A Club History

An early problem faced by the club was finding a suitable ground so, in their first season as members of the Southern Essex Combination, in 1969/70, home matches were played at Corringham Recreation Ground. The manager in that initial season was Brian Fayers, a key figure in the formation of the club. He guided the Rocks to third place and the following season they moved up to the intermediate section of the old Greater London League.

Now playing at the Billet in Stanford-Le-Hope, the Rocks enjoyed much success. In successive seasons the side won Division Two then Division One of the League, prompting an application to the Essex FA for senior status. In order to achieve this, the club moved in with nearby Grays Athletic and it was admitted to the Senior Division Two of the Metropolitan London League. East Thurrock gained its third championship in a row and won promotion to the Premier Division. However, fortunes then took a turn for the worse, and a ten year period of struggle began.
During this time various managers came and went, followed by several of the founding fathers. This period also brought ground problems and East Thurrock shared with Tilbury and Grays, again, to mention but a few. Then, finally, with the help of the FA, Thurrock Council and brewers Greene King, the club found a new home at Rookery Hill.

In 1985/86, and for the following two seasons, East Thurrock United finished in a very commendable fifth in the Essex Senior League but managed to achieve an even more impressive second place in 1988/89 when the team also went onto win the League Cup, it's first ever Senior trophy.

In 1982 the League Cup was back at Rookery Hill and the team reached the final of the Essex Senior cup. In also achieving second place in the league, an application was put in to join the Isthmian League and East Thurrock became members of Division Three for the following season.

After seven up and down seasons in the basement division, and after a slow start to the 1999/2000 campaign, the Rocks went on to take the title and earned promotion to Division Two. At the start of the 2002/03 season the Ryman League was restructured and the Rocks were placed in Division One North.

In the following season the Rocks finished third in the Premier Division, again qualifying for the play-offs. This time in the semi-finals they beat Tonbridge Angels 2–0 and in the final beat Dulwich Hamlet 3–1. The final saw a record crowd of 1,661, witnessing promotion to the National League South. East Thurrock remained in the sixth tier for three seasons. The club finished second-from-bottom of the National League South in 2018–19, and were relegated back to the Isthmian League's Premier Division for the 2019/2020 season.