family roadshow at the swan hotel bedford
2nd february 2020
LAWRENCE FOORD
"I saw an advert for boaters in the newspaper two weeks before the 1959 Wembley cup final, so I went to Begley’s with a mate to buy one. I wore it straight out of the shop. The Luton end at Wembley was a sea of boaters and everyone waved them when we scored. We were called the most polite fans ever at Wembley. I went straight back home on the train to Bedford after the match. There was some mickey-taking at work in Bedford on the Monday afterwards, including from Bedford Town fans".
jeffrey cox
"My first football match was on September 2nd 1958 at Bristol City. I
was eleven years old and remember running onto the pitch to slap the
well known Bristol player John Atyeo on the back.
My first Hatters home game was against Chelsea. I went with my next
door neighbours’ sons, travelling from Shenley to Luton with them. I
particularly remember the fans all mixed in together and the chanting".
james farmbrough
"In the 1971/72 season I joined the Luton Town
Supporter’s Club and have kept the members handbook along with the
letter welcoming me to the organisation.The handbook is particularly special as it
contained a tribute to Malcolm Macdonald, one of our greatest players.
He’d just been sold to Newcastle the previous season.
Malcolm Macdonald was a hero to many Luton fans and the
article accompanied by a great action photo of ‘Mac’ was headed by a
large and most apt headline: 'Gone but not forgotten'".
ANDY KING
"I wrote a letter of appreciation to John Moore after John was dismissed from his role at Luton Town in 2003. John sent a thank-you card to me in reply. To me, it showed the nature of John as a person as well as a footballer, particularly as John did not know me at the time".
LIZ EVANS
"I've brought in a book called: 'The Luton Town
Story 1885-1985' by Timothy Collings. This book is special as it
contains a direct link to Harry Arnold who was one of the founders of
the club in 1885. It was given to me by his grandson, Harry S Arnold. The book is autographed by over 20 players and I’m on a quest to identify all those signatures!".
robin meadows
"I have a programme from Crewe v Luton, 4 May 1968, signed by all the Luton team that played that day, except for Tony Read. We stopped at a motorway service station on the way back from the game. The team coach also stopped there and I was able to get their autographs – it shows how the team interacted with fans at the time".
neil slater
Neil brought with him the following to the Roadshow:
3 postcards from other clubs sent to
Charles Green, club secretary from 1898 – 1923. From Watford(1903/04
season), Carlisle (1908) and QPR (1909)
Postcard of Luton team from 1904/05, including Charles Green, Secretary
Cigarette card of Luton team, 1936/37
Card with picture of Joe Payne, issued by Sherman’s Pools
"My great-grandfather, Charles Green,
was club secretary from 1898 to 1923. This connection led to me
becoming a Luton fan, even though I lived in Southall and my father
supported Arsenal. I have some postcards which were sent to my
great-grandfather, including one from Watford FC which clearly shows
that there was a strong rivalry between the two clubs even in those
early years. Sadly, my grandfather’s collection of Luton programmes and
memorabilia from his time at the club was thrown away when he died".
john samsa
“My wife drove us the 1988 Littlewoods Cup final – the whole family went. I was then able to have a couple of pints. It was a fantastic day and my main memory is Brian Stein scoring the winning goal!”.
neil lovesey
"I've brought along my red book containing a log of
matches seen, and grounds visited since 1966-67. This is my personal
story of watching football. The book contains a record of all Luton Town
games I've been to along with the scores. It also has all the other
football matches I've seen on my travels around the world and all
grounds visited."
So far I've visited 188 grounds and seen 1150
matches! I haven’t yet done the 'traditional' 92 league grounds visited,
I've one more to go - Swansea which I’ll achieve when Luton play
there on 18 March 2020".
phyllis wren
"That Littlewoods Cup Final Programme 1988 programme is a great reminder of how I got to attend the match.
My son Andrew who was about eleven at the time entered and won a competition in The Beds Times.
One afternoon before he’d come home from school I answered the phone to
find out that he’d won four tickets to the final. They were excellent
seats too!
No sooner than we’d heard he was the winner, The Beds Times came to our house to take some photos which included our son Andrew proudly dressed up in his Luton Town kit".
john ryan
"I bought a Littlewoods Cup Final scarf at the time of the 1988 Simod Cup final, which I attended. I was so disappointed with the result of that game (Luton lost 4-1 to Reading) that I couldn’t face going to the Littlewoods Final shortly afterwards, thus missing one of the greatest games in Luton’s history!".
john carter
"I lived in Bedford as a boy and got the train to games, then ran back to the station afterwards to go home. When I was older and working Saturday mornings, I went to games straight from work. I followed the Town from the 1st to the 4th Division and back again. Then I got married and money was tight so I didn’t go. Also, they made the Enclosure for season ticket holders - I used to stand in the same spot and I knew everyone around me. I didn’t like being forced to watch from the Oak Road".
david walker
"I acquired this Luton Town china boater at an Antiques fair at The Grand Hotel Folkestone in 2012.
Inside the boater it is marked with the name Luton Town and with the
emblem. It is made in great detail and the edging has a straw like feel
to it.
Roger Wash had a look and mentioned that he’d seen a few before and
confirmed it was likely to have been produced in the mid 1950s, perhaps
to be used as an ashtray.
I started watching Luton in 1959. One memory
sticks out when Gordon Turner was waiting to take a corner, at the open
terrace end. I was amazed to see him by the corner flag and there he
was chatting to someone in the crowd – a friend I presume!".
david kilby
"I acquired a photo of the squad for the 1962-63
season and then went on a quest to get autographs from all the players
in that photo.
After each match my friend and I hid away in the
stands as we wanted to wait for the players to leave the ground as they
did in those days via Kenilworth Road. I remember players like Terry
Kelly going down Kenilworth Road and getting the bus home to Stopsley.
Over the course of the season, I eventually got the
job done and the photo was complete with autographs. I also managed to
get autographs from some of the away players including Brian Clough.
He talked to me as I got his autograph but I couldn’t understand
anything. I’d not met any northerners so as a Lutonian his accent
sounded very strange!"
gary pettengell
"I used to go to games with my Dad and my Uncle. My Uncle used to work in the Co-op in town on Saturday mornings, so we used to meet him out of the shop and walk to the game. I got lifted over the turnstiles and sat between my Dad and my Uncle in the Bobbers opposite the tunnel. About 1982/83 the players use to throw balls into the crowd before games, and my Dad reached over and caught one and gave it to me".