For the next year or so nothing much happened and the SDS basically existed in name only. The organisation needed a kick-start so with some help from Elaine Jowett and Derek Newiss a meeting of interested parties was organised after the away game at Kettering on March 7th 1995 during which the first committee was voted in. Four months later the first (and to this date, only!) AGM was held at the Wenlock Arms in North London.
The above meetings helped formulate a structure that could take the SDS forward. A newsletter produced by Ripley-based Richard Wood helped keep members informed about events at the Shay. To cover the cost of the newsletter the membership subscription was increased to £3.50. October 1995 saw the SDS make its first financial contribution to Halifax Town, the £45 sponsorship of Darren Heyes’ boots. Due to increased work commitments Richard Wood was unable to carry on producing the SDS Newsletter and the baton was passed on to Simon Denton. The first Welwyn Garden City produced newsletter (SDS5) rolled off the press in July 1996. The basic membership subscription increased to "œ"4 and with the help of this increased funding Mick Norbury’s shirt, socks, shorts and training kit were sponsored, as was the match ball for the game against Bath City on February 15th 1997. A defining moment in more ways than one! At the end of the 1996/1997 season Andy Woods was the proud recipient of the first SDS player of the season award.
The 1997/1998 season, for obvious reasons, saw interest in the SDS increase significantly! By the end of that most memorable season membership had doubled to more than eighty. In early May 1998, after the Welling game, Brian Byles organised an end of season celebration at the Shipwrights Arms that is still talked about to this day.
For the 1998/1999 season the basic membership subscription was increased to £6. Having already had a makeover in the summer the newsletter underwent an even more radical transformation in October 1998 and was re-born as the SDS fanzine. In February 1999 as well as being sent to members, the fanzine also went on general sale at the Shay. The increased revenue the fanzine was now generating, along with the regular income from the SDS Lottery Syndicate meant that the SDS could pay for a party of 20 to attend the Match Sponsorship of the game against Leyton Orient.
The start of the 1999/2000 season saw the basic membership subscription increase to £8, a rate that is still applicable today. Fanzine sales continued to do well and the increased exposure helped push the membership to over 100.
For the start of the 2000/2001 season the fanzine was increased to 28 pages, at no extra cost, and improvements were made to many sections including ‘Away With The Shaymen’ which now included detailed travel information to supplement the well used Beer Guides. With the Shaymen now not doing as well on the pitch the membership rate stabilised at just over 100. Fanzine sales, though, continued to do well with each publication having a circulation of around 250.
A similar story really for the 2001/2002 season. It was difficult to maintain the enthusiasm with there being little to excite both on and off the pitch. Pleasingly, though, both membership numbers and fanzine sales held steady which helped enable the SDS to pay for ISDN equipment so that live commentaries could be broadcast on the official website.
Moving on to 2002/2003 season and we found ourselves back in the Conference. Given the trials and tribulations of the summer when the club came periloiusly close to going out of existance we were more than happy to still have a club to support, regardless of league status. Although crowds dipped, SDS membership remained constant and fanzine sales actually showed a slight increase. At the start of the season we introduced the SDS badge collection which went from strength to strength with over £500 worth of badges being sold over the season. Unfortunately, the live match commentaries were short lived as the ISDN equipment 'mysteriously' disappeared just prior to the start of the season. We still live in hope that one day the guilty party may have a crisis of conscience!
2003/2004 was a bit disappointing on the pitch, but the SDS continued to prosper. We introduced the SDS Goal-O-Meter in both the club programme and the fanzine which raised a valuable £1,500 for the club and helped increase the total we handed over for the season to £2,500. Fanzine sales continued to grow and the re-tendering of the printing meant that we could economically increase the print run to meet this demand.
So what next? Well, we anticipate the fanzine to continue to be the mainstay of the organisation but we also have a number of new initiatives that we are looking to launch to work alongside the SDS Badges and the SDS Lottery Syndicate. In 2004-05 we also launched our own range of keyrings and fridge magnets, not forgetting this website! On the social side we are always looking for opportunities to organise events but the sheer geographical spread of members makes this difficult. Members generally get together by following ‘Brian and Ryk’s Beer Trail’ before each away match, which has taken us to many interesting places! Prior to home matches the SDS regulars tend to meet at ‘Shaymen’s Corner’ in the Pump Room at the bottom of New Road.
You don't have to be 'Down South' or even away from Halifax to become a member or subscribe to the fanzine! To join the SDS or get a subscription to the fanzine, simply download and print our membership application form and send it to the usual SDS contact address.
In the meantime, have a look around, peruse back issues of the fanzine, and most importantly, support our fundraising efforts - Shaymen Down South contributed over £2,500 to Halifax Town last season and without the continued support of fans, both members and non-members of the SDS, this would not be possible. If you have any comments or suggestions for improvements to the site, please get in touch with the webmaster.