Can you help? Comment here…
We hope to publish as much info as we can on The Avenue, so we’d love to receive any of the following:
- Photos of the ground, the players and the matches.
- Scans of old programmes, newspaper articles, history books and other memorabilia.
- Information on former Avenue players.
- Your memories of supporting The Avenue.
Please email walthamstow.avenue@gmail.com or leave a comment here if you can help.
Thanks.
The History of Walthamstow Avenue F.C. 1900-1988 
May 20, 2009 at 12:50 pm |
would you be interested in team pic of the Walthamstow Avenue Colts taken on the pitch approx 1982/83.
let me know I will send it to you .
May 20, 2009 at 1:13 pm |
Yes please Richard. Many thanks.
June 2, 2009 at 4:07 pm |
I have just diiscovered your web site, and it has brought back many memories. For I supported the “As” from a boy until I moved away from Walthamstow some 50 years ago. My father Sidney Harper was connected with the Reserve team for many years.
I have included some names of players oher than those already on your web site:
B. Pinner, A. Robson, A. Hawkins (goalkeepers), R. Wight, G. Burchall, F. Lamprell, J. W. Lewis, E. Childs, A. Andrews, D. Andrews (now Chairman of Dagenham and Redbridge F.C.), S. Green, Bunny Groves, B. Oliver, K. Facey, T. Bailey (England Test cricket player), D. Insole (Essex cricketer), and ‘Curly’ (groundsman). I hope these are of interest and use to you.
On a personal nature I can well remember either on Christmas Days or Boxing Days watching the local derbies against Leytonestone. I was also at the ground when the team arrived back from Manchester after their draw therein the FA Cup which was a remarkable occasion, and also at the Arsenal to see the replay. I now watch with interest the results of Dagenham and Redbridge.
Hope this information is of interest
June 9, 2009 at 4:31 pm |
I first started going to see the A’s about 1956. My memories of then are hazy as I was only 6 years old! All sorts of recollections come tumbling in and not in any particular order either. I was privileged to be at White City to see the A’s win the FA Amateur cup semi final against (I think) Hitchin. I then remember very well getting a special train from Blackhorse Road station to Wembley on Amateur Cup Final day. It rained most of the day but The game was close, with Don Saggers getting injured but having to hobble around as there were no subs in those days. I think the A’s won 2-1 against West Auckland. The team was Gary McGuire in goal, possibly Edwards and ? at full backs, Andrews, Saggers and Prince half backs, Minall, Lewis, Groves, and I forget the others up front. There were great celebrations in Walthamstow afterwards. I always stood behind the goal at the Priory Court end hail rain or shine. Other players I recall, Dennis Wells a big goalkeeper, Terry Kean? who got his ankle broken in a game against Dulwich Hamlet. I have an autograph book somewhere with some of the team’s autographs. I remember Jim Lewis’ father having a sports shop in Forest Road, near to the junction of Palmerston Rd. I distinctly remember that amateur football lost out badly when the 1962 World Cup was televised as people then got bored with inferior quality games.
I also remember a group of guys ( I can see them clearly in my memory) who supported the A’s. There were two younger guys, one of whom was about 16 stone and an older man possibly their father. Their standard insult to the linesman or referee who gave a questionable decision was “you black enamel git” !
Look forward to reading some more memories
June 10, 2009 at 1:04 am |
I used to sell programmes and peanuts at the Avenue in the late 50s and early 60s with my brother, Dennis Scott, and his friend, Stanley Callan
June 30, 2009 at 12:36 pm |
I was at the 1961 amateur cup final and the team was:
Gary McGuire (goal); Brian Edwards (right back); Ron Bambridge (left back); Dave Andrews (right half); Stan Prince (centre half, captain); Terry Keenes (left half); Reg Groves (outside right); Alan Minall (inside right); Jim Lewis (centre forward); Don Saggers (inside left); Brian Harvey (outside left). West Auckland played the better football for the earlier part of the match, and looked liked winning when they were leading 1-0. Saggers was hobbling injured almost from the first minute and things looked decidedly bleak for A’s until Minall headed against a post and Groves lashed the rebound into the net. A’s gradually got on top later in the game and Lewis was on the spot to take advantage of a dropped ball by Bowmaker the West Auckland keeper and slip home the winner.
I think this was the final act of A’s “golden years”, although fans may recall the brief period later in the 60’s when the skills of Dennis Murphy, Peter Drabwell and “Plonker” Jackson regularly brought the house down as they say.
