It's amusing that the top PL sides get criticised for flying around the world playing lucrative friendlies in the US and Far East when we were doing the same 70 years ago!
It's amusing that the top PL sides get criticised for flying around the world playing lucrative friendlies in the US and Far East when we were doing to same 70 years ago!
Sailing, not flying, though. And taking trains as well. Proper Charlton.
Wow, what a great thread. Far better than the thread that shall not be named ;-)
I have a few items from that tour that were given as gifts to JS (but no pennants unfortunately); a cocktail shaker and goblets, a cigarette case, and maybe a couple of other cigarettes &alcohol related items. I also have some photos of a pleasure boat trip they took and will try and dig them out and post them here. Here's the only one I could find on my phone, and it's mum on the boat (sitting well away from the players, as JS wouldn't approve of her getting too close to them).
Wow, what a great thread. Far better than the thread that shall not be named ;-)
I have a few items from that tour that were given as gifts to JS (but no pennants unfortunately); a cocktail shaker and goblets, a cigarette case, and maybe a couple of other cigarettes &alcohol related items. I also have some photos of a pleasure boat trip they took and will try and dig them out and post them here. Here's the only one I could find on my phone, and it's mum on the boat (sitting well away from the players, as JS wouldn't approve of her getting too close to them).
Wow, what a great thread. Far better than the thread that shall not be named ;-)
I have a few items from that tour that were given as gifts to JS (but no pennants unfortunately); a cocktail shaker and goblets, a cigarette case, and maybe a couple of other cigarettes &alcohol related items. I also have some photos of a pleasure boat trip they took and will try and dig them out and post them here. Here's the only one I could find on my phone, and it's mum on the boat (sitting well away from the players, as JS wouldn't approve of her getting too close to them).
Digressing for a moment anymore news re the book?
Yes, after a bit of a hiatus where film rights were discussed with a couple of people, to no immediate avail, my partner in the book has this week started contacting publishers. Up to now he's only spoken to Vision who expressed an interest but wanted to link in with Spurs' anniversary of the 1921 Cup win. If they say no we have a few other publishers in mind. We've decided if there's no interest we'll self publish.
So, sitting behind my mum [top pic] was Jean Montgomery, daughter of club doctor, Dr Montgomerie (forgotten his first name). Next to Jean was Jimmy Seed - the only photo I've seen of him wearing sunglasses.
In the bottom photo mum is front left. Jean sits next to Dr Montgomery in the middle, alongside Jimmy Seed.
I think both of these boat trips were on that tour of Sweden.
They knew how to enjoy themselves back in the day!
Wow, what a great thread. Far better than the thread that shall not be named ;-)
I have a few items from that tour that were given as gifts to JS (but no pennants unfortunately); a cocktail shaker and goblets, a cigarette case, and maybe a couple of other cigarettes &alcohol related items. I also have some photos of a pleasure boat trip they took and will try and dig them out and post them here. Here's the only one I could find on my phone, and it's mum on the boat (sitting well away from the players, as JS wouldn't approve of her getting too close to them).
Just heard today that Vision are interested in the book project, but would want it to tie in with the (long awaited) opening of the Spurs museum. Vision have the reputation as being the best sports publisher around apparently, so fingers crossed.
We're now in 1949 and at the end of the season Charlton fly on a Skymaster direct to Istanbul for a four game trip.
16 players plus Jimmy Seed and two others, one a doctor, made up the Charlton party but we also took our own ref, Reg Greenwood.
In our first game on 21 May we beat Besiktas 2 - 1 with goals from Vaughan and Brown. The pennant presented at this game is now in the Charlton Athletic Museum.
After a week of sightseeing Charlton faced Fenerbahce on 28 May. According to Seed's notes there was "Much argument about substitutes". We only allowed keepers to be subbed but played very well, according to Jimmy Seed and won 3 - 0 with goals from D'Arcy and Vaughan (2).
