing 2 and losing 20, scoring 37 goals with 139 against.

The season of 1964-65 proved more difficult than last with Barton finishing in seventh position in the Andover Junior League as opposed to third position in 1963/64. However, when the position is analysed a different picture is painted. In 1963/64 season 22 league fixtures were played and they finished the season with 29 points. Having won 13, drawn 3 and lost 6 of the fixtures. Compared with the previous season there were two more fixtures, 24 in all, of which 11 were won (two less than the previous season) drew 3 and lost 10. Total points 25.

The season started off very well indeed, with 18 points gained from the first 12 matches and looking potential league winners, but then came the slump and of the remaining 12 matches only 3 were won. This slump came due to injuries and players leaving the Club for one reason or another and, as always, it was very difficult to find replacements of a suitable standard half way through a season.

In the cup competitions Barton Stacey did not do as well as hoped, especially in the Andover League Cup where they made their exit in the second round after a replay with Stockbridge. Unfortunately in this season Barton's main failing was the lack of players capable of scoring goals. The highest goal scorer was Cyril Ewence with 17 to his credit from only 17 appearances. Next was Jim Standley with 12 from 7 appearances. Had these two players been available the whole season, it may have been a different story. Next with 10 apiece came D. Luff and V. Moore from 27 and 30 appearances respectively, Dennis Luff playing most of the season as a defender. V. Moore incidentally was the only player to play in every match during the season. D. Luff, B, Moore and J. Sheldon put in 27 appearances each.

Although this season was not the success of  previous seasons special words of appreciation were given by the Hon. Secretary, Len Reeves to Mrs. Gray, Miss Ball and Mrs. Freeman, for being Barton's most loyal female supporters along with Sid Ball and Fred Morgan who were thanked for their input into the Club.

From 1965 to 1970 Len Reeves continued to run two league teams, however again the records of this period are not to hand, however with further research I hope to be able to fill in some of the gaps. It appears that the team continued to compete in the 1st Division of the Andover and District League and enter the Hants Junior, North Hants Junior and Andover League Cup competitions .Although through this period there are some recollections of the minutes from the meetings held which show some interesting facts and figures about the club. For instance in the meeting held on Monday 4th May 1964 in the Vicarage, the question of whether or not the Club would loan Pitts Sports and Social Club their football kit, goal-posts etc. for their football match with their auditors on Sat. 9th May was discussed at great length.  The secretary read extracts from Hants F.A. Rules Nos. 2, 19 and 29 but in spite of this, when put to the vote the Chairman said the votes were 8 for and 2 against loaning the kit etc. The secretary stated that as a member of the Andover and District Junior Football Management Committee and as Representative to the North Hants F.A. he wished to have nothing what-so-ever to do with the loaning of kit etc, or anything contrary to the Rules mentioned. 

The second item was the question of Pitts Sports and Social Club running a Football Club in the 1964/65 season.  This too was discussed at some length but it was finally agreed to pursue the matter at the next meeting. to be held on Monday, 1st June at the Vicarage.

In that meeting of the 1st June, Mr. Reeves asked Mr. Vaill if it was Pitts Social Club's intention to run a team even if the Village ran only one team and Mr. Vaill said he felt it was irrelevant in view of the chairman's remarks upon whether or not we would run two teams.  It was felt that no decision could be made at this stage whether or not we would run two teams but we would perhaps have a clearer picture when the A.G.M. was held.

The Chairman/Treasurer revealed that the Club made a profit in the region of £60 last season.  It was generally felt that this was an excellent figure especially in view of the fact that we ran two teams and receipts from the 2nd XI games were not all that they could have been.

On Tuesday 28th July '64, the Committee returned to further elections with D.Luff being elected captain unopposed as was W.Blanchard elected V/Captain again unopposed.  S. Ball, C.Ball and F.Morgan were re-elected to the selection committee, and F.Smith, N.Carter and R.Sims were to be asked if they would consent to come onto the same committee. F.Smith was re-elected trainer.

The Secretary was asked to be linesman but he said he would only agree to the same if nobody else would accept the position. The Secretary said that he expected the task of grounds man would rest with him with the assistance of those available. The goal posts would be brought from Longparish to Mr. Nutter's garage where he would effect the necessary repairs.  The erection of same would be done by volunteers. It was agreed to purchase a new set of goal nets after the secretary stated that he had spoken to Toomers of So'ton who had indicated that repair to the old nets was not a good proposition. It was also agreed that a new set of shirts will be bought, the only change in pattern being polo-neck as opposed to 'V' neck and long sleeves instead of short. A new ball would also be bought to start the season.

