Jon
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Post by Jon on Jul 28, 2013 17:04:58 GMT
Blimey!
What a belting bit of film this is - will bring back a few memories for some.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2013 18:24:47 GMT
Fascinating film, Jon, especially Torquay coming out on to the pitch and that wonderful old Wallace Arnold coach.
I know it's Torquay United but I keep on expecting Ray Crawford to pop up and dump Revie's Leeds out of the FA Cup. I guess that's because, for many of us anyway, our only image of Layer Road in those days is based upon TV coverage of a solitary game.
The commentary takes note that many people walked to matches in the 1960s. Fewer, of course, than in the decades before and there always seemed to be plenty of cars converging on Plainmoor. But, naturally, not as many as would now convey crowds of between 8 and 10,000.
In fact, looking at the film, I'm struck by just how many people appeared to be running out of the ground at the final whistle. That must have been to get a good place in the queues for those big green Eastern National buses running back into town and out to the country. Layer Road, after all, was a fair walk from just about anywhere in Colchester not least the town and railway station.
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hector
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Post by hector on Jul 29, 2013 21:05:49 GMT
When you see the Torquay fans coming in from the turnstile, at around 23/24 seconds there is a man in yellow and blue scarf followed by a lady with a big rosette on. I don't know that lady's name but I feel certain that I recognise her from away trips in the 1980s. Possibly a northern lady but I might be wrong about the accent but I am sure I recognise her from that sort of era. She must have gone to away games for a good couple of decades - hopefully, she still is doing.
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Post by teignmouth54 on Aug 1, 2013 18:20:29 GMT
Congratulations, Jon, on finding this excellent film. This match brings back mixed memories as Torquay had moved into second place in division three, following their 1-0 win at Brighton the previous Wednesday. This was their eleventh win in sixteen matches, with only one defeat, so we expected a result at Layer Road. A draw looked likely with 10 minutes remaining but unfortunately Colchester won 1-0. Torquay's promotion challenge nose dived as they lost 4 of their last 5 games, including this one. I post below the league table before the Colchester game. www.torquayunited-mad.co.uk/snapshot_tables/1966_1967/12/apr/torquay_united/index.shtml |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Aug 4, 2013 13:17:30 GMT
Congratulations, Jon, on finding this excellent film. This match brings back mixed memories as Torquay had moved into second place in division three, following their 1-0 win at Brighton the previous Wednesday. This was their eleventh win in sixteen matches, with only one defeat, so we expected a result at Layer Road. A draw looked likely with 10 minutes remaining but unfortunately Colchester won 1-0. Torquay's promotion challenge nose dived as they lost 4 of their last 5 games, including this one. I post below the league table before the Colchester game. www.torquayunited-mad.co.uk/snapshot_tables/1966_1967/12/apr/torquay_united/index.shtmlThanks teignmouth54 for pointing out the importance of that game. What might have happened if it had been us who pinched the late winner?? It is often forgotten how close we came to promotion in 1967. The following season - Match of the Day and all - seems to have gone down in folklore as the nearly season. Three full seasons at the club: promoted to Division 3, nearly promoted to Division 2, nearly promoted to Division 2. If they ran a poll for our best ever manager, it would be a landslide wouldn't it? Oh and for those who couldn't be bothered to click the link - here is the top six pre-Colchester. 1 Queens Park Rangers 39 23 13 3 94 31 59 2 Torquay United 41 20 9 12 66 43 49 3 Bristol Rovers 41 18 12 11 67 58 48 4 Watford 39 18 10 11 52 40 46 5 Mansfield Town 40 19 8 13 75 64 46 6 Middlesbrough 39 18 8 13 71 57 44 |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2013 17:17:43 GMT
Thanks teignmouth54 for pointing out the importance of that game. What might have happened if it had been us who pinched the late winner?? It is often forgotten how close we came to promotion in 1967. If only I'd been more interested in Torquay United at the age of eleven to have followed those events in greater detail. On the other hand maybe it's just as well that it all didn't spoil my last term at primary school. Had we denied Middlesbrough victory in our penultimate game it's quite possible that 54 points would have been sufficient to have won us promotion on goal average. That would have been five points from the final five games: two wins, a draw and a couple of defeats would have done. Or, heaven forbid, five draws. Ah, too late now.... |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Aug 5, 2013 22:34:42 GMT