Avenue’s key to cup success was veteran Lewis, a great goalscorer with head and feet, and Harvey, an incredibly fast and gifted winger. The defence was also solid in all positions marshalled by the experienced skipper Prince. The team broke up over the next few seasons due to players leaving for other clubs or retiring from the game through age or, sadly in the case of Keenes, a broken leg in a match at Green Pond Road. Whenever I see light and dark blue colours together I think of the A’s !
August 13, 2009 at 12:45 pm |
I went to see the A’s many times as a boy, in the late 50s and 60s. I saw them win the Amateur Cup at Wembley in 1961 and have the programme, with the autographs of the Avenue team (worth something to someone possibly). I saw Terry Keenes break his leg (just a few feet in front of me) – it was sickening. Many great memories (Claude, a supporter who rang a bell, Jimmy Lewis who kept banging in goals, 9d to get in – extra 6d to get into the stand, Brian Harvey – on West Ham’s books – tearing down thw left wing, etc.).
September 20, 2009 at 6:28 pm |
Hi Jason
Just read the piece in today’s ‘The Non-League Paper’ and had a quick (for now) browse of your excellent ‘A’s’ web site…memories, memories…
Born in Chingford in 1947, I followed the A’s through the late 50’s & 60’s, although, to be honest, what with playing football & following Spurs (for my sins) & Orient, I didn’t see that many games.
One of my (few) claims to fame was attending Sir George Monoux Grammar School, Walthamstow, London E 17…a few years’ after the great J L (Jim) Lewis attended there!
I remember going to the 1961 FA Amateur Cup Final in 1961 (will the last person leaving Walthamstow please turn-off the lights) and beating West Auckland Town 2-1, despite Don Saggers hobbling for most of the game. Major problem; can’t find my match programme anywhere!
I moved tothe Peterborough area in the 1970’s and to here, Bridlington, East Yorkshire, two years’ ago. I now follow our local NCEL team (Bridlington Town AFC).
I do have in my collection the following programmes:
28.03.1959 A’s v. Barnet
FA Amateur Cup Semi-Final Replay (played at White Hart Lane)
Score: 2-0 (Sleap & Harding)
14.11.1959 A’s v. Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic
F A Cup 1st Round Score: 2-3 (Lewis & Harvey)
12.12.1959 A’s Reserves v. Ilford Reserves
Isthmian League Reserve Division Score: 4-1 (Wheeler 3 & Saggers)
12.03.1960 A’s v. Wycombe Wanderers
Isthmian League Senior Section Score: 4-0 (Groves, Abramson, Saggers & Harvey)
17.09.1960 A’s v. St Albans
Isthmian League Senior Section Score: 4-0 (Minall 2, Lewis & o.g.)
03.10.1960 Leyton Orient v. A’s
London Challenge Cup 1st Round Score: 0-1
15.10.1960 A’s v. Ilford
Isthmian League Senior Section Score: 6-1 (Lewis 3, Groves, Saggers & Harvey)
19.11.1960 A’s v. Bromley
Isthmian League Senior Section Score: 2-4 (Groves & Harvey)
18.03.1961 A’s v. Dagenham
Essex Senior Cup Semi-Final (played at Barking FC)
Score: 2-1 (Minall & Saggers)
12.10.1963 A’s v. Tooting & Mitcham United
F A Cup 3rd Qualifying Round Score: 3-6 (Minall 2 & Harvey)
06.04.1967 A’s v. Enfield
Isthmian League Senior Section Score: 2-3 (Ford & Jackson)
08.04.1967 A’s v. Tooting & Mitcham United
Isthmian League Senior Section Score: 2-1 (Hopwood & Collett)
17.05.1967 A’s v. Enfield
London Senior Amateur Cup Final (played at The Bowlyn Ground, Upton Park)
Score: ?-? (Half-Time: 0-0)
13.04.1960 Great Britain v. Netherlands
Olympic Games Qualifying Competition (played at White Hart Lane)
Score: 2-2 (R H Brown of Barnet & the one and only J Lewis)
GB Team: M J Pinner (QPR & The RAF), T W Thompson (Stockton), D D Holt (Queen’s Park), R W Sleap (Barnet), L Brown (Bishop Auckland), A D’Arcy (Barnet), A Coates (Evenwood Town), H. Lindsay (Kingstonian), R H Brown (Barnet), H Barr (Ballymena United) & J Lewis. A D’Arcy was a late replacement for M Greenwood (Bishop Auckland). A few ‘Blasts from the Past’ in that line-up!
