Iconic West Ham crest is back at Upton Park as fans rescue, recover and restore the lost emblem after raising money to buy it for £8,750 to keep it in the Hammers’ family

• West Ham fans have paid £8,750 to prise an iconic crest away from its owner 
• The crest was rescued, recovered and restored in Upton Park after installation 
• Mail Sport’s new WhatsApp Channel: Get the breaking news and exclusives here 

Those entering the Bobby Moore Stand at Upton Park used to peer up at their marvellous emblem as they clanked through turnstiles 52 to 56. Now they can marvel at it again, after the old West Ham club crest was rescued, restored and returned to E13.

The 10ft by 8ft crest was feared lost after the demolition of Upton Park in 2016 until, by chance, it was discovered gathering dust in a storage unit in Greenhithe, Dartford, Kent in 2021. It cost £8,750 to prise from its owner, with the money raised by fans who wanted to keep it in the West Ham family amid interest from an overseas buyer.

It will now adorn the side of the old Supporters’ Club in Castle Street — currently occupied by UK Fitness Club and opposite where the Bobby Moore Stand once stood — after an additional cost of £164 for planning permission and £1,860 for installation.

Beneath the badge will be a plaque which reads: ‘The Boleyn Ground may be gone but this generation will never forget and future generations will always know that this was once the beloved home of West Ham United.’

An official unveiling is set for noon tomorrow before West Ham take on Sheffield United at their new home, the London Stadium. Supporters are being invited to come and indulge in some nostalgia if they can navigate their way there amid the train strike.

West Ham fans haven raised and paid £8,750 to prise the iconic crest away from its owner

After an additional cost of £164 for planning permission and £1,860 for installation, it will now adorn the side of the old Supporters’ Club in Castle Street

An official unveiling is set for 12pm tomorrow before West Ham take on Sheffield United at their new home 

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Tony Carr — West Ham’s former academy director who helped Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard, Declan Rice and many more find their feet in football — will be among those present.

Supporters’ group Hammers United, who boast a 20,000 membership, led the fight to reclaim the crest, but their chair Paul Colborne stresses this was only achieved by the fanbase coming together as one. It took countless volunteers, not least Sean Burke, who restored the badge to its former glory without charge at his workshop.

‘It was the West Ham fans who put their hands in their pockets and made this happen,’ says Colborne, a Hammers supporter of more than 50 years who used to have a season ticket in the Bobby Moore Stand.

‘Many gave their services and time. Sean and his team fully refurbished the crest. Garry Hutchinson processed planning applications. Ben and Jason of Durrant Removals collected it. Sanjai Patel initially stored it and Steve Lowley has produced commemorative T-shirts. All in their own time and free of charge.

‘We have to thank the WHU Supporters’ Club for their support, too. And, of course, none of it would have happened but for Terry Jewell and a chance encounter on a cruise!’

That is how the crest was discovered. As Colborne explains, Jewell made a friend on that cruise and was later invited to come and see what they had in storage. How it came into this person’s ownership instead of the club’s is not known.

‘We wrote to the club explaining an important part of West Ham had been found and asked did they want it? We hoped they would buy it,’ Colborne says. ‘They replied saying it wasn’t possible. So the fans raised the money instead.

‘Now, it’s going to stand about 40 yards from where it originally was. You could fall out of the Supporters’ Club and straight into the turnstiles of Upton Park, that’s how close it now is to its spiritual home. We must look to the future now, but also never forget our past.’

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