Heroes and history

[The 17 Bus]

A few scans from old RFC progs, you may have even heard of some of the players in them.

Also of interest to some perhaps, Doncaster 6 Oct 1973, coach fare £1-80 adult, £1-20 child. Depart Queens Road 8am, anyone remember where on Queens road??

Programme for Brentford game at EP on Wed 3rd Oct, 5p incorporating the Football League review.

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[glass half full]

A few scans from old RFC progs, you may have even heard of some of the players in them.

Also of interest to some perhaps, Doncaster 6 Oct 1973, coach fare £1-80 adult, £1-20 child. Depart Queens Road 8am, anyone remember where on Queens road??

Programme for Brentford game at EP on Wed 3rd Oct, 5p incorporating the Football League review.

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The coach used to leave from the old Smith's Coaches depot (where Queen's Road car park is now). The proprietor of the coach company was Alf Smith, a Director of the club at the time.

Thanks for a look at those pics.

[Rex]

I originally thought this was a thread about football players who died in WW1 and are being commemorated in a book to be out soon.

[Whistle]

Pat Earles and Lawrie Sanchez in the top one.

Big Percy Freeman in the middle one.

Little Gordon Cumming and the vicious Sandy Pate of Mansfield in the bottom one.

[Whistle]

Pat Earles and Lawrie Sanchez in the top one.

Big Percy Freeman in the middle one.

Little Gordon Cumming and the vicious Sandy Pate of Mansfield in the bottom one.

[AthleticoSpizz]

A 1-1 draw away at Palace (when Porterfield and Dunphy were still playing).

The result upstaged firstly. by their state-of-the-art stainless steel latrines.

Then, (whilst waiting for the blue and orange Smiths Coaches to extricate us), one of the Eagles Egrets decided to phlegm up the worst kind of nicotined lung deposit onto my mates sisters coat.

One of the local constabulary saw this, then made him sheepishly appologise to her whilst cleaning off the mess from her coat.

Muchly appreciated by the 50 or so that cajolled him

[OLLIE KEARNS]

Pat Earles and Lawrie Sanchez in the top one.

Big Percy Freeman in the middle one.

Little Gordon Cumming and the vicious Sandy Pate of Mansfield in the bottom one.

Think it may be Wayne Wan*klyn in the top one as it says "Wayne Wan*klyn in action" underneath I played with Wayne in non league football many years ago. He still lives locally and manages Wokingham and Embrook which is the pheonix from the flames of the old Wokingham Town F.C.
Anyone remember the old ground at Finchampstead Road ? Lot's of Reading players played there for short periods after finishing at RFC. Terry Bell, John Hurley, Dave Moorhead, Mike Dixon all spring to mind. All back in the late 70's / early 80's when I was just starting out. Wayne was another albeit a bit later and Simon Cox's dad was also in the team at that time.
All seems a long time ago now

[The 17 Bus]

I have one of gary heale as well, but don't want to get RL all excited.

[Whistle]

Didn't realise you could scroll down!

Yeah, forgotten about WW.

[Jackson Corner]

Pat Earles and Lawrie Sanchez in the top one.

Big Percy Freeman in the middle one.

Little Gordon Cumming and the vicious Sandy Pate of Mansfield in the bottom one.

Think it may be Wayne Wan*klyn in the top one as it says "Wayne Wan*klyn in action" underneath I played with Wayne in non league football many years ago. He still lives locally and manages Wokingham and Embrook which is the pheonix from the flames of the old Wokingham Town F.C.
Anyone remember the old ground at Finchampstead Road ? Lot's of Reading players played there for short periods after finishing at RFC. Terry Bell, John Hurley, Dave Moorhead, Mike Dixon all spring to mind. All back in the late 70's / early 80's when I was just starting out. Wayne was another albeit a bit later and Simon Cox's dad was also in the team at that time.
All seems a long time ago now

I used to go down and watch Town sometimes. They had a really good team in the early 80's and won there league and two of the players later signed for Brentford but I can't remember there names for the life of me.
It's a shame Wokingham no longer has a side in the area they had a good youth set up there, they would be about Blue Square south level. Didn't they once play Cardiff in the first round of the cup and there was loads of trouble?
Some things don't change!

[Gordons Cumming]

Pat Earles and Lawrie Sanchez in the top one.

Big Percy Freeman in the middle one.

Little Gordon Cumming and the vicious Sandy Pate of Mansfield in the bottom one.