Unfortunately, I do not have the facility to scan these documents. They are however, in reasonable condition and I could ‘loan’ them to you if they will provide assistance to your research. Send me an email or ‘phone me on 01262 606664.
Kind regards & all power to your research. RIP ‘The A’s.’
Paul Prime
September 28, 2009 at 8:58 pm |
Paul,
An interesting item. As you probably read in my post, I do have the said FA cup Final programme (signed by all the Avenue team). I also was born in 1947 and went to the Monoux – sorry, I don’t remember you – perhaps you were a year above me.
David
November 11, 2009 at 7:56 pm
David,
Sorry for the delay in responding. I joined Monoux in 1958 (having been born on 28 February 1947) and left in 1963. Likewise, I can’t recall you so perhaps you were one of the 1959 ‘intake.’ I do, however, remember a ROGER Johnson in ‘our’ year; I believe he now lives in New Zealand…not a relation of yours I guess?
I’m pleased to say that I recently managed to acquire a 1961 FA Amateur Cup Final programme (unsigned unfortunately) from a guy in Scarborough, North Yorkshire (just 20 miles north from where I now live)…small world.
All the very best to you.
With fond memories of Monoux AND the ‘A’s’.
Paul.
September 5, 2010 at 10:39 pm |
Paul Prime, Hi i was reading your post and wondered if you could possibly send me a copy of the april 1967 programme. I am happy to pay for it if it cannot be scanned. I personally know both Paul Hopwood and Brian Collett as my father in law briefly played for the avenue as a youngster ( Peter Clarkson) and they are good friends of his. I wonder if you have the game played when the floodlights were first installed as my father in law scored the winner that night and I cannot find any programmes with him in it.
Thanks
David brock
October 9, 2009 at 5:33 pm |
Hi David,
Saw your article in the Non-League Paper and the memories came flooding back. I was born in Walthamstow in 1949 and followed the Avenue until the earlysixties when I was lured to Higbury by by eldest sisters boyfriend at the time.
I used to go to away games on the coach often on my own (I was very young, can you imagine that happening today!), but the supporters used to look after you in those days.
I can remember going to the semi-final at White City against Hitchin Town and we got a disputed penalty which Big Jim Lewis duly dispatched. What a centre forward he was, a God in non-league football terms.
The final at Wembley was an unbelievable experience for me and I remember thinking at the time whether getting to Wembley happened every season, sadly I quickly came to realise the reality of life, particularly at non-league level.
I moved down to Deal in Kent in 1989 with my family and quickly got involved with the local club, Deal Town. In 2000 they reached the final of the FA Vase winning it 1-0 agaisnt Chippenham Town in the last final to be played at the old Wembley. You can imagine the memories that the match brought back and what a co-incidence. Fortunately Deal did not go tha same way as the ‘A’s did after the Deal Chairman pulled the plug on financing it, but we so nearly did. We are currently languishing in the Kent League and I am Vice-Chairman.
A few seasons ago we played Hitchin Town in the FA Cup and a couple of their officials still remember the disputed penalty against the Avenue in that semi-final. Some things in football are never forgotten.
Of that Avenue side that won the Amateur Cup in ’61 Dave Andrews, the captain, went onto manage Leytonstone ( I think his father was involved there) and Brian Harvey, an England Amateur International, went with him. I think that was about the time when the Amateur status was done away with and players became semi-professional instead of getting a ‘fiver in the shoe’. He told me just before the start of that season that he did not know who would be playing at Leytonstone because many of the players had not yet signed and many were waiting to see who was paying the best money. (Nothings changed). He said he had a very good full back who lived just accross the road from the ground but that he had signed for Dulwich Hamlet (obviously South London) because they had offered more money.
The goalkeeper, Gary McGuire, I think emigrated to Australia. The half back line of Dave Andrews, Stan Prince and Terry Keene were like the Arsenal back line. Dave reminded me of Dave MacKay of Tottenham, big barrel chest, fierce tackler and would run through a brick wall for you. Jim Lewis or his parents (his dad played for the As, I called them both Big Jim) I seem to remember had a newsagents in Forest Road not far from the ground.
