Temple Fortune's very first match at Bethune Park was a MSFL Premier Division fixture against Athletico Neasden on Sunday 26th September 1982.

Athletico won 6-2 on a rainy day. The dressing rooms couldn't be used at the time following a fire a few months earlier, and were in the process of being refurbished.

After playing home matches at West Hendon Playing Fields for five seasons (a Grade C pitch between 1977 to 1982), the Club were finally allocated a Grade A pitch by Barnet Council at Bethune Park, the top parks rating at the time and first played there in September 1982. Fortune’s pitch was located within a fenced-off athletics track and was one of the best in the Borough.

Whilst Temple Fortune were competing in the top two divisions of the MSFL, the league fixture coinciding with the nearest date to each anniversary of that inaugural match at Bethune - usually the opening Sunday of the new season tere - was used to draw up a list of 'winners' for the Bethune Park Anniversary Trophy, shortened to BEPAT.

This continued for several years, with the major exception prior to 1991 being the 1985/86 season (notably Temple Fortune's most successful campaign up to then when the First Team won the Second Division championship.) For that particular season, because the Club had dropped into Division 2, it was felt that most of the opposition were really unsuitable to place alongside Premier Division teams like Athletico Neasden or Huntsman for the right to be listed as BEPAT participants!

This ruled out Son of Neasden, a poor struggling team who were Fortune's opponents on the appropriate 'anniversary' Sunday at Bethune Park. Who would want that silly name engraved onto the Trophy if they actually they won?! Instead, Temple Fortune played JLGB of the First Division, who as 'holders' were considered suitable opponents for a friendly match later on durting the season! The fact that JLGB won 3-2, whilst Son of Neasden had been soundly thrashed tas expected on the real anniversary day, did not matter!

Again, in 1990/91, Temple Fortune were relegated from the Premier Division and, having folded their Second XI at the end of that particular season, opted to drop straight into Division 2. Due to the instant demotion of two divisions, the BEPAT concept had lost its way somewhat.

Temple Fortune's first opponents at Bethune Park in both the 1991/92 and 1992/93 seasons were Marshside 'B' and AC Victoria 'B' respectively. Not wanting 2nd teams to really be involved - possibly seen as another case of 'devaluing' the event - the Club did not count these Second Division matches. Towards the end of the 1991/92 season, with a vacant date available, Fortune played Mantox United in an invitation friendly as the Anniversary Trophy match.

No such game was played during the 1992/93 season, but Temple Fortune's Silver Anniversary commemorative match against the Old Boys Team (under the guise of Old Fortunians) in September 1992 seemed to be the perfect fixture to keep the BEPAT sequence going. It was also staged on the corresponding anniversary Sunday so very apt for the occasion, although Old Fortunians sprung a surprise by winning 5-2!

The 1994 encounter involved Bar Kochba - incidentally for the second time - who, as co-inhabitants of Bethune Park, were the ideal opponents for Temple Fortune to keep the series going. Alan Greenberg, Bar Kochba's team secretary, suggested that the teams met for a trophy and the idea did not fall on deaf ears! Despite deviating away from the original meaning of the Anniversary game, Temple Fortune were pleased to take the opportunity to continue the BEPAT series by playing pitch co-sharers Bar Kochba. Both clubs contributed towards the cost of the silver trophy (shown below).

The two teams shared six goals and for the first time a penalty shoot-out was used to decide the winners, which was Temple Fortune by a score of 4-3.

For the remaining three BEPAT fixtures, Fortune used inter-club games, presumably being the nearest corresponding day to the anniversary date. The Firsts played the Old Boys twice and a TF Select XI in between, winning all three. The final game for the BEPAT was played on Sunday 29th September 1996, 14 years after the very first Temple Fortune match held at Bethune Park. The Firsts beat the Old Boys on penalties after a 4-4 draw.

Unfortunately, Council cutbacks in subsequent years meant that the pitch no longer received the care first given to it and it gradually worsened. With the cutbacks came the scrapping of the grading system and sadly the Club’s formerly excellent Bethune Park pitch became an inadequately undersized paddy-field.

Problems continued at Bethune Park which was now being used by the newly-revived Second Team after the First Team had been allocated Childs Hill Park in 1997. Vandalism of the dressing rooms resulted in the Club finally leaving the Friern Barnet-based pitch after 15 years midway through the 1997/98 season.

The Old Boys game against a MSFL Referees XI in late December 1997 (drawn 2-2) was the Club’s final home match at Bethune Park.

THE BETHUNE PARK ANNIVERSARY TROPHY SERIES