Hang on a minute. It seems like the footage might actually be from 30 April 1966 rather than 15 April 1967. An equally important game in our history with a happier ending - a vital 2-0 win over promotion rivals. We both ended up going up. More footage here: www.archivealive.org/video/index/id/157This clip is taken from the Digital Heritage production 'The Game, the Goals and the Glory' showing football from the terraces – as caught on camera by avid football fans and amateur film makers – before the days of penalty shoot outs and undersoil heating! As the commentary explains, this short clip is, “just the beginning of a cracking little film” made by Colchester United supporter and member of the local Cine Club, Deryck Chambers. Filmed in April 1966, the footage provides an insight into an historic year of English football. It was taken in the same year that England famously won the World Cup. The film starts with shots of fans walking to the old CUFC football ground on Layer Road, Colchester. The Torquay players arrive by coach. Dressed in a blue and white home kit, Colchester emerge onto the playing field first and Torquay – in blue and yellow – run on soon afterwards. Between the 1950’s and 1970’s, Colchester spent most of their time playing in the third and fourth tiers. In the 1966-67 season, they lost only three home games, this match being one of them. Although the final result was 2-0 to Torquay, Colchester were promoted to the fourth division only a few weeks after the match. The Layer Road Football Ground was home to Colchester United Football Club from 1937 to 2008, when the team moved to a new stadium at Cuckoo Farm. |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Aug 5, 2013 22:42:01 GMT
More info from: unionsearch.bfi.org.uk/asset.dhtml?archiveId=EAFA&assetId=997Colchester United Description The 1966 - 1967 football programme heads the film, then the outside of the Layer Road ground – home of Colchester United Football Club. There are views of the pitch, and a dog is featured wearing the Colchester United colours, blue and white. The opposing team, Torquay United, arrive by coach and inspect the pitch. Fans walk to the ground and proceed through the turnstiles. There are scenes of the streets outside and of the crowds. The two teams emerge onto the field, Colchester United first. The teams warm up and then there are various scenes from the match, interspersed with views of the crowd. Finally, the crowd leaves the ground. The final score: Colchester United 0, Torquay United 2. SummaryFootball match between Colchester United and Torquay United at Layer Road, made by Deryck Chambers, a member of the Colchester Cine Club.Date1966Cast and Credits maker: Deryck Chambers KeywordsColchester United F.C. ; football clubs ; sports clubs ; clubs and societies ; organisations ; Layer Road football ground, Colchester ; football grounds ; sports grounds ; recreational grounds ; built environment ; environment ; Colchester United F.C. v Torquay United F.C. ; football matches ; sports competitions ; competitions ; Torquay United F.C. GenreSportLocationColchester , Essex Formatstandard8 filmSoundsilentColourColourDuration~4 m 55 sIdentifier997 |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 6, 2013 7:01:18 GMT
Another important game at Colchester you say, Jon? There appear to have been a few of those; the most recent of which doesn't bear thinking about. At least we'll not have to go back to Layer Road again.
Colchester actually led the table during that 1965/66 season only to hit a poor run and end up stumbling over the line. The nerves must have been jarring when they faced Torquay at Layer Road.
Torquay had their wobble winning only one game in six before a strong sequence over the final six matches. There's an imbalance in our fixtures for that season: just the two league games played in December but eight in April with three more in May.
The crowd at Colchester in April 1966 was 5932 as opposed to 7848 for the corresponding fixture at Plainmoor three weeks previously (centenary history figures). Colchester won that one on a day when our emotions must have been frayed.
Overall, according to Brian Tabner's "Through the Turnstiles", we averaged crowds of 6208 compared to Colchester's 5151. That made us the seventh best supported club in the division that season.
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Post by teignmouth54 on Aug 7, 2013 8:22:42 GMT
The film is definitely from April 1967. If you look at the Torquay United players coming out of the tunnel you will notice the trademark sideburns of centre forward Jim Fryatt, who joined us in March 1967!
In this instance the lady narrator is correct.
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Aug 7, 2013 21:11:05 GMT
Another important game at Colchester you say, Jon? There appear to have been a few of those; the most recent of which doesn't bear thinking about. Indeed. Having done Southend 04 and Colchester 05 by coach, I can imagine the mood in the Wallace Arnold on the way home from Essex was a little more subdued in 1967 than it had been a year earlier. I just pity the poor sod who had to sit next to Victor Meldrew all the way home. |
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Jon
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Post by Jon on Aug 7, 2013 21:14:57 GMT
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Post by gateman49 on Mar 14, 2015 22:22:42 GMT
I was at that match, having travelled up in a supporters' coach (who remembers Sam Stuckey then). Indeed we went into it full of optimism, and I have a press photo showing the Torquay fans in the crowd (me included) but the result was as depressing as that last match of the season 2-1 defeat at the same place not so long ago when even a draw would have been good enough.
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sam
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Post by sam on Mar 15, 2015 10:16:19 GMT
I remember Sam Stuckey. I am pretty sure we used to pick him up from Hele. I was always on the Paignton coach that left Victoria Park. Mr. Stuckey, another person of that era who unfailingly supported the Gulls for no reward. Wasn't he the chap who organised the travel. There was a chap called Jo Mead and Mervyn Delafield and Buster from Newton Abbot who I still see at Plainmoor now. Trips to Colchester/Barrow etc pre motorway. Great fun Gateman.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 15, 2015 15:04:27 GMT
I love the way people dig up these old threads.
And programmes too.
Smashing that they are finding them and showing such interest.
Great too that they are occasionally diverting us from today's navel-gazing.
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