Infamously, the Turkish side had arranged for two team members to be released from jail to play. One was in prison for stabbing a man to death. In the first few minutes the Addicks hardman, Jock Campbell, had kicked him into the stand and he was carried off unconscious on a stretcher back to jail.
Only one surviving pennant from this game but it is now back in the Charlton Athletic Museum.
A day after the Fenerbache game Charlton faced an Istanbul Combined XI and "just toyed with the opposition" in Seed's words, winning 5 - 0. No pennant survives from this game although it might explain the two Galatasary pennants above.
The team had to hang around for another 5 days before their KLM flight home but Seed was happy, noting in his match diary that it had been a "Very successful tour, financially and otherwise".
Another overseas trip that we made in 1949, and another pennant added to the museum's collection, was to play FC Saarbrucken.
Having lost 0 - 2 to Arsenal at Highbury on Saturday 7 May we travelled to Bovingdon and stayed in a local country club overnight..
The team then flew from Bovingdon (a WWII airstrip later used to film both the 633 Squadron and The Man with the Golden Gun) at 8.10am arriving in Metz at 10.00 am. A coach then took them the 60 odds miles to Saarbrucken. The team played that Sunday evening before travelling home by the same route on Monday after a night in the Excelsior Hotel.
At the time the Saarland was a French protectorate and this game was part of a political battle by the club to avoid playing in the French League. They dropped out of the league and played games only v foreign sides.
They later played in a Saarland league. The Saar also had its own international team and they played in the 54 world cup qualifiers as such.
The desire to see a stronger West Germany saw the ethnically German area re-join that country in 1957.
Charlton won the game 1 - 0 (Lumley)
Seed made only four changes from the team that had lost at Arsenal, selecting Bartram, Campbell, Shreeve, Forbes, Phipps, Brown, Fenton, Lumley, Vaughan, Purvis, Allison. The referee was Griffiths so presumably another official we took with us.
Our next pennant comes from 1951 when Charlton twice hoped over the channel, either side of the last league game of the season.
On the Sunday after a Saturday home 3 - 0 win (the 11,329 gate maybe partially explained by it being Cup Final day) over Middlesbrough, 13 players plus the two Jimmys, Seed and Trotter, took the boat train to Paris where they changed trains to arrive in Rennes, Brittany at 6.00 pm
At 5.00 pm on Tuesday 5 May Charlton played Stade Rennais winning 4 - 2 with goals from Evans, Lumley, Vaughan and Kiernan.
The game was part of the French club's 50 year celebrations and the Charlton party were treated to a banquet after the game.
The Addicks stayed overnight then when back to Paris where they took in the Folies Bergere, the slightly risque, for its time, variety show.
Arriving back in London on Thursday, Charlton then lost 2 -1 at home to Derby at the Valley on the Saturday, wrapping up the season in 6th to last place in Division 1 in front of 17,275.
The same set of players played a third game, away at Union Saint-Gilloise in the suburbs of Brussels. Despite trailing 1 - 3, Hewie missing a penalty and Campbell being sent off for "rough play", we recovered and drew 3-3
No pennant survives from the Belgian trip but we have recently recovered the French souvenir given to us and it will soon be on display in the museum.
Abram Games, one of our greatest ever designers, poster for the 1951 Festival of Britain.
As well as the marking the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park the festival's "implicit goal was to give the people a feeling of successful recovery from the war's devastation, as well as promoting British science, technology, industrial design, architecture and the arts."
Part of that was football and there were dozens of games played at all levels.
So unusually for our games at that time v overseas sides, and our pennants, this was a home game at the Valley.
Our opponents were the Austrian side SC Wacker of Vienna.
In what with hindsight we might see as a precursor of the defeat of England by Hungry two years later we were not just outplayed but confused by the "new" tactics being used in central Europe.
As Jimmy Seed notes in his diary "We missed two good chances but Wacker were superior in every department. The method of five halfbacks upset our side. Wacker shot very well and were very good value for their victory. We had an off day.
