Called up --to one of football’s top teams

ReaDIng the article about John Sillett (Mail) and the amazing Chelsea 6-5 win against newcastle in 1958 brought back very happy, enjoyable memories. From 1955 to 1957 I was doing my national Service at Hendon aerodrome, during which time a young man, Peter Brabrook, arrived. He was a footballer and played at Chelsea. The Manager (the famous Ted Drake) had told him he wasn’t training hard enough and he had to go to Stamford Bridge twice a week for extra training! Peter told me this, and asked if I’d like to go with him. I took about one tenth of a second to reply! For weeks we trained at the Chelsea ground in the evenings — we were busy on raF duties during the daytime. The juniors played on half the pitch, and these included a youngster called Jimmy greaves — who became a Spurs and england legend. Peter introduced me to a number of the Chelsea players, and I’ll never forget when he introduced me to John Sillett. Peter said: ‘This is John Sillett, you will have heard of his brother Peter who plays for england.’ John shook my hand and said: ‘I will never be as good as Peter’ — an amazing response as John did later play for england, and was manager at Coventry City (where I used to go in later life), winning the Fa Cup! We had to stop going to Stamford Bridge in late october 1956 as it was too dark in the evenings to practise; amazingly there were no floodlights back then!

tony horricks, Sutton-in-Craven, n. Yorks.