I am sitting here on this Summer Saturday afternoon with the rain and the wind battering the windows. It is more like December. The other day whilst clearing out a drawer I came across a school football medal. It was rather dirty so I cleaned it up and found that the medal was hallmarked silver. Inscibed on the rear are the letters N C W 1953. (Deerness Nursing Cup Winners 1953.) I can still remember vividly the Saturday morning we won and retained the Cup by beating Waterhouses Secondary Modern School. We had beaten the same team the previous season to win the Cup. Large crowds used to turn out to watch these Cup Finals between the schools and the crowd that morning must have numbered 200/300. The match was played at Ushaw Moor. Gordon Gillon and I used to look after the school footballs. They were leather and after inserting the bladder into the ball it then had to be blown up and the neck of the bladder tightly fastened with string and then pushed inside the leather case and then the ball had to be laced up. Quite a feat. The ball was then dubbined to make it waterproof. They were very heavy when dry and if you headed a fast moving ball when it was wet you could see stars.
I first played for St. Josephs when I was about 10/11 years old. The first game was at Cornsay Colliery on a Saturday morning. We caught a bus to Esh Winning and then a bus to Cornsay from outside the Co-op. The school at Cornsay was situated half way up the bank on the left hand side of the road going towards Lanchester. We changed in the school and then walked back down the bank and over the beck and turned right at the bottom of the bank on the Tow Law road. We won that day and I played at outside right and scored a goal. If the ball went out of play on one side of the pitch it rolled down an embankent and into the beck. I was given a shiling (5P) for my efforts by my eldest brother Jim. I was flush that day.
I can also remember a few years later travelling to Cornsay to watch Cornsay play Sunderland Reserves. The ball ended up in the beck a few times during that match.
Brian Mc.
>> Hebburn.
These are really great memories. I am pretty sure that the writer is Brian. Am I right? So we have both come out the right side of a cup final against Waterhouses Modern. Blimey O'Reilly. Just a tip: don't forget to use the memories tag rather than the '1' symbol. I made the same mistake in my early days on this newish site, and was put right by Paul. It has just occured to me that if I had been a few years older I might well have faced you - being the Ushaw Moor County left full back! Did you have pace or guile? Were you a clean player? Did you dive in the box? I cannot believe that I have just asked that question!
ReplyDeleteBrian, I must have played against you a few times when I played for the other Ushaw Moor school.Regarding the Cornsay pitch you are spot on, I can remember playing there and their outside right was a flyer and I nudged him too hard and he fell in the beck. I did not get the bus, I was one of the lucky ones who got a ride in CH Barlows car.Great times eh!!. Alf
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