Think it may be Wayne Wan*klyn in the top one as it says "Wayne Wan*klyn in action" underneath I played with Wayne in non league football many years ago. He still lives locally and manages Wokingham and Embrook which is the pheonix from the flames of the old Wokingham Town F.C.
Anyone remember the old ground at Finchampstead Road ? Lot's of Reading players played there for short periods after finishing at RFC. Terry Bell, John Hurley, Dave Moorhead, Mike Dixon all spring to mind. All back in the late 70's / early 80's when I was just starting out. Wayne was another albeit a bit later and Simon Cox's dad was also in the team at that time.
All seems a long time ago now

On first look I thought it was Parky!!

[OLLIE KEARNS]

Pat Earles and Lawrie Sanchez in the top one.

Big Percy Freeman in the middle one.

Little Gordon Cumming and the vicious Sandy Pate of Mansfield in the bottom one.

Think it may be Wayne Wan*klyn in the top one as it says "Wayne Wan*klyn in action" underneath I played with Wayne in non league football many years ago. He still lives locally and manages Wokingham and Embrook which is the pheonix from the flames of the old Wokingham Town F.C.
Anyone remember the old ground at Finchampstead Road ? Lot's of Reading players played there for short periods after finishing at RFC. Terry Bell, John Hurley, Dave Moorhead, Mike Dixon all spring to mind. All back in the late 70's / early 80's when I was just starting out. Wayne was another albeit a bit later and Simon Cox's dad was also in the team at that time.
All seems a long time ago now

I used to go down and watch Town sometimes. They had a really good team in the early 80's and won there league and two of the players later signed for Brentford but I can't remember there names for the life of me.
It's a shame Wokingham no longer has a side in the area they had a good youth set up there, they would be about Blue Square south level. Didn't they once play Cardiff in the first round of the cup and there was loads of trouble?
Some things don't change!

There was no Conference back then so Town were effectively playing playing top non league football at that time. The league had various names (Berger, Isthmian, Diadora) depending on sponsors. The Cardiff match was 1-1 and we lost in the replay. I say we but I was still in the youth teams at that time and didn't make my first team debut until 1983.
A number of players turned pro around that time. Steve Butler and George Torrance went to Brentord, Micky Spencer (Yeovil), Gary Smart (Oxford), Mark Harris (Swansea) and later on, Darren Barnard (Chelsea). Bobby Purser also turned down numerous offers to turn pro.
The club gave me a fantastic grounding in football. I joined as a 12 year old and went right through the ranks. I left in my early 20's but returned for a second spell a few years later. I occasionally get the train to Reading matches and going past the old ground (now a housing estate ) always brings back very happy memories.

[Negative_Jeff]

Any news on Roy Merryweather, did he stay in football after the demise of Wokingham Town?

[OLLIE KEARNS]

Yep, Roy is now General Manager at Slough Town. His son Kevin also works there as safety officer

[SHORT AND CURLY]

I remember seeing Stan Collymore play for Stafford Rangers at Finchampstead Road. It was a semi Final of a non league competition like the FA Vase.
As stated earlier this was a good Wokingham side from the 80`s

[Hugo Boss]

I saw Roy not so long ago and played for Kevin when he was running the Allied Counties side at Wokingham for a year before he left. Funnily enough it was Garry Smart who put a word in at Wokkers for me as he was my PE teacher at school at the time. He got me a "trial" and I ended up playing there for a couple of seasons. In fact, if memory serves Nathan Tyson had just left to join the Reading FC youth set up.

[Royal Lady]

I have one of gary heale as well, but don't want to get RL all excited.

I think in the interests of all fans everywhere, you should post this particular picture. Thank you.

Wayne oxf*rd was pretty porky last time I saw him.

[Dirk Gently]

Mrs DG1 was working at the DHSS in Brackers in the early 80s when someone came in to sign on. It was WW, who gave his profession as "footballer".

[OLLIE KEARNS]

I saw Roy not so long ago and played for Kevin when he was running the Allied Counties side at Wokingham for a year before he left. Funnily enough it was Garry Smart who put a word in at Wokkers for me as he was my PE teacher at school at the time. He got me a "trial" and I ended up playing there for a couple of seasons. In fact, if memory serves Nathan Tyson had just left to join the Reading FC youth set up.

Smarty used to be my room mate on the annual end of season "players tour" to Magaluf. Now I could tell you a few stories there........

[The 17 Bus]

no idea what happened to this fella, but was in the On Target (included with Prog) front page in Dec 79

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and just for you RL

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