About The Biscuitmen

'Without doubt, Reading FC are the finest foreign team seen in Italy' wrote Italian newspaper 'Corriere della Sera'. Ok, so that may have been written in 1913, but I'd settle for that! Reading Football Club may not have the glittering past of some teams, but as the oldest league club in the south of England there is plenty of history and this site aims to show some of it.

I grew up in Tilehurst a couple of miles from the old ground at Elm Park and started supporting Reading fifty years ago. My interest in the club's past was sparked when I received David Downs' superb book 'Biscuits and Royals' as a gift in 1984, and after finding some old postcards and cigarette cards featuring Reading I was hooked!

Apart from cards I collect old papers, magazines, medals, supplements, fixture lists, scrapbooks, player and team photos etc. The collection covers all eras, though I find the vintage stuff far more appealing than anything new.

The team were commonly called 'The Biscuitmen' due to the former Huntley and Palmers factory, which for many years was the town's main employer, though they were also variously referred to as the 'Biscuit Boys', 'The Biscuiteers' and 'The Biscuit Makers'. I've even seen the club's management described as the 'Biscuitopolis Executive'! When the factory closed in the mid-70s the local paper ran a poll to come up with a new nickname, with the most popular suggestion being 'The Royals'.

All items pictured are from my own collection.