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History man

1/28/2017

This article appeared in the Cambridge United matchday programme for the match against Mansfield Town on Saturday, 21 January 2017.

The Coconuts chaps were talking the other day. They do a lot of that, and there’s usually tea and chocolate digestives involved; even doughnuts sometimes. This time, for a change, they were yakking about something important: Andrew Bennett’s brilliant book about the early history of our club, Newmarket Road Roughs.

It’s been selling really well, and if you haven’t got your copy yet, get along to the CFU caravan or online store before they’re all gone – just £14.99 to you.

Andrew spent thousands of hours researching at the Cambridgeshire Collection, but he was far from the first U’s fan to make use of that excellent resource. Long before 100 Years of Coconuts was a twinkle in Dave Matthew-Jones’s eye, the history of Cambridge United was being studied by Paul Daw, and the result was his trio of books: United in Endeavour (covering the period 1912 to 1988), On the Up (1988 to 1991) and First Team Match Statistics (1913 to 1991).

Paul it was who, while delving into the past with the help of people like Coconuts committee man Rodney Slack, discovered that Abbey United wasn’t founded in 1919, as many people believed, but in 1912. (Was it even earlier? Read Newmarket Road Roughs and make up your own mind.) Paul it was who undertook to publish this long overdue work himself, for the love of the game and United – a club he’d already served as secretary.

When he was appointed to the Abbey job in March 1984, Paul had been secretary of his great football love, Saffron Walden Town, since 1975. He’d also published his history of the Bloods and was enjoying a playing career with the club that saw him fill every position except that of goalkeeper. Only when he reached the age of 62 did he see fit to retire from the veterans’ team.

He has continued to serve his hometown club, as chairman and president, ever since. When Town were forced to play their home matches away following a disastrous pitch-levelling exercise, Paul took on the decade-long job of rebuilding the ground. No wonder they’re holding a testimonial match at Catons Lane on February 5, with the proceeds going towards the naming of the Paul Daw Stand.

Paul Daw (right) treads the Abbey turf during his tenure as club secretary. Photo: Cambridge News.

While his time at Newmarket Road wasn’t as chock-full of achievement, it wasn’t without its challenges. He was unlucky enough to join the U’s during the mid-1980s, when the tenures of John Ryan and Ken Shellito were threatening to undo all the good work of the previous 70 years.

Paul Daw (right) presents a display copy of his Cambridge United research to the Cambridgeshire Collection, whose founding librarian, Mike Petty, is pictured on the left. Photo: Cambridge News.

When Ryan fell out with the Cambridge Evening News, Paul’s secretary, Mandy Castle, was recruited to deal with dear old Randall Butt. When the Thatcher government proposed identity cards as a means of crowd control, Paul pointed out that a significant proportion of United supporters attended only a few matches per season. ‘It’s going to cost supporters money somewhere along the line,’ he observed. ‘I don’t think the government are going to pay for it … I really think the government ought to put some money back into the game – or take out less than they are.’

Paul left the Abbey in December 1985, but his legacy endures to this day. Get along to the testimonial on February 5, and pay tribute to a remarkable bloke.

Cheerio
Harry

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Jack Bishop 1923-2017

1/20/2017

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100 Years of Coconuts is sorry to report another recent death in the Cambridge United family: that of Jack Bishop, a skilful outside left who, with his full-back brother Bob, played for the U’s in the 1950s.

When the Bishops played in Jack’s debut game, the club’s first ever in the Eastern Counties League, against Great Yarmouth Town on 18 August 1951, they lined up with another sibling pair: Antonio ('Tony') and Jose ('Joe') Gallego. Jack went on to play 47 times for United, contributing five goals. His career in football followed wartime army service that saw him survive detention in a notorious prisoner of war camp and a forced march of hundreds of miles.

Born in 1923 at Southminster in Essex, the youngest of three sons, Jack Bishop showed his talent at football and cricket on a local level at an early age. In 1941 he joined the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards, where his training as a tank driver included work on Duplex Drive ‘swimming’ vehicles, equipped with flotation screens enabling them to be launched at sea.

