England superfan recalls alls memories from 1966 win
An England superfan from Maidstone who witnessed the Three Lions winning the World Cup 52 years ago has recalled his memories from 1966.
Bryan Douglas, 79, bought tickets to every game of the campaign with a group of friends, though couldn’t attend the first three following the birth of his daughter, Charlotte, at the end of June that year.
The grandfather-of-four, who lived in Palmar Road at the time, paid just 10 shillings for his ticket to the final against West Germany, where Geoff Hurst scored a famous hat-trick in front of a packed crowd at Wembley in a famous 4-2 triumph.
He said: “Tickets were a lot easier to get in those days, and there were actually concerns it was going to be a financial flop.
“We were all confident we were going to win, even when the Germans equalised.
“We were at the end where the controversial Hurst goal was scored and we always thought it was over the line.
“If you look at the film, Roger Hunt made no attempt to play the ball after, he was wheeling away to celebrate the goal, and he was an honest player.”
More than half a century on, Mr Douglas, who now lives in How- ard Drive with his wife Betty, has still kept memorabilia from the day, including his ticket stubs from each round of the tournament, his programme from the final and various newspaper cuttings from after the win.
“I didn’t retain it all to sell, and I haven’t got any plans to sell them at all.
“I don’t really know why I kept them, but it brings back a lot of tremendous memories,” he said.
“It was a great day and after the match we went to a local pub along Wembley Way and heard a sudden roar when the team coach came down - everyone was in the road celebrating.”
England have captured the hearts of supporters up and down the nation in Russia this summer, having defied expectations to turn in the country’s best performance in a World Cup in decades.
At the heart of a lot of that positivity has been boss Gareth Southgate, who has grown in the popularity stakes with his composed, modest approach to management, and his penchant for waistcoats.
Mr Douglas says the game has changed dramatically since 1966, but is full of praise for Southgate’s efforts.
“You have to remember in those days the World Cup was not as huge as it is today, we hadn’t entered for a number of years and hadn’t performed very well,” he said.
“Without a doubt there’s more pressure today, not just in professional sport but in every walk of life.
“This team has done well in controlling expectations and it’s been great to see people rallying around them.”