Insurance would again be with the same company but table 2A at a premium of £22.17.6 would be used as this gave a more comprehensive cover.

Mrs.Warren and Mr. J.Nutter were elected as V/Presidents along with the nine from the previous season, making eleven in all.  

Vice Presidents to read:  Admiral Forster, Mr. Gordon-Clark, Mrs. Anne Smith, Mrs. Parker, Mrs. Talbot, Mr. Bullen-Smith, Comm. Watkins, Mr. Read, Mr. J. Smith, Mrs. Warren and Mr. J. Nutter.

 The question of transport was discussed at great length and it was finally agreed that for a trial period a mini-bus and cars should be used. It was once again agreed that the installation of washing facilities should be completed. The secretary said that the N/Hants F.A. were introducing a senior cup competition and it was hoped in the near future to extend this to a senior league. He also said that the Andover area would consist of two leagues again this season with 13 teams in each division.  Also the league passed two proposals i.e. that the radius for teams be changed from 11 miles to 15 miles and that players' radius should be 15 miles from their clubs, as opposed to 6 miles.  This of course must have Hants F.A. consent before being put into operation in the 1965/66 season.

In the AGM held on 29th June 1965 7.30 p.m. in Village Hall, from the minutes it was asked if an insurance could be effected whereby benefit was payable during the first week of a player's injury?  The secretary said he doubted very much if that could be done, but he would make enquiries.

The statement of accounts was given by the Treasurer.  He emphasised that we would have to do better in the future instead of drawing upon our credit.  Cash at Bank was £6.7.2;  Deposit Account £87.10.0 and cash in hand £8.18.6 making a balance of £102.15.8 as against £180.7.8 the previous season.

The Secretary read his report and went on to say he hoped a Supporters Club could be formed to help the financial side and by so doing also take some of the responsibility off the shoulders of 'the Club as such'. 

Last season's captain, Mr. Dennis Luff then gave his report concluding with the hope that we would have a more successful season in 1965/66.

The Rev. C. Verity was re-elected Treasurer/Chairman as was Mr. L. Reeves as secretary.

The following were re-elected to the General Committee:  R. Simms, F. Morgan, M. Carter, D. Luff, A. Freeman, C. Ball.  The following were elected onto the General Committee:

Mrs. Gray (Prop. S. Ball;  Sec. F. Morgan)

Mr. L. Waters (Prop. Rev. Verity;  Sec. A. Freeman)

Mr. A. Gray (Prop. M. Carter;  Sec. L. Reeves?)

Mrs. Freeman (Prop. Mrs. Gray?; Sec. A. Gray)

Mr. W. Haigh was to be asked to continue as Vice/Chairman.

The selection Committee was re-elected, i.e. R. Simms, F. Morgan, C. Ball, S. Ball, Mr. Reeves and Captain to be present.  Captain and V/Captain to be elected at next General Committee Meeting.  All V/Presidents were re-elected, i.e. Admiral Forster, Mr. Gordon-Clark, Mrs. Anne Smith, Mrs. Parker, Mrs. Talbot, Mr. Bullen-Smith, Mr. Read, Mr. J. Smith, Mrs. Warren and Mr. J. Nutter.  Commander Watkins was omitted as he had left the district.  In addition those elected as V/Presidents were: Mr. Willis, Mr. Dobson, Brig. Sykes, Capt. Wills, Mr. M. Govett and Mrs. Lelasher.

It was agreed to enter the Andover League, Andover League Cup, North Hants and Hants Cups. It was also hoped that we could run two teams and every endeavour would be made to do so.

In the General Committee Meeting Wednesday, 7th July 1965 at the Vicarage the Chairman said that insurance again in the coming season would be in the region of £40, if we ran two teams and felt we should wait as long as possible before the cover was effected in case the second team didn't materialise.

With regard washing facilities, Mike Carter said he would ask Brian Webb if he would assist in the erection of the shelter, the Secretary having pointed out that it was two years since we had permission to go ahead with the project.

Players membership fees would remain at 7/6 and non-playing members 5/-,Match fee (when no tickets) 1/- and Coach fares (when no tickets) 2/-.

Mr. Dennis Luff was re-elected Captain, being proposed by R. Simms and seconded by Mr. S. Ball. Mike Carter was elected V/Captain - proposed R. Simms and seconded Tony Freeman. Frank Smith was re-elected trainer as was the secretary as linesman.  He was also elected grounds man, with assistance from the committee.