Six-thirty on the morning of D-Day (6 June 1944) found Jack in the first wave of tanks landing on Gold Beach to assault the Normandy settlement of La Rivière. He had been ashore for three weeks when his tank was hit and blown up by an 88mm armour-piercing shell near Caen. Jack tried to help his captain, who had been wounded, but he was captured and transferred to the infamous Stalag VIII PoW camp in Silesia.

With the approach of the Red Army in late 1944, prisoners were evacuated from many camps in order to delay their liberation, and forced to march westwards. Jack’s route took him through Czechoslovakia and Bavaria, then north through Germany before, after 1,500 miles, he was finally freed by British troops in Hamburg. After being flown home and then sent to serve in the 1945-47 Palestine conflict, he was demobbed in 1948.

Jack Bishop is pictured front left in this team photo, taken at Newmarket Road in 1951/52. Brother Bob is second from the left in the top row.

Brothers in arms: from left, Bob, Archie and Jack Bishop.

Back in England, he resumed his sporting career with Bury Town, from whom he joined United, with Bob, for the club’s first ECL season. The older brother earned £4 a week while Jack made do with a pound less.

He went on to establish himself as first-choice left winger for most of the season, with Joe Gallego playing inside him at inside left, and demonstrated his commitment during a 3-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur ‘A’ in October. He insisted on continuing after receiving treatment for a head injury in the first half, but after the match an ambulance was called as concussion was suspected. Jack refused it and left the ground the way he had arrived: wheeling his bicycle.

United finished fourth in their first ECL season, but then Gallego was switched to the left wing and Jack’s first-team outings were scarce until he rejoined Bury Town in March 1953. He later played for March Town United and continued to show his talents as a cricketer.

Jack was married to Audrey, who survives him, They lived in Bury St Edmunds, where Jack worked as an engineer. He died on January 18.

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Robin Hardy 1941-2017

1/18/2017

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The Cambridge United family lost a much-loved member with the death this week, at the age of 75, of Robin Hardy, captain of Bill Leivers’ side as it rose into the Football League in 1970.

A native of Worksop, Notts, Hardy was born on 18 January 1941. Having worked his way through the youth ranks as a half back at Sheffield Wednesday, he scored once in 30 first-team games while at Hillsborough.

After experiencing differences of opinion with Owls coach Jack Mansell, he joined Rotherham United in February 1965, but his troubles followed him when Mansell was appointed manager at Millmoor. Having endured a fractious season, Hardy asked for a transfer. Rotherham refused the request, so after 42 appearances and two goals for the Millers he hung up his boots and became landlord of a pub in his home town.

Rotherham placed him on the transfer list at £10,000 but, with Hardy’s refusal to return, granted him a free transfer at the end of 1966/67. Leivers was aware of the player through his coach Geoff Hudson, and knew of his ambition to return to football. When Hardy signed for United (after a replacement publican had been found), he had not kicked a ball in anger for two years.

After weeks of intensive training, he made his United debut as substitute on 1 November 1967 in an FA Cup fourth qualifying round replay against Lowestoft Town, After a 2-1 defeat, Leivers said: ‘I want a player who can get a grip in midfield, and in the brief time Robin Hardy was on the field it looked as if he could do the job.'

Given his first start in a 2-0 defeat at Dover three days later, he was an ever-present for the rest of the season in a powerful half-back line with Jackie Scurr and Gerry Baker. After a 2-0 win at Hillingdon, the local paper enthused: ‘Robin Hardy was the general at the back and he gave the type of performance Bill Leivers had promised he would.’ Leivers sometimes experimented with a sweeper system, and Hardy took on the role with great success as United finished in third place.

Appointed captain for 1968/69, he led by example as the U’s challenged for the league title, and in February Leivers commented: ‘Hardy is probably the best reader of the game in the side and is what I would describe as the complete professional footballer.’ He helped to make the defence all but impregnable, was the club's only ever-present in the league and received the supporters’ player of the year award as United won the Southern League and League Cup double.

