early years
west kent Sunday league
West Kent Sunday League
1978-1995
In 1978 Peter Rae, the then landlord of the Blue Anchor pub in Platt started a Sunday morning side. This side joined the West Kent Sunday League and went on to win the Division 6 West championship and come runners-up in the Junior Cup Final to Edenbridge ECHO.
1978-79
| WKSL Div 6 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Anchor | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 118 | 30 | 40 |
| ECHO | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 96 | 34 | 35 |
| Acorns | 22 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 104 | 50 | 33 |
| St. Lawrence | 22 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 115 | 65 | 31 |
| Black Boy | 22 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 61 | 45 | 25 |
| Six in One Res | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 83 | 66 | 24 |
| Kemsing Utd | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 51 | 54 | 18 |
| Fircroft T.A. | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 67 | 88 | 18 |
| Chipstead Colt Res | 22 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 48 | 71 | 17 |
| Molescroft Utd Res | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 53 | 109 | 13 |
| Tonbridge PO | 22 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 41 | 90 | 8 |
| Penshust Park | 22 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 20 | 155 | 2 |
During their first season, they scored over 130 goals, 80 of which were credited to the potent pairing of Trevor Whiffen and Merv Broad.
Having conceded their first goal in the 1979 Kent Junior Cup at the semi-final stage they eventually won through to the final by defeating Windmill by three goals to two thanks to goals from Trevor Whiffen (2) and Peter Palmer.
Having already beaten their cup final opponents twice in the league, Blue Anchor arrived at the Culverden Stadium, Tunbridge Wells in confident mood. However, after a close and tense final, in which captain Bob Webb had the ball in the Edenbridge net on no fewer than three occasions, but were all ruled out, they were finally undone by two extra-time goals from the Edenbridge striker Dixie Dean.
Blue Anchor gained their second promotion during the 1983-84 season, when they finished Runners-Up in Division 5 by one point to Stanhope Arms.
1983-84
| WKSL Div 5 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanhope Arms | 20 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 74 | 22 | 33 |
| Blue Anchor | 20 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 76 | 33 | 32 |
| Evergreens | 20 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 69 | 25 | 29 |
| Anchor | 20 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 54 | 29 | 23 |
| Eagles | 20 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 59 | 41 | 23 |
| Lord Cornwallis Res | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 32 | 43 | 18 |
| Tonbridge Rangers | 20 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 46 | 45 | 18 |
| Grapevine | 20 | 4 | 7 | 9 | 34 | 44 | 15 |
| Crowborough Cross | 20 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 41 | 61 | 14 |
| Capel Res | 20 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 24 | 96 | 10 |
| Paddock Wood Res | 20 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 31 | 101 | 4 |
For the start of the 1984-85 season, Blue Anchor changed their name to Platt Invicta and had arguably their finest ever team, narrowly missing out in the Kent Junior Trophy to Sittingbourne based side Woodcombe.
They did however dominate for the next three seasons in the West Kent Sunday League, which saw Gus Broad lead his team to a hat-trick of championships;
1984-85
| WKSL Div 4 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platt Invicta | 22 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 100 | 19 | 40 |
| Kent Police | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 111 | 38 | 35 |
| Stanhope Arms | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 68 | 49 | 27 |
| The George Res | 22 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 60 | 44 | 27 |
| St. Thomas | 22 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 62 | 51 | 26 |
| Darent Invicta | 22 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 66 | 57 | 22 |
| Evergreens | 22 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 47 | 48 | 21 |
| Oak Athletic | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 38 | 72 | 17 |
| Bristol Arms Res | 22 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 44 | 60 | 15 |
| Beacon Res | 22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 56 | 92 | 15 |
| Windmill | 22 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 48 | 107 | 10 |
| Red Lion | 22 | 4 | 2 | 16 | 30 | 91 | 10 |
1985-86
| WKSL Div 3 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platt Invicta | 20 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 98 | 19 | 36 |
| Pembury Rovers | 20 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 70 | 19 | 32 |
| Charcott | 20 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 68 | 33 | 26 |
| Southboro' Mens Cl. | 20 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 53 | 40 | 26 |
| Gardeners Arms | 20 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 56 | 35 | 23 |
| Langton Green | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 47 | 56 | 20 |
| Jarvis Brook | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 49 | 58 | 18 |
| Crockham Hill | 20 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 51 | 53 | 15 |
| Edenbridge Res | 20 | 6 | 2 | 12 | 47 | 46 | 14 |
| Sherwood Res | 20 | 4 | 1 | 15 | 24 | 106 | 9 |
| Rusthall Sunday | 20 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 20 | 118 | 1 |
1986-87
| WKSL Div 2 | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platt Invicta | 20 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 96 | 20 | 36 |
| Goudhurst | 20 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 63 | 33 | 32 |
| Edenbridge Utd | 20 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 73 | 32 | 27 |
| Pembury Rovers | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 61 | 40 | 22 |
| Beacon Rovers | 20 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 64 | 56 | 22 |
| Ramslye | 20 | 9 | 2 | 9 | 46 | 55 | 20 |
| Artois Res | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 64 | 51 | 18 |
| Charcott | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 49 | 78 | 15 |
| Chart Athletic | 20 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 42 | 78 | 12 |
| Hop Pocket | 20 | 5 | 2 | 13 | 43 | 88 | 12 |
| Southboro’ Mens Cl. | 20 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 37 | 101 | 6 |
Platt Invicta's combined league statistics over the previous three seasons is quite remarkable;
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platt Invicta | 62 | 53 | 6 | 3 | 294 | 58 | 112 |
Due to Platt Invicta's numerous cup runs to the latter stages however, this was to have a detrimental effect on any chance of securing the coveted Division 1 title. Having to play several mid-week league games, which was unheard of at the time in Sunday League football, they eventually fell short and finished third in the top flight behind eventual winners Artois and runners-up Rose & Crown (Crowborough).
Above is one of the last known photos taken of Platt Invicta, prior to their match against Holland Sports. Platt Invicta stopped playing at the end of the 1995 season, having proved they could compete with the very best in the West Kent Sunday League with notable victories over Artois, Rose & Crown, Holland Sports, Goudhurst and The George and whilst never lifting the Kent Cup, they took pride in taking Gravesend side The Sun's five year unbeaten record to progress to the quarter-final.
To view a selection of some of the newspaper reports during this successful period click here.