However much the BBC marketing department might tell you otherwise, the FA Cup Final isn’t and never will be the momentous event it once was. I’m Scottish and while our Cup Final was a big event in each season’s calendar, unlike its English counterpart it really never came close to being a cultural occasion that fascinated an entire nation one Saturday in May each year.

Following a club that battled all the way through to a Wembley Final was a thrilling event in the life of a football supporter and we’re dedicating a couple of Vintage posts this week to some of the joyous photographs taken over the decades of fans enjoying their Wembley day out. All picture rights rest with their owners. Missing credits available on request.

1913 – Sunderland fans on their way to the Final v Aston Villa at Crystal Palace

1923 – West Ham Utd supporters eating before the Cup Final v Bolton Wanderers

1928 – ‘Blacked up’ fans before the Blackburn Rovers v Huddersfield Town Final

1934 – A Portsmouth fan gets in the mood before her team’s Final v Manchester City

1935 – A vocal West Brom fan before the FA Cup Final v Sheffield Wednesday

1936 – Sheffield Utd fans in London

1938 – A lively Preston supporter in Trafalgar Square

1948 – Blackpool supporters drinking on the train to Wembley for the Final v Manchester United

1949 – Leicester City fans young & older before their Final v Wolves

1951 – Newcastle United & Blackpool fans congregate in Trafalgar Square before their Wembley Final

1956 – a trio of Manchester City supporters have a nap in Trafalgar Square before their Final v Birmingham City