He continued to lead the team in 1969/70, playing as sweeper, at centre back or in midfield as Leivers varied the tactics from game to game. Injuries restricted his starts, but at the end of the season United were champions again and were elected to the League.

For the 1970/71 season the players elected their captain and Colin Meldrum got the vote. It was a difficult first year in the League for United and he was in and out of the side as they finished 20th. At the end of term he was one of six players released on a free transfer. He had started 188 games, made three sub appearances and scored 11 times in amber and black. He had been booked just twice in his 13-year professional career.

United supporters remember not only a cultured, seemingly unflappable player but also a highly likeable man who was only too pleased to do favours for fans. He died suddenly on on Tuesday, January 18, leaving wife Marilyn and sons Troy and Carl.

From top: Robin Hardy in the 1968/69 season; manager Bill Leivers welcomes Hardy to the Abbey Stadium in 1967; 'probably the best reader of the game in the side', according to Leivers.

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Graham Atkinson 1943-2017

1/6/2017

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100 Years of Coconuts was saddened to hear of the death, at the age of 73 on January 5, after a brave battle with cancer, of Graham Atkinson.

The lesser known of the two footballing Atkinson brothers – Ron managed Cambridge United on his way to fame as the boss of Manchester United and other top-flight clubs – inside forward Graham passed a highly influential 20 months at the Abbey in the mid-1960s, scoring 32 goals in 62 games. His time at Newmarket Road punctuated a 15-year Oxford United career during which he scored 107 times, and his 77 League goals is a club record.

Born in Birmingham on 17 May 1943, Graham started on the ground staff at Villa Park and played for Aston Villa and Birmingham City junior teams. The Atkinson brothers signed for Oxford, then known as Headington United, in 1959. Graham made his Southern League debut against Chelmsford City at the age of 16 years and 108 days, becoming the club’s youngest player and goalscorer. When Oxford were elected to the Football League in 1962, he scored the club’s first goal at the higher level.

A friendship between Oxford manager Arthur Turner and his Abbey Stadium counterpart Alan Moore led to Graham returning to the Southern League in April 1963; his confidence had been affected by the barracking of a section of Manor Ground fans. The deal was effectively an open-ended loan: Graham signed a contract with Cambridge but Oxford retained his Football League registration. The clubs had a gentleman’s agreement that Oxford could re-sign him when they wished.

He made his Newmarket Road debut on Easter Friday 1963 in a 4-0 defeat by Chelmsford City. He also played the following day in a 1-1 draw at Worcester, but was stretchered off with concussion and spent the night in hospital. After missing the next game he took part in every remaining match that season, scoring twice in nine starts.

The following season Graham was plagued by injury and illness. In December 1963 he overturned his car near St Neots and was again detained in hospital. Having lost his left ear, he did not return to the first team until the end of February but then played in every league game until the end of the season.

Graham Atkinson: goalscoring inside forward

Graham Atkinson is pictured front row, fourth from left in this 1964/65 Cambridge United squad photograph. Back row from left: manager Roy Kirk, Derek Finch, Jimmy Gibson, Rodney Slack, Terence 'Bill' Kelly, Andy Smith, Billy Welsh, Graham Lawrence, Bryan Boggis, Dai Jones, Brian Doyle (trainer); front: Jackie Scurr, Billy Day, Johnny Haasz, Graham Atkinson, Dennis Randall, Peter Hobbs, Matt McVittie, Gerry Greene. Click on the image to enlarge.

Graham came into his own as a goalscoring inside forward during 1964/65, embarking on a fine scoring run that included two hat-tricks and attracting the attention of Oxford manager Turner, who stated his intention of recalling the player under a new contract. ‘I am very happy here,’ said Atkinson, ‘and feel that I am playing better since I joined Cambridge United. Naturally, I must listen to Arthur Turner’s offer before deciding, but it will have to be an attractive one to make me leave Cambridge.’

