Dulwich Hamlet Football Club remains a very special memory for me..." says 73-year-old Lincoln Williams as he reflects on his time at Champion Hill fifty-five years later. A name unfamiliar to most Hamlet fans, Williams is believed to be the first Black British player to have represented the Club.

A promising youngster, he joined QPR straight from school, but often limped badly after playing. After tests, a Harley Street specialist concluded that the teenager would 'cripple himself' if he pursued a career playing top class football. That medical verdict preceding his release by the west London club.  

But rivals Charlton Athletic, who had already shown interest in the talented young forward, sought a second medical opinion. This time the advice offered a more positive conclusion. Williams was admitted to hospital and underwent a successful operation to insert metal pins into both his knees and was told by specialists afterwards: "You can play soccer again." Then Addicks manager Eddie Firmani agreed, saying at the time: "Lincoln is the best prospect I've seen for a long time...and he is still only seventy-five per cent fit!" Firmani was confident that the teenager would be pressing for a First Team spot at The Valley with the Division Two club the following season. 

But that potential Football League career wasn't to be and aged 18, the former Charlton colt, found himself instead being offered an opportunity over in East Dulwich by Hamlet boss Peter Gleeson. "I had experienced professional football, but by the summer of 1970, I was eighteen years old and at Dulwich," states Williams. "But I really enjoyed the experience of playing again, in the way that I'd first enjoyed playing as a young schoolboy. The thing I remember most about playing for Hamlet at that time, was the camaraderie – the training was fun. If I remember correctly, I was the only black player, but I didn't experience any unwelcome or racist treatment from either players or fans. A lot of the other Dulwich players also had experience of professional clubs, enduring their own setbacks and disappointments... not quite progressing as they'd hoped. But what we all had in common was a desire to play good football."

After being with the Reserves, Williams got his First Team opportunity on a Monday night in early August with the preseason visit of a Crystal Palace XI. The visitor's starting lineup was effectively their reserve side. By full-time they'd utilised 16 players including five with First Division experience – amongst them £15,000 summer signing Gerry Humphreys. "Palace put out a strong team, in what for them was just a warm-up match before the real season started," recalls Williams. 

By contrast Dulwich had an experimental look about them... some new faces, including Lincoln, coming in alongside old stalwarts. "We beat them two-nil and I scored both goals..." beams Williams now. "I actually scored another goal whilst it was one-nil, but it was disallowed – John Smith, who had previously played for Palace as a Junior, adjudged to have been offside." In fact, Williams had netted the first goal after just thirty seconds, racing in to score with his first touch in First Team football, when 17-year old Palace 'keeper Chris Large could only half stop a powerful shot – John Smith having burst onto Vic Heasman's through ball that had carved the visitors defence wide open. 

Despite making those five second-half substitutions Palace couldn't breach a Hamlet rearguard well-marshalled by Peter Smith and John Crotty, the two defenders backed up by a commanding display from goalkeeper Brian Wakefield. Whilst the referee missed a handling offence by Smith (Peter) in the penalty area, he also ruled out that 68th minute Williams header. But just three minutes later Lincoln, who according to one report, "showed a great knack for being in the right place, at the right time", was on the spot again – sticking a foot out to re-direct Heasman's cross-shot into the net and double the Hamlet lead. It was a surprising but deserved friendly win, with the local press gushing about the prospects for Dulwich's new look side: 'The skill and professionalism of Palace wasn't enough to contain the enthusiasm and sparkle of Dulwich who must be looking forward to a good season.' Lincoln concurs: "That game we showed to ourselves that we could compete with the big boys," he says all these years later. "We all believed we could be in that Palace side ourselves!"  

The Dulwich Hamlet lineup that night was:
Brian Wakefield; Billy Wallace, John Harding, Peter Smith, John Crotty, Tony Slade (c),
John Smith, Dave Hollingdale, Billy Boon
(Mike Hugo), Vic Heasman, Lincoln Williams

Having scored with his first touch against Palace, Williams, by now bristling with confidence, almost repeated the feat when he made his Isthmian League debut at Champion Hill against Clapton on Saturday 15th August. In a new look Hamlet attack described as 'experimental', Williams lined up as a winger alongside established forward Mike Hugo and fellow newcomer Dave Hollingdale – a Southern Amateur League protegee. Lincoln only arrived at the famous old ground minutes before kick-off, following a hectic dash from work. This time it took him just five minutes to make his mark on the game – his first touch, a header, that left the Clapton bar shuddering. Despite missing a host of chances, Hamlet got off to a winning start thanks to Heasman's late goal. One match report concluded that both Williams and Hollingdale had... 'good games and promised enough to suggest they'll become firm favourites at Champion Hill.'

But once again, it wasn't to be. After half a dozen appearances and one Senior goal – he scored in a 2-1 early November defeat at home against Hampton in the Premier Midweek Floodlight League – Lincoln's time with Dulwich Hamlet came to an end. Until recently.

Having lived and worked in Jamaica for many years, he recently returned to the UK and reached out to his old club. "Now I'm back living in the area again, I wanted to reconnect. I'd like to thank Liam Hickey for the positive response I received. That was encouraging and reflected well on the kind of club Hamlet is today, as well as the one I remember so fondly from back then in the early seventies," he confides.

"It was a great bunch of guys. We trained twice a week and played on Saturday's. But in order to be free to play at all, I needed a different job to the one I had with Dales Menswear in Streatham Hill. One of the directors, or perhaps even the owner, ran a cleaning company called OCS and got me a job that enabled me to train in the week and also play on Saturday's. The income paid my rent and also enabled me to recommence my education, passing the exams I needed to access higher education. Looking back now, this period was a critical juncture in my life."  

"All these years later, I like the idea of having a local team I feel connected to. And I'm very happy to be able to share this experience with my son Robert, who also lives locally. He's an Arsenal supporter, but I'll forgive him for that! I'd really like to thank the club for recognising me as a former player. I'm looking forward to watching and supporting the team." 

 So there you have it. Lincoln Williams. A true Hamlet pioneer.

With thanks to Richard Watts and the Dulwich Hamlet FC History GroupThis article originally appeared in Dulwich Hamlet's Match Day Programme on Sat 11^th October 2025.
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