We lost 3 - 1
SC Wacker were a top side at the time winning the league and cup double in 1947 and ending as league runners-up eight times between 1940 and 1956. By 1971 they had merged with Admira Vienna and are now, after another merger part of FC Admira Wacker Molding.
The pennant presented to Charlton by Wacker is now in the Charlton Athletic Museum and will be on display soon.
At the end of the 1952 season Charlton toured France.
Setting out from Victoria on 1 May with 14 players and 7 officials the squad entrained at Victoria at 10pm and arrived in Paris at 11am the next day where they changed trains for Lyon.
From Lyon it was a bus to Grenoble where we played the local side in front of 3,000 fans on 3 May 1952.
Jimmy Seed noted in his diary that "We played badly on a very bad ground 102 yards long and 72 wide and we never were able to master the conditions"
The following day, 4 May 1952 we travelled back to Lyon and according to Jimmy Seed "We played much better in this match on a good ground but the ball would not run for us."
Lyon scored in the first minute but Benny Fenton equalised. Lyon scored twice more in the first half and ran out 3- 1 winners.
Comments
I have a few items from that tour that were given as gifts to JS (but no pennants unfortunately); a cocktail shaker and goblets, a cigarette case, and maybe a couple of other cigarettes &alcohol related items.
I also have some photos of a pleasure boat trip they took and will try and dig them out and post them here. Here's the only one I could find on my phone, and it's mum on the boat (sitting well away from the players, as JS wouldn't approve of her getting too close to them).
Yes, after a bit of a hiatus where film rights were discussed with a couple of people, to no immediate avail, my partner in the book has this week started contacting publishers. Up to now he's only spoken to Vision who expressed an interest but wanted to link in with Spurs' anniversary of the 1921 Cup win. If they say no we have a few other publishers in mind. We've decided if there's no interest we'll self publish.
So, sitting behind my mum [top pic] was Jean Montgomery, daughter of club doctor, Dr Montgomerie (forgotten his first name). Next to Jean was Jimmy Seed - the only photo I've seen of him wearing sunglasses.
In the bottom photo mum is front left. Jean sits next to Dr Montgomery in the middle, alongside Jimmy Seed.
I think both of these boat trips were on that tour of Sweden.
They knew how to enjoy themselves back in the day!
doesn't look like the players were even allowed on the boat.
Dig out those other gifts before I move onto the tour of Turkey.
Not sure it was Sweden, though.
Definitely Addicks fans going on the boat trip to the Fulham match last week.
You can even spot some Lifers.
Just heard today that Vision are interested in the book project, but would want it to tie in with the (long awaited) opening of the Spurs museum. Vision have the reputation as being the best sports publisher around apparently, so fingers crossed.
16 players plus Jimmy Seed and two others, one a doctor, made up the Charlton party but we also took our own ref, Reg Greenwood.
In our first game on 21 May we beat Besiktas 2 - 1 with goals from Vaughan and Brown. The pennant presented at this game is now in the Charlton Athletic Museum.
@Swisdom
We have not one but two pennants from this game. As well as the usual fabric triangle there is a heavy, solid metal rectangle
Infamously, the Turkish side had arranged for two team members to be released from jail to play. One was in prison for stabbing a man to death. In the first few minutes the Addicks hardman, Jock Campbell, had kicked him into the stand and he was carried off unconscious on a stretcher back to jail.
Only one surviving pennant from this game but it is now back in the Charlton Athletic Museum.
The team had to hang around for another 5 days before their KLM flight home but Seed was happy, noting in his match diary that it had been a "Very successful tour, financially and otherwise".
Having lost 0 - 2 to Arsenal at Highbury on Saturday 7 May we travelled to Bovingdon and stayed in a local country club overnight..
The team then flew from Bovingdon (a WWII airstrip later used to film both the 633 Squadron and The Man with the Golden Gun) at 8.10am arriving in Metz at 10.00 am. A coach then took them the 60 odds miles to Saarbrucken. The team played that Sunday evening before travelling home by the same route on Monday after a night in the Excelsior Hotel.
