Colin Proctor's story

Pop into the Abbey Stadium any day and the chances are you'll see supporter extraordinaire and Fans' Elected Director Colin Proctor hard at work. He has lived and breathed Abbey and Cambridge United since 1943.

I was born on 11 May 1939 in Fitzroy Street, Cambridge. My mother and father owned the Star public house in New Street and Gran and Granddad Proctor owned the Mill in Newnham. We moved in October ’39 to Ditton Fields, where many large families were moving.

My first recognition of Abbey United was when my next-door neighbour Herbert Spicer and his wife took me to a Saturday game in September 1943. Herbie, as he was known, was a committee member and did many fundraising events to support the football at the club.

Both used to sell teas at half-time and help out around the club when they were free, as did many families from the area. The Morgans, Millers, Harrisons, Georges, Cranes and Jenningses all pitched in to help the cause of a struggling football club. Directors John Woolley, Geoff Proctor, Bill Starr, Mr Wadsworth, Mr Francis (who gave the Abbey for football) and Frank Pettit, the groundsman: all these people put many hours and money into the football club in their own way.

As kids we had limited options for our free time. Abbey United was a great way to meet and play on the local pitch, as after the game on a Saturday or Thursday afternoon we played at being our heroes. Thursdays was half-day closing in Cambridge and certain matches, like Wisbech, King's Lynn, Lowestoft and March, used to attract crowds of up to 5,000. Money being tight after the war, we used to creep through the Tea Gardens where the Supporters' Club now stands (completely covered with bushes and trees), and crawl over the big black drainpipe into the back of the toilet block to watch the game for free. Reg Smart always said when he became a Director not to mention those times, but that was how we had to live, from hand to mouth. Some Thursdays, I would skip school to watch our team, and I sometimes went on the team coach to away matches.

Above, Colin Proctor, with ever-present scarf, at Wembley. Below, Colin with, left to right, Vera, widow of 1960s goalkeeper Andy Smith, and the couple's daughters Beverley Clark and Heather Browne in the Dublin Suite, Abbey Stadium in October 2014. Vera is holding Colin's caricature of Andy. He produces one of every United player

Later on, hooked on life at my club, I became a programme seller. Then I used to take pails of water to the old changing block (green corrugated tin huts, where the Habbin is) for the players to slop down after the muddy games. I used to help Frank Pettit and his son Alan pull up the long grass around the outside of the pitch. We also used to stand on the back of the old rollers, adding a little more weight to try to level off the ground. Grass was at a premium in those days, not like Ian’s perfect pitches of today.

Geoff Proctor handed the Tea Gardens over to the supporters' committee to build a clubhouse for supporters to have somewhere to meet and drink. Frank Pettit was also a head man at Watts wood yard on Newmarket Road, where PC World and MFI are now. One day he was over in his works lorry at St Andrew’s Road, Chesterton, where Pye TV were pulling down some old buildings. Frank asked one guy what they were going to do with the very large asbestos roof. ‘Throw it away,’ he said. ‘Can Abbey United have it then?’ Frank asked. The guy said yes, so Frank arranged through his work to pick up the roof and bring it to the club.

A team of fans got together and brick by brick the clubhouse was built to the size of the roof, a feat that would be hard to achieve today. The clubhouse opened in early 1951 as Abbey were turning into CUFC, as the town became a city through Her Majesty the Queen.

The clubhouse was a great idea, as at that time no one under 14 could go into public houses, but babes in arms could go into clubhouses. Our club was full Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights and it proved to be a great monetary success. After the games the players would come into the clubhouse and we would get autographs and pictures of our heroes. This has always been a family club.

Each match our wooden stand (where the main stand is now) was full to the brim with 500 fans, and the tea hut on the right of the stand always did a brisk trade. Ginny Morgan looked after the tea hut and when we scored she rang her big fire bell, which could be heard deep into the local area, letting everybody know we had scored. When we won our matches, ‘Coconuts’ was played, letting the Town know we had won.

In 1951, Bill Whittaker became manager after playing with Charlton Athletic. That was the making of the present club. Bill had his own way and brought in many seasoned professionals, and the club moved into a higher dimension.

We had many great games at the Abbey. In November 1953, watched by nearly 8,000 fans, we played Newport County in the First Round Proper of the FA Cup at the Abbey, drawing 2-2. That was the first time we played a Football League club in any competition. Stevens and Crowe were our scorers. We went to Newport by coach and train (from Barnwell Junction) and won that game 2-1, Stevens and Saward scoring our goals. In the Second Round we drew Bradford Park Avenue and our ground burst at the seams with over 10,000 fans turning up. We fought to the end but lost 2-1, the great Bill Whittaker scoring a penalty. They were great times to be a fan.

After starting work in 1956, at WG Pye in Newmarket Road, I then became a member of the Supporters’ Club and that link is still there today. In 1969, a few members of the Supporters’ Club got together and formed the Vice Presidents’ Club (as it is today): Bill Boutell, Bob Pininicar, Stan Cutter, Graham Nurse. The club was formed with 19 members and I joined through my neighbour Sid Parsons in 1971.