AN online auction based in the Midlands is set to sell some historic memorabilia from two of Southampton's sports teams.

Two Southampton FC programmes, one from 1944/45 season and another from 1945/46 season, along with a 1950's Southampton Saints Speedway jacket are due to go under the hammer in a worldwide auction.

The auction itself starts on November 1, with the hammer finally dropping on November 17.

A man from the Isle of Wight, who wishes to remain anonymous, has put the programmes up for auction as they are duplicates and wants to continue growing his collection.

Matthew Bytheway from Midland Sports Auctions said he is "surprised they have survived" due to the programmes being made of a single sheet of paper, just smaller than A4 in size.

The programmes, which were made during the paper ration of World War 2, were double sided and usually folded into four, with upcoming fixtures being on the reverse of the programme.

In the line up against Brentford was internationally renowned player and former England manger Alf Ramsey along with former manger, and owner, Saints legend Ted Bates. Southampton finished 16th out of 22 teams in the 1945/46 season, which was the only time the league could be played to its completion in war time. During this period, the English League was split into South, West and North divisions, with many players fighting for their country instead of for their club.

Both programmes are listed with a starting bid of just £10 each.

The Southampton Saints Speedway jacket has been in the auctioneer's collection for sometime - the man who left it to be auctioned has now passed away. The jacket comes with some intrigue; the auctioneer is unsure who wore it and what exact year it is from, just the decade. The number 2 on the reverse was usually shared by numerous people in the team, with only the number 1 jacket belonging to the captain and the captain only. Southampton Saints speedway team were founded in 1928 and were one of the founder members of the first speedway league in 1929. The Saints were National League runners up in 1961 and then winners in 1962. The team used to race at Banister Court Stadium which was demolished and replaced by housing in 1963 and the National League ceased to be in 1964. The jacket is set to be listed with a starting price of £150.

The auction will be held on the website www.midlandsportsauctions.co.uk