Today the area of Whitletts is recognised as a district of the town of Ayr. But this was not always the case. It may be difficult to imagine for today’s generation but as late as the 1940’s Whitletts was a village in its’ own right on the outskirts of the town, built to accommodate the miners who worked in the local pits. Prior to the outbreak of the Second World War, there had been two junior football clubs at various times in the village that were members of the local junior football scene, Whitletts Thistle and Whitletts Celtic. Not a lot is known about these two clubs and their existence was short lived.

As the Second World War entered its’ final throes, and civilian life began to look forward beyond the war, the decision was taken to form a new junior football club and in 1944 Whitletts Victoria was formed. The new club’s first match took place on 12th August 1944 at the Recreation Ground, a 2-2 draw v Ayr Newton Rovers. The following season the Club moved to at King George V Playing Fields before the Club was granted use of an area of ground in Braehead for the annual rent of £15. Supporters worked on this area to build a home for the new club, hence the name given to the ground of Voluntary Park.

The Clubs’ first match at their new home resulting in a stunning win over local rivals Annbank United on 10th August 1949 in front of 2,000 spectators. Following the end of the War, the newly elected Labour Government embarked on a massive house building programme with old properties being demolished and new council houses being built. It was as a result of this massive rebuilding programme that Whitletts lost its’ status as a miner’s village and became part of the town of Ayr, with thousands moving into the new homes from all over the local area, though mainly from Ayr.

The football club’s greatest era came in the mid 1950’s. in 1955/6 season the club reached the semi-finals of the Scottish Junior Cup, losing 3-2 to eventual winners Petershill. At this time, the Western League was formed into two division, North and South, and in 1957/8 Whitletts Victoria were crowned the South Division Champions, being denied the title of Western League Champions following a play-off defeat by Irvine Meadow.

That may have been the golden era for the club to date as thereafter the clubs’ demise was swift, to the point that its’ very existence has been cast in severe doubt on several occasions. Football was a hugely popular sport in the immediate post war years, and such was the popularity of the local senior side, Ayr United FC, that junior football struggled to make an impact. The hotbed of junior football in Ayrshire had been the mining communities but Whitletts was no longer a mining community, it could be viewed that a combination of the popularity of the senior game and Ayr United in particular at this time, along with the loss of identity of the Whitletts community following the influx of new inhabitants to the area who had no previous connection with Whitletts, were predominant factors in Whitletts Victoria FC struggling to achieve a level of support.

This proved not to be a problem just for Whitletts Victoria as in 1957, the town’s own junior football club, Ayr Newton Rovers, closed its’ doors. With John Boyce as the sole committee member, working tirelessly to keep the Club alive, Whitletts withdrew from active participation during season 1972/3 but retained SJFA membership. Whitletts Victoria was back playing in 73-74, and although the situation was no better it struggled on. The following season, 74-75, it closed mid-way through the season. Voluntary Park had been vandalised and interest in the Club was virtually non-existent.

The Club was resurrected by the support of the Scarlett family. Dam Park was secured as a venue for home matches on a temporary basis, whilst on the park the Club had its’ most successful period of sustained success, winning the Ayrshire Second Division Championship on three occasions and the Kyle & Carrick District Cup twice throughout the 1980’s but by the early 1990’s the dark clouds had formed over the Club again and in 1991 the Committee of the day made the decision that it was not worthwhile carrying on. Manager at this time was Bobby Lawrie, a hero of the Partick Thistle side that had won the League Cup in 1971.

He refused to let the Club die and believed that he could turnaround the Clubs’ fortunes. The Club struggled on with a shoe-string budget but after a decade of hard unrewarding work, Lawrie announced that the Club was likely to fold unless assistance was given. Richard Brookes came forward and helped bring some stability to the Club but it continued to struggle in the lower echelons of the Ayrshire Second Division.

Off the park, the Club continued to struggle but against all the odds Whitletts Victoria FC gained promotion to the West Superleague First Division in 2008/9. However, in February 2011, the clubs’ future was again cast into doubt following the closure of Voluntary Park on safety grounds following the actions of the leaseholder of the Ayr Greyhound Stadium as the Voluntary Park was more commonly known as by this time. South Ayrshire Council stepped in to secure the short-term future of the club by agreeing for the Club to play its’ home matches once again at Dam Park.

The choice was stark. Either the Club embrace the opportunities arising from this enforced move or it dies. The latter was not an option and with assistance from the Ayr United fans’ organisation, The Honest Men Trust, reconstituted itself as a Company Limited by Guarantee in February 2012, launching a new membership scheme which gave ownership of the Club to the supporters and the local community at a public meeting in The Thistle Inn on 5th July. A new Board of Directors was elected and immediately plans were put in place to take the club forward.

Whilst progress had been made on and off the park, it was 2018 that proved to be a pivotal year in the clubs history.

In January 2018, George Grierson was appointed manager of the Club with the club near the bottom of the Ayrshire District League. He immediately transformed the side and after a 13-match unbeaten league run, including home and away play-off victories over Maryhill, the Club were promoted to the new West Region Championship. It was also this year that the club formed its’ own charity, Vics in the Community, with the aim to give the children of the area the opportunity to improve their health and wellbeing through playing football whilst giving something back to the North Ayr community.

The Club always had ambition to return ‘home’ to Whitletts. With their former ground at Voluntary Park now a housing development with the street name Victoria Crescent, named after the club, a new site had to be found. A site had long been identified 100 metres from their former Voluntary Park home behind Whitletts Activity Centre and with the support of the local council, Vics in the Community signed a long-term lease to take over the site. The Vics were going home.

Whitletts first match at their New Voluntary Park home was a 3-2 defeat to Drumchapel  United on 4th November 2023, in the quarter final of the Strathclyde Cup.

A full refurbishment of the Clubhouse took place, complete with new changing rooms, first aid facility and a community area and this was opened on 7th November 2025 when Vics defeated Campbeltown Pupils 7-0 to win the Strathclyde Cup – their first trophy for 35 years!

Further re-development of New Voluntary Park is presently taking place, including a new covered accessible area for spectators living with a disability; a new PA system and the completion of a new 100 seater stand as the club strives to become full members of the Scottish FA.

The future’s bright – the future is Red n’ Black!