Young football champs of the 1950s
THE article by Clive Corbett in the Bugle edition of December 5 certainly brought back memories for me, of football matches played on the pitches at Wordsley Park.
Invariably it was wet or windy and quite often both, and the slope on each pitch became more pronounced the further away it was from the road, so if we were unlucky enough to be playing on the “top” one by the field it felt like Mount Everest.
Corrugated hut
My experience of the Wordsley Park pitches was as a schoolboy at Brierley Hill Grammar School and later in the Brierley Hill Youth League playing for Wall Heath Youth Club.
I certainly recall the outline of the corrugated hut in the background of the Richard, Thomas and Baldwin’s youth team, although by the time of my appearing there the tin bath had disappeared, with the only washing facilities available those provided by an outside tap.
I believe that the Youth team referred to by Clive competed in the Brierley Hill Youth League.
A sports ground was developed on site at the RTB factory in Brockmoor, although this was swallowed up by factory expansion in the late 1950s and games were then played at The Mile Flat ground in Wall Heath, with the RTB teams then made up of workers from the works at both Brockmoor and Swindon.
Saturday mornings
By the time that I was employed at Richard, Thomas and Baldwin’s, the Youth team played under the banner of RTB Apprentices (Midlands Section) and com-
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-peted in The Birmingham Works League Welfare Section.
Mile Flat
This was for players under the age of eighteen with matches being played on Saturday mornings. What superb facilities we were able to enjoy at such giants of industry including Accles and Pollock, BSA, Vono, GEC, Rover, Austin and Lucas.
Of all the grounds I have always maintained that the ground at The Mile Flat had the best drainage of the lot. Sadly not only have those grounds disappeared but the industrial might that financed them has also gone. Incidentally the Mile Flat ground is still used.
Luxury
On occasions we would travel to away games in the luxury of Payne’s Coaches of Brockmoor, but more often than not we would travel on the back of one of Payne’s lorries with a workmen’s hut placed on the body, with the seating being planks supported at either end by a bucket. Oh dear health and safety would have had a field day!
Anyway back to the football – and I am able to supply photographs of the apprentices teams for three successive years. The earlier and later ones were supplied to me by John Foxall with the 195960 picture being my own copy. John’s connection with his two photographs is that his brother Ray was captain of the 1958-59 team and by 1960-61 John had become captain, also appearing in the 1959-60 team.
Names
The names of the lads of 1958-59 are, from left in the back row: Jeff Salt, Malcolm Ross, John Dunn, Bob Dunn, Fred Harris, Brian Harper, Arthur Hamill (trainer).
Front row: Jim Andrews, Alan Westwood, Ray Foxall, John Stanier, Trevor Cook and John Foxall.
The 1959-60 team lined up, from left in the back row: Malcolm Ross, Terry Church, Brian Harper, Robin Jackson, Malcom Wells, Trevor Cook.
Front row: Michael Pargeter, Malcolm Mills, Noel Boddison, John Keith Boddison.
The final picture shows Foxall, a jubilant captain, John Foxall, being held aloft, holding the trophy the side had just won. I am unable to supply all the names but the ones that I can identify are, from left to right: Paul Cuneen, Major Horton, Tom Bunce, ?, ?, John Badger, Brian Harper, Malcolm Foley, ?, and Peter Davies.