Often at risk from vandalism from opposing supporters, it would have its windows boarded up for a local derby such as West Ham and Millwall.

In that year Gandhi was in London for three months for talks on the future of India; he was based at Kingsley Hall in Bromley-by-Bow, and was enthusiastically received by East Enders.

[4][5] It is said that Gandhi attended several West Ham games during his stay[6] and visited the Boleyn Tavern, where he drank cream soda while discussing football and radical politics with local people.

[7] Gandhi was a keen football fan, establishing three teams in South Africa,[8] and already had a strong connection to West Ham through his friendship with its founder, Arnold Hills, while living in London completing his law studies in 1888–91.

Gandhi took long early-morning walks during his 1931 stay in London, and often used the nearby Sewerbank (or Greenway) between Stratford and Plaistow.