Uncle John's scrapbook - Forest in 3rd Div south


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My late Uncle John made a srapbook about football.......mostly old pictures of forest matches.....1949/50.........but also in his own writing,,comments on the teams,,he also wrote about a team they formed on Old Bestwood estate,, Bestwood Rangers with names of all the players most of which i remember,,

                       He gave me the book when i was about 10,,and ive treasured it ever since........its falling apart now but this book as been with me through all my ups and downs of life,,thought i'd put a few things from it on here.......us oldies will remember some of the players........and a couple of old Bestwood lads might recall some names from the Estate,.............thought i'd kick off with names of the original players of Bestwood Rangers,(with the odd comment from my memory) that Uncle John had written down, no date given but think it was 1949.

 

Dereck Ellson,

Brian Fewkes,........lived next door to me

Barry Hopkin........a cousin

John Jackson........author and my lovely uncle

Charlie Mcullach......lived on Leybourne

Jim Rossington

Jeff Sturman.......goalie, lived on Andover road,,,remember him well

Derek Spencer.....known as Skadds, lived on Andover,

Donald Starkey.......still see Donald in Bulwell,,lovely man,, used to 'Babysit' me.

Donald Brittain....lived on Leybourne,,i was his Van-lad at 15 at Midland station in 1960.

Ron Humphries......lived on Andover,...married one of my cousins.....went to his funeral 3 weeks ago,,was like an Uncle to me.

Ron Walters.........my Grandparents next door neighbour on Leybourne,

Brian Cresswell.......lived i think on Raymede drive also think he was a local councillor .

 

Much more to add if folk are interested...............

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My late Uncle John made a srapbook about football.......mostly old pictures of forest matches.....1949/50.........but also in his own writing,,comments on the teams,,he also wrote about a team they fo

I'm interested!

The book is now literally disintegrating in my hands, so will place it in a zip-up poly-holder.....unless the family dump it in years to come,someone may find it and enjoy it as I have.          

Note Uncle John made ,september 1949,

All players met on Common sunday morning,,commitee selected,agreed subs would be 3d per match,,

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Newspaper cutting 31st March 1951,

Forest 0, Bristol city 0,..........headline ''Goal shy Forest trio let Bristol escape,.............(sound familiar)

Forest team,  Walker,,Whare,,Thomas,,Burkitt,,Gager,,Morley,,Scott,,Leverton,,Ardron,,Capel,,Collindridge,,

 

Edit ,actually met some of them, Bill Whare when he kept a pub on Mansfield rd Redhill,,Jack Burkitt came to a schoolboy game on St.Albans road,Bulwell,,Tot Leverton,,used to drink in ''Park Tavern Basford'' and rang rings round me in a charity match on Vernon Park,,

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More notes from Uncle John,    April 13th 1951 or 2, can't quite make out the year very faded after 60 odd years,

Action photo,,headed Notts county at Upton Park,    ,Notts in what i thought was their best ever strip of White shirt with black collar and shorts.

West Ham 2  Notts 4,            Notts team,,in old formation

                                                                                                   Smith

                                                                       Southwell                        Deans

                                                       Robinson                          Leauty                   Simpson

                         Broome           Simpson                            Lawton               Evans                  Johnstone

 

Worked with Tommy Deans at ABGibsons Daybrook      lovely bloke         my footnote not Uncle Johns................

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Hi Benjamin1945

Just had a look in my Notts County Official History book by Tony Brown and see Notts played West Ham at Upton Park in the old Division 2 on Saturday 14th April 1951 attendance 23226. The score was 4-2 with Tom Johnston scoring both Notts goals. Johnston a Scottish left winger had joined Notts from Forest in 1948. It was in March 1951 that Lawton’s goalscoring partner Jackie Sewell was transferred to Sheffield Wednesday for £34500 an English record at the time. His transfer caused a massive outcry from Notts supporters.

Notts finished the season in 17th place. 

Notts had been promoted as Champions of Div 3 (South) the previous season whilst Forest didn’t make it into Div 2  until the 1951/2 season.

My late dad and late uncle were regular attenders at Meadow Lane in those years and both strongly believed that Notts would have continued to prosper had they not sold Sewell.

I never saw either Lawton or Sewell (I was born in 1950) but I did get to see Hateley, Astle and Masson so that's some compensation.

Does your Uncle John mention Lawton's goal against Forest at the City Ground in Dec 1949? It was dubbed the header of the century by the national press. Notts won 2-1 and that goal is still talked about by those who saw it.

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Hi Mess I remember Uncle John and others talking about Lawtons great goal and indeed Sewells transfer.......i was born in 1945,and at 5 yrs old was football daft,,

Don't think Lawtons goal is in Uncle Johns book......but i seem to recall seeing a photo of it......and if memory serves me right was a header from outside the penalty area,,.......i was lucky as a kid Dad was a county fan and took me to see em,, and Uncle John was Forest and took me to see them,,

                         

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Mess hi again,, just looked at scapbook again,, and Uncle Johns first mention of Jackie Sewell is November 11th 1950,

Notts county 1  blackburn  1,.........Frank Broome scored for Notts from a penalty,team that day,,

                                                                              Bradley

                                              Deans                                               Corkhill

                       Robinson                                    Leauty                            Simpson

Evans                        Broome                           Lawton            Sewell                Johnson

 

To show what a keen football fan Uncle John was even wrote in the book on the same day ,this..........Linby Colliery 3  Nuneaton  1,.....in some cup match

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I remember the death of Leon Leauty in 1955 he was only 35 and still at Notts,when he passed away and Dad took me to his testimonial match against a foreign side,think Honvod Hungary ?.....a really good centre half,,

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Ben - most of the teams you mention were on my Maggies scarf, I was lucky enough to have seen Leauty, Johnson and Lawton a few times. I was born in 1938 and when at Berridge I was in a few scraps with