| Coconuts has only recently heard of the death, on 27 September 2015, of former Abbey United player Sid High, who was for many years a prominent figure in the Waterbeach community. Sid was born in the village on 30 September 1922 and spent his early life at Denny Abbey Farm, where his father was a horseman. After leaving school he worked at the village butcher’s, Bulls, but his heart was not in the job and it wasn’t long before he was able to take the first steps towards making a living from his lifelong passion: football. He was on the books of Cambridge Town before making his debut for Abbey United against an RAF XI on 17 May 1941. A right winger, he became a regular for United during 1943/44, during which he was an East Anglian League ever-present. In one game he set up all four of Russell Crane’s goals in a 5-1 defeat of Bourn. Sid scored his only hat-trick for the Wasps on 13 October 1945 in a 7-1 thrashing of RAF Quy, but the result was expunged from the records when the servicemen withdrew from the Cambs League. That season he was selected to play for Cambridgeshire against Hertfordshire and Essex. |  Sid High: Waterbeach stalwart. |
He moved into professional football and the Football League with Luton Town in October 1946, but after two years without a first-team breakthrough he moved on to Watford, for whom he scored three goals in seven League games during 1948/49. He then joined King’s Lynn of the Eastern Counties League and scored the only goal when they eliminated Abbey from the FA Cup in October 1950.
Sid returned to Newmarket Road in December 1951, playing at centre forward in a 2-1 home defeat by Colchester United Reserves, but made only one more appearance, scoring the only goal in United’s ECL defeat of Gorleston on 9 February 1952. Plagued by injuries, he retired from football that year.
He had met his future wife, Joan, while in King’s Lynn. They married in 1952 and had one daughter, Susan, and two grandchildren, Charlotte and Stephanie.
Over the years Sid had a variety of jobs: working in an antiques shop; at Pye and Gestetner; and for the University, where he printed exam papers until he retired.
He worked tirelessly for the Waterbeach community for over 25 years, with the annual village feast the biggest item on his agenda. He was part of the Beach News team when the village magazine was launched in the 1970s and helped with its production for many years. After full retirement he coached the Waterbeach School football team and also gave his time to the village club.
We are indebted to Beach News – beachnews@waterbeach.org – for much of the above information and for the photograph.
Sid returned to Newmarket Road in December 1951, playing at centre forward in a 2-1 home defeat by Colchester United Reserves, but made only one more appearance, scoring the only goal in United’s ECL defeat of Gorleston on 9 February 1952. Plagued by injuries, he retired from football that year.
He had met his future wife, Joan, while in King’s Lynn. They married in 1952 and had one daughter, Susan, and two grandchildren, Charlotte and Stephanie.
Over the years Sid had a variety of jobs: working in an antiques shop; at Pye and Gestetner; and for the University, where he printed exam papers until he retired.
He worked tirelessly for the Waterbeach community for over 25 years, with the annual village feast the biggest item on his agenda. He was part of the Beach News team when the village magazine was launched in the 1970s and helped with its production for many years. After full retirement he coached the Waterbeach School football team and also gave his time to the village club.
We are indebted to Beach News – beachnews@waterbeach.org – for much of the above information and for the photograph.
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