The Green Pond Road ground I distinctly remember on match days because as you approached, particularly on dark winter nights, you could see the floodlights and hear the music coming from the tannoy which all added to the excitement. It was a typical Isthmian League ground, plenty of concrete terracing and a big old stand, which would cost you extra to sit down. Sadly towards the end the gates were very poor and the social club was also struggling. I seem to remember that the Chairman at the timer may have been Vic Ercolani, who owned Cabinet Industries along the North Circular Road and when that went capput he resigned, but that area is very clowdy in my memory.
I will have a look through what is left of my programme collection (I sold most of them to help raise funds for a new clubhouse soon to be finished at Deal Town) so I don’t know what I have left, but I will have a look.
Thanks for the memories.
Bob Chivington, Vice-Chairman, Deal Town Football Club.
October 12, 2009 at 1:27 am |
I played for and captained the ‘new’ Walthamstow Avenue FC that was reformed in 2000, and played in the London & Middlesex Intermediate Leagues for 5yrs. The team was started by several volunteers who had been involved with the original Avenue in various guises, ably supported by a number of fans with the original club close to their hearts. Whilst of course never reaching the heights of the original Avenue, we were relatively succesful in our time and there was a real pride and awareness of the illustrious history of the parent clubs history amongst the squad. I was always proud to play for and be associated in some way with the legacy of the Walthamstow Avenue name, a club my grandfather had lived just yards away from and supported his whole life.
November 23, 2009 at 11:37 pm |
Hi Paul,
No, Roger Johnson isn’t a relative. No surprise we don’t remember each other, as each year seemed to keep very much to itself, I recall. Yes, very happy memories of the Monoux. I put my signed FA cup final programme in a ‘safe place’ and, if/when I find it, I’ll try to post a scanned copy of the autographed page.
David
March 8, 2010 at 12:36 am |
Hi,
I just found your webiste as a result of updating some of the History section on my Dagenham & Redbridge fan site, DiggerDagger.com, linked above. Brilliant stuff, well done keeping the memories of the old Avenue alive as you do.
I have linked to the site from our history page.
I don’t know of many that now follow the Daggers that came through from Walthamstow, while there are many more that were originally Dagenham or Leytonstone fans in the old days. Can I ask whether Walthamstow Avenue fans from the 70s and 80s \nd beyond feel part of the history of Dagenham & Redbridge? Do you take an interest in how the Daggers are doing at all?
Keep up the good work,
Mike
March 25, 2010 at 6:54 pm |
Mike,
I’m an A’s fan from the 1950s and beyond – I’m aware of the Dagenham & Redbridge heritage and it’s one result I look out forup from time to time for that reason.
David
March 26, 2010 at 2:49 pm |
Hi,
There’s an intriguing picture of a 1910 match between German side Alemannia Aachen (currently in the second division) and Walthamstow Avenue on the website of the Aachen historical society.
URL: http://www.aachener-geschichtsverein.de/Online-Beitraege/auch-der-fussballsport-hat-eine-geschichte
Photo: http://www.aachener-geschichtsverein.de/images/181t.jpg
You can e-mail them at: info@aachener-geschichtsverein.de
March 26, 2010 at 2:52 pm |
Thanks for the tip-off Paul. I’ll contact them for further info.
March 27, 2010 at 12:18 pm |
At last – I came across my 1961 Amateur Cup Final Programme. In fact, I found I had two, but only one has the autographs of the A’s team.
http://img18.imageshack.us/content_round.php?page=done&l=img18/66/wstowave1.jpg&via=mupload
http://img210.imageshack.us/content_round.php?page=done&l=img210/7975/wstowave2.jpg&via=mupload
David
June 29, 2010 at 9:50 am |
My father, John “Jack” Jennings, played for Walthamstow between 1946 and 1948. (See photo from Alf Simmonds). He actually scored 5 goals in his first appearance for the team. I have a collection of programs and cuttings from the era which I am in the process of scanning (e.g. Avenue vs Ilford, Essex Senior cup, 2nd round). Also the 1952 Amateur Cup final program.
How can I get these scans to you?
Jack played in 1944/5 as an amateur for Chartlon Athletic in the “Football league South”. He was also caretaker manager of Dagenham in 1960, as well as coach to the Essex Beagles (athletics) in 1947-1948 (maybe longer). He died in 1977.
