With Arsenal set to leave Woolwich and move into their new ground at Highbury in 1913, debate raged as to whether we would keep the cannons on our crest or rebrand ourselves entirely. The Club soon became just ‘Arsenal’ as opposed to 'The Royal Arsenal' which indicated that although we were no longer the works side for those connected to the armaments industry we still wanted to keep our historical connection to the area alive.
The Great War affected football for four seasons and recommencing in 1919/20 ‘normal’ football took some time to settle. During this period there was no sign of a crest, however in the first matchday programme of the 1922/23 season, when the Gunners played Burnley, a new club crest was revealed, adorned with the cannon once more (the single cannon replaced the three cannon crest of the previous decade) that was a proud nod to those who had served in the Royal Arsenal of Woolwich.
The history of the narrower cannon has never been officially confirmed, but the cannons on the crest of the Royal Arsenal Gatehouse in Woolwich are uncannily similar to that used as the Gunners’ symbol. This cannon crest remained prominent in the Arsenal matchday programme and other publications for 17 seasons.
Tune in to tomorrow's edition of 'Badge of Honour' where we look at how our famous motto 'Victoria Concordia Crescit' came to be.
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