At the time the Saarland was a French protectorate and this game was part of a political battle by the club to avoid playing in the French League. They dropped out of the league and played games only v foreign sides.
They later played in a Saarland league. The Saar also had its own international team and they played in the 54 world cup qualifiers as such.
The desire to see a stronger West Germany saw the ethnically German area re-join that country in 1957.
Charlton won the game 1 - 0 (Lumley)
Seed made only four changes from the team that had lost at Arsenal, selecting Bartram, Campbell, Shreeve, Forbes, Phipps, Brown, Fenton, Lumley, Vaughan, Purvis, Allison. The referee was Griffiths so presumably another official we took with us.
On the Sunday after a Saturday home 3 - 0 win (the 11,329 gate maybe partially explained by it being Cup Final day) over Middlesbrough, 13 players plus the two Jimmys, Seed and Trotter, took the boat train to Paris where they changed trains to arrive in Rennes, Brittany at 6.00 pm
At 5.00 pm on Tuesday 5 May Charlton played Stade Rennais winning 4 - 2 with goals from Evans, Lumley, Vaughan and Kiernan.
The game was part of the French club's 50 year celebrations and the Charlton party were treated to a banquet after the game.
The Addicks stayed overnight then when back to Paris where they took in the Folies Bergere, the slightly risque, for its time, variety show.
Arriving back in London on Thursday, Charlton then lost 2 -1 at home to Derby at the Valley on the Saturday, wrapping up the season in 6th to last place in Division 1 in front of 17,275.
The same set of players played a third game, away at Union Saint-Gilloise in the suburbs of Brussels. Despite trailing 1 - 3, Hewie missing a penalty and Campbell being sent off for "rough play", we recovered and drew 3-3
No pennant survives from the Belgian trip but we have recently recovered the French souvenir given to us and it will soon be on display in the museum.
Any Francophones able to explain what SRUC means?
You should go on a TV quiz show, I'm sure you'd do well : - )
designers, poster for the 1951 Festival of Britain.
As well as the marking the centenary of the 1851 Great Exhibition at the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park the festival's "implicit goal was to give the people a feeling of successful recovery from the war's devastation, as well as promoting British science, technology, industrial design, architecture and the arts."
Part of that was football and there were dozens of games played at all levels.
So unusually for our games at that time v overseas sides, and our pennants, this was a home game at the Valley.
Our opponents were the Austrian side SC Wacker of Vienna.
In what with hindsight we might see as a precursor of the defeat of England by Hungry two years later we were not just outplayed but confused by the "new" tactics being used in central Europe.
As Jimmy Seed notes in his diary "We missed two good chances but Wacker were superior in every department. The method of five halfbacks upset our side. Wacker shot very well and were very good value for their victory. We had an off day.
We lost 3 - 1
SC Wacker were a top side at the time winning the league and cup double in 1947 and ending as league runners-up eight times between 1940 and 1956. By 1971 they had merged with Admira Vienna and are now, after another merger part of FC Admira Wacker Molding.
The pennant presented to Charlton by Wacker is now in the Charlton Athletic Museum and will be on display soon.
Setting out from Victoria on 1 May with 14 players and 7 officials the squad entrained at Victoria at 10pm and arrived in Paris at 11am the next day where they changed trains for Lyon.
From Lyon it was a bus to Grenoble where we played the local side in front of 3,000 fans on 3 May 1952.
Jimmy Seed noted in his diary that "We played badly on a very bad ground 102 yards long and 72 wide and we never were able to master the conditions"
We lost 2 - 0
Lyon scored in the first minute but Benny Fenton equalised. Lyon scored twice more in the first half and ran out 3- 1 winners.
Nimes took a 2 - 0 lead but a penalty from Lock and a goal from Vaugham drew us level. Just before the end Fell scored the winner.
Derek Ufton was carried off with concussion and Evans substituted.
The train took the train back to Paris and then the sleeper back to Victoria.