July 1, 2010 at 8:09 am |
I have emailed some documents, including 1952 Amateur cup final program, and Essex Senior cup match vs Ilford program from Feb 1948
August 17, 2010 at 12:58 am |
I have a programme of WA v Leyton Orient, a friendly played to mark the opening of the flodlights at Green Pond Road. (WA won 3-0).
Would you be interested in a scan of this ?
August 24, 2010 at 12:49 am |
i remember the first time i went to green pond road was to see walthamstow play pat jennings x1 when he was at spurs after that me and my brother was hooked and from 1978 rightup till 1982 we went to every home game i remember going to the programme stall that was next to the tea bar to buy old programmes.i think there was a black player called alan hunter ? at the time and i thought he was bizz.i now live in essex but still remember those cold nights at green pond road with a heavy heart
September 1, 2010 at 10:49 am |
I too am an Old Monovian but later – 1961-1969 (the heyday years!)
I too went to see the odd game – as well as the Orient and mainly Spurs but I do remember one 3rd Round FA Cup tie against Bournmouth – we drew 3-3 I thin and then lost the replay but the ground was packed and it was an exciting game and experience. My grandfather played for the As during the 1920s
I also refereed and performed at Leyton’s ground
Ahh! Memories
September 6, 2010 at 1:29 pm |
I have photo’s,programmes and newspaper articles just need to try scan them and send by email..all of Terry Mathews era who i still see along with Ray Jarman…
January 6, 2011 at 10:49 pm |
Hi there,
Have just been reading comments posted on your website with great interest. I would like to know when the article was published in Non-league Football as I ‘ve not had the chance to read it.
My interest in Walthamstow Avenue dates back to 1969-70 era when as a 15 year old Arsenal supporter I moved with my parents from north London to Walthamstow. Probably out of curiosity my brother and I decided to visit Green Pond Road on Good Friday morning to watch the Avenue play Ilford in a league game. I can’t remember how much we paid to get in or the price of a programme. I would guess it cost us (pre-decimal of course) 1/- each and 3d. I certainly remember the open terrace end (overgrown with weeds I think) and the tea bar under the covered terrace area opposite the main stand. I think they sold supporters merchandise such as scarves and badges here as well.
I can also recall the floodlight pylons in each corner – most impressive for an amateur club or so I thought at the time. The Avenue played in light and dark blue with Ilford turning out in an amber strip. For the record it ended 0-0. My brother never went again but I attended off and on the following season (1969-70) depending on Arsenal’s home fixtures and those of Orient who I also started following. I seem to recall Avenue playing their home matches on Thursday nights (7.30 ko) presumably to avoid clashing with other more illustrious neighbours.
One of my schoolmates shared my fascination with clubs from the lower leagues and on one occasion during the close-season (summer 1969) we visited Roots Hall Southend gaining access to the ground by simply walking through the wide open double gates. The groundsman was working on the pitch and allowed us to wander around including doing an impromptu and an unsupervised tour of the changing rooms and ending with him tossing us a tennis ball to have a kick-around on the pitch! Can you imagine such a thing happening now? A couple of weeks later we visited the Green Pond Road ground and gained access in a similar fashion by simply walking in unchallenged. There was no sign of any ground staff so we took ourselves up the staircase into the wooden main stand where we sat for a few minutes. We both sensed we were being watched and we looked to our right to see what seemed to us at the time to be an enormous alsation dog looking at us. It was in the main stand as well no more than twenty-five yards from us. We panicked and decided, rather stupidly, to leg it! Seeing us running away the alsation barked and gave chase. As you can imagine the chase didn’t last long and with no more than a few bounds the alsation caught up with us both. I’m glad to say the dog was very friendly and only wanted to play! We lived to tell this tale.
In addition to attending a handful of games the following season (details follow) I also got a job working for the club as an agent collecting weekly payments from supporters and local residents gambling on the football pontoon fundraiser Avenue were operating at the time. This cost punters 1/- per week and as an agent I got to keep 2d for every shilling I collected. Despite my round being local to where we lived it was in the middle of winter and all I can remember was turning out on cold foggy nights to earn a pittance. Me and my mate got Saturday jobs with Woolies at Stamford Hill but that was at the back-end of that season. For the record I recall seeing Avenue at home to Hitchin (2-0), Enfield (1-1),Corinthian Casuals (5-1), Wycombe (1-5), Tilbury (2-2)some Essex cup or other, Clapton (2-0) another Essex cup. I also saw them lose away to Barking (1-3) and Leytonstone (2-4). All of these details are from memory as I no longer have any programmes in whats left of my collection. It was a pretty ropey season from what I recall with a number of heavy defeats including a 7-0 reverse at Hendon and a 5-0 loss in the FA Cup prelim round at Alton I believe. I’m not sure how long the manager Freddy Mann lasted that season. I cannot recall all of the players but here are a few of the names that still come to mind:- Geoff Parsons, Eddie Devlin, Brian Jackson,Brian Collett, Johnny Mann (my favourite player), Johnny Brooks, Vic Cogger and Johnny Rose. We also got a new centre-half near the end of the season who I think was called Gary Titterton.