The lure of the Football League and the prospect of being reunited with his brother proved decisive. Graham’s last Cambridge game was a 3-1 win at Bedford Town on December 5. United’s season then took a dip that was partly attributed to the absence of Atkinson, who finished the season as top league scorer with 13 goals.

He returned to Cambridge United colours for John Gregson’s testimonial in January 1972, and the U’s provided the opposition for his testimonial at Kettering Town in April 1976, by which time his brother was managing the hosts. He had joined the Poppies in 1974.

Graham and wife Jenni lived in Oxfordshire for most of their lives but moved to Pembrokeshire in 2004.

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Percy's progress

1/6/2017

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In the old days, if you left a Newmarket Road pub only to realise you’d still got a bit of a thirst on, you didn’t have to go far to put the matter right. Around the time Abbey United was formed, early in the last century, there was a boozer every 36 yards on an average stretch of the fabled thoroughfare.

Nowadays you’ll need stout walking boots if you want to visit the only three pubs that remain: the Wrestlers, the Corner House and the Burleigh Arms. But renovations at the old Seven Stars promise to bring a lost hostelry back to life – and reawaken memories of the shop that once nestled alongside the pub.

The fishing tackle emporium of the larger than life Percy Anderson met the needs of generations of Cambridge anglers, and it was for that pursuit that Percy was best known. Crowned UK national champion in 1974 and Europe’s top angler three years later, he rejoiced in passing on his skills and knowledge, running his legendary summer teach-ins for local kids for 40 years until shortly before his death, aged 75, in 2006.

Everyone who knew Percy has a story to tell; ask the likes of Ian Darler or Rodney Slack if you need to flex your chuckle muscle. Ian’s tale of the exposed rump is a belter, as is Rodney’s colourful recounting of the mannequin incident, and there’s plenty more where they came from.

But Percy’s competitive exploits were not confined to the riverbank: he competed at county level at indoor and outdoor bowls, snooker, pool and table tennis, and he was a very useful centre forward who flirted with football’s big time.

After rising through the Abbey ranks, he made his United Counties League debut in a 2-2 home draw with Corby Town in September 1950. The goals didn’t flow too freely – he scored three in 11 first team games – but First Division West Brom were interested and in May 1951, after netting four times in three trial matches, the 20-year-old Percy signed a professional contract. As you’ll see when you visit The Story of the U’s in the Supporters’ Club, the Throstles promised to reward United if ‘the boy Anderson’ made the grade.

Sad to say, he didn’t. After missing out on the Albion’s first team for two seasons, he moved on to Stockport County of Division Three North, for whom he played his only Football League game during the 1953/54 season.
Perhaps pining for the Cam, he returned to the Abbey in May 1954 and enjoyed a run in the side in the first half

Percy Armstrong (second right) listens to player-manager Bill Whittaker's dressing room talk before Cambridge United's FA Cup first round proper match at Torquay United on 20 November 1954. Others, back from left: Teddy Bowd, Peter Dobson, Harry Bullen; lower from left: Bob Bishop, Len Crowe, Russell Crane, Arthur Morgan, Jack Thomas. Torquay won 4-0.

The Seven Stars, Newmarket Road, probably 1920s. Occasion unknown.

of the following season. The goals again proved hard to come by, however, and after a 1-0 defeat at Clacton in January 1955 he was loaned out to Great Yarmouth Town of the Eastern Counties League, his U’s career at an end. The United career stats: seven goals in 29 games.

Percy made many a keepnet bulge in angling matches, but the Newmarket Road goal nets were often empty. When he did score he made sure everyone knew about it, and in later life he was fond of recreating his successes on the Abbey pitch. If you get a chance, ask Ian. Bet you can’t keep a straight face.

This article appeared in the Cambridge United matchday programme for the game against Notts County on 2 January 2017.

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History man

Jack Bishop 1923-2017

Robin Hardy 1941-2017

Graham Atkinson 1943-2017

Percy's progress

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