It was reformed in 1941 and quickly entered its most successful period, earning recognition from the national press as Nottinghamshire's leading amateur team by the mid-1950s.

[2] Its works football team was founded as Gedling in 1919, the same year as the amateur Notts Alliance League reformed after World War I.

[20][21] Although hampered by poor form and a lack of reputation, the Nottingham Evening Post wrote that the club was "serving up good football" and that its officials were optimistic.

[27] In a bid to increase production amid World War II, the mine revived the club as Gedling Colliery in October 1941 and saw it enter Division One of the Notts Wartime League in 1942–43.

[34] Gedling then won a tie-breaker replay 2–1 at the City Ground, beating a Newton team that included Poland international Gerard Wodarz to claim the title.

[3][37] The following season, the club transferred to Division One of the Notts Alliance League and, under chairman-trainer George Lavender,[38] topped it on seven occasions (1949–50, 1950–51, 1951–52, 1953–54, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58).

[49] Pegasus won 6–1; sportswriter Alan Hoby noted that "it was 'massacre' but, for fifteen glorious minutes, the miners' grit matched the skill of amateur soccer's top team".

[53] The team set and matched a club record when they reached the second qualifying round in both 1949–50 and 1954–55, losing 5–2 and 3–2 to Spalding United and Gresley Rovers, respectively.

[54][55] In a "vast improvement" according to Nottingham's Football Post, the club finished fifth in the Senior Division of the Notts Alliance in 1966–67.

[57] The club narrowly avoided relegation in 1973–74 under manager Walter Kirk before showing signs of improvement in 1975–76 and 1976–77, the latter under player-manager Mike Connelly.

[58][59] While consistently placing mid-table in the league, the team were beaten finalists in both the 1978–79 and 1980–81 Notts Alliance Cup tournaments, falling to Hucknall Colliery Welfare and Worthington Simpsons, respectively.

However, under manager Vic Hulme, the team won the league's title and Intermediate Cup at the end of the subsequent campaign.

Faced with a dwindling committee and concerns over its future, the club left the Notts Alliance to join the Central Midlands Football League (CML) Premier Division.

[3][76] After finishing fourth in its first campaign, Gedling surpassed its own expectations by being promoted to the CML Supreme Division at the tenth level of the English football league system.

[71] Gedling was a founder member of the tenth-tier East Midlands Counties Football League (EMCFL) and its sole Premier Division, transferring to it for 2008–09.

[71][88] The EMCFL subsequently folded and so the club transferred to the United Counties League (UCL) Division One, also at level ten.

In his first season, Wiggins-Thomas led Gedling to the first round proper of the FA Vase, again matching the club record ahead of a 2–1 loss to Loughborough University.

[71][91] Gedling implemented yellow and blue as the club's main colours in 1947 and continues to adopt these for its home kits.

[93][101] In the UCL, Gedling has considered matches against Clifton All Whites,[102] Radford and Hucknall Town (formerly Colliery Welfare) to constitute local rivalries.

[109] Costing £350, it opened in September and was praised by colliery management as an "instance of the directors' practical interest in [miners'] welfare".

The Newark Advertiser commented in 1927 that "the ground was against good shooting – the grass being uncut", while, in 1931, the team caused controversy by playing a match there despite the referee deeming it unfit in a spell of bad weather.

[112] By September 1932, St. Jude's had moved to a pitch at Thorneywood Lane in Mapperley;[21][113] this venue was leased by the club until its final campaign in 1934–35.

[117][118] Before Gedling's 1954 FA Amateur Cup tie against Pegasus, the News Chronicle wrote that Plains Road had "an excellent playing pitch and ample dressing accommodation".

[38][120] Police set a crowd limit of 10,500, although the club record figure realised was around 7,000 owing to cold weather.

[125] Former England forward Norman Creek opined in 1957 that Plains Road had dressing rooms and other facilities that "even some professional clubs would envy".

[29] Meanwhile, snow and frozen earth continued to compromise the playing surface, and in 1959 referee Reg Leafe postponed Gedling's Amateur Cup tie against Hallam twice in one week.