My infatuation with the Avenue only lasted a season but I still recall those days with much affection and continued to follow Avenue’s fortunes in the local paper. I moved to Yorkshire in 1982 and was gutted to hear of Avenue’s demise a few years later. I was aware that two of the lads I was at school with turned out for Avenue in the 70s and 80s – Alan Hunter and Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradford. Another guy from school also made a handful of appearances at the beginning of the 70/71 season (I think) before he went to college – Tony Martin who had been on West Ham’s books and was capped for England Youth team.
Sorry about the rambling style I’ve adopted – perhaps other things will come back to me in due course, but hey I’ve enjoyed this trip down memory lane and invite people who were true supporters of the A’s to correct any of the details I’ve posted here.
Funnily enough in the past few months I’ve bought a bar scarf in Avenue’s light and dark blue colours off the internet and I’m just in the process of reading a book called ‘The Bromley Boys’ written by Dave Roberts who followed Bromley in the same late 60s era and visited Green Pond Road which he recalls with the eye of a visitor to the stadium and is able to compare it to the other Isthmian league grounds at that time. It also shows the league table develop throughout that season. A good read !
Best wishes to all those contributors to this site and thanks for their recollections and to you for organising it.
March 29, 2012 at 12:04 am |
John, My old man is Eddie Devlin and he used to love playing for Walthamstow. I don’t suppose you have any programs from that era with him in it that you’d be willing to sell? I now live in Australia and can be contacted on barrydevlin7 at hotmail dot com.
Pleased to hear you were able to recall him! If you’ve got any memories of or about him, would love to know more.
cheers
Barry
January 11, 2011 at 2:02 am |
My grandfather, Trevor Bailey, was part of the team that won the 1952 Amateur Cup Final. Despite all of his achievements in cricket I think his winners medal is his most proud possession.
I’ve found the site really interesting.
May 9, 2012 at 8:08 am |
I believe also played for my team, Clapton FC. As many know, things are very difficult at the Old Spotted Dog and thus a supporters movement has been formed to help the club. The situation at Clapton is, at best, dire, and unless something is changed quickly, then we may go the same way as the Avenue, Ilford, Leytonstone etc
(with respect to Dagenham fan, an amalgamation of clubs is never the same)
I would be very pleased to give you or anyone else info on the current state of the club and what the ‘Friends’ are trying to do to save it.
February 18, 2011 at 4:28 pm |
Hi there,
Great site. Sadly, I only actually visited the ground once when I was about 5 or 6. Unfortunately, I was very ill throughout the whole match and spent most of it curled up in the stands (probably the reason that I never got that into football!).
However, my old mum (Georgina Iris Lang) and her dad (William George Daniel Lang) were absolutely devout Walthamstow Avenue fans (and Walthamstow Wolves Speedway as well – grandad evidentially wanted a boy!).
Mum had a great big old suitacase full, and I really mean stuffed, full of press cuttings, pictures, memento’s, pennants, autograpgh books etc. I am pretty sure she had every single programme going as I remember they were all bundled into years/seasons.
I seem to recall a few supporters badges (as these were the brightest shiniest things in the suitcase) and most particularily, I seem to recall a really small sort of button sized one – but I might be mistaken, it might have been a speedway badge.
Mum would occassionally drag the suitcase out and and regail tales of matches or events that she and her dear old dad had attended. Favorite of those was of course beating Manchester.
For anyone salivating over the possibility of memorabilia – I am saddened to say that my mum developed Altzheimers towards the end of her life and had to be moved into a home. My elder brother’s first wife threw the whole suitcase and its contents into the flats municipal bins and it wasn’t until mum was settled into her new home that the tale of the ‘load of rubbish in a suitcase’ unravelled.
Suffice to say nothing remains in our possession save for a few hazy memories.
The one memory that always sticks out is a reference to a goalie nicknamed ‘the cat’. He had a funny surname as I remember but nowadays I can barely recall anything! I gather ‘the cat’ is not that unusal a nickname for goalies in any event, but I am sure he was a goalie either before, during or shortly after the second world war and i seem to think his name was ‘Vandersluis’ or something like that.
I used to walk past the stadium on my way to school and remember the start of its destruction.
In later years, I’ve made friends with another Walthamstow Avenue fan, who took a day off work to see the Manchester return match and strangely, has ended up a Manchester United fan!
Keep up the good work!
John
February 18, 2011 at 6:33 pm |
Actually, from looking at this site a bit more I think ‘the cat’ was Stan Gerula!
PS in case you want to see the old stadium – theres a couple of videos on Pathe. a praticularily good one is ‘Cup thrills are back’ but theres two others (both called walthamstow avenue FC) one shows fans lined up outside the ground (with priory court in the background) and the others after they won the cup.
Incidentally, it just occurred to me that if the stadium was still there – I’d now be able to see it from my back garden!! (In all my years I ain’t moved very far!)
Enjoy:
http://www.britishpathe.com/results.php?search=walthamstow
March 10, 2011 at 11:59 am |
My father and I were avid supporters of the Avenue through the 40s and early 50s and I remember the walk from home, through Lloyds Park to Green Pond Road, excitement growing with every step. I remember the 51 cup final at Wembley and the heroics of Stan Gerula in the famous draw with Man U. What a pity we didn’t take them back to Green pond Road. My memory may be failing but I remember the Avenue playing in light and dark blue quarters {like Wycombe Wanderers do now..They too were in the Isthmian League}. I also remember Jim Lewis Snr. playing along side his son Jim Jnr. Before he opened his TOY shop in Forest Road. Shows you how things have changed as I remember traveling on Public transport to an away match with Ken Facey who moved on to Chelsea. Another name I can’t find on your great site is Sonny Walters a great winger who went to the Spurs.
For the record I too am an Old Monovian 1946-1951
November 29, 2011 at 7:18 pm |
Got the these programmes if your interested in scans
27/11/43 wa v grays
01/04/44 wa v royal engineers
27/04/44 wa v grays
02/04/45 wa v leyton
19/04/45 wa v army amateur xi
March 28, 2012 at 10:34 am |
andrew allen has any body got a record of my father william allen playing for the team in the earliest days? thank you
April 9, 2012 at 10:13 pm |
Player r. Horsley is my grandad and I’m so interested on the history of this club.
January 8, 2013 at 10:17 am |
Hi.I’m looking for any photographs or history on a shop called bellchambers bicycles that was in palmestone rd walthamstow about 35 years ago. Many thanks Dean
June 12, 2016 at 3:32 pm |
hi dean, i dont have a photo but i remember bellchambers very well growing up in the 1970’s. it was almost like a suoerstore to me, almost all local shops were single dewllings. loved it even though i just used to stare at the bikes the window. i think it still has bell chambers written on the wall but theres a carpet shop there now. you can see a bit of it here http://www.192.com/atoz/business/london-e17/carpet-and-rug-retailers/premier-carpets-furniture/8aa2b50b5236a8b3f8f96f57fae9460eb1917713/ml/
hope that helps. still live just down the road from there in higham hill
October 8, 2014 at 12:03 am |
I bought a clock recently and there was a silver plaque presented to A. Burton from the players and committee of Walthamstow avenue football club august 1935. Let me know if either is of any interest to you
January 5, 2015 at 8:53 am |
Anyone remember my dad Ernie Phypers
May 26, 2015 at 6:33 am |
Have just been pointed in the direction of your website from Walthamstow Memories page. My father Bert Oliver played for the Avenue in the 1930s and I believe he was captain for some of that time. I have many photos, souvenirs of matches in Jersey and a letter from Aston Villa asking him to play for them. Dad died in 1992 still an avid football fan.
February 3, 2016 at 4:39 am |
As a 15 year old my first job was at the factory that backed on to the W/Avenue ground and some afternoons footballs would come over into the factory`s yard and I would always be the one to throw them back ! I was lead to believe one of the workers at the factory (Leslies) was a man named Harry ? Dodd who I was told played for W/A before the WW11. I think also the sports store that was in Forest Road was owned by Mr. Sedgewick who I think was the club secretary 1950s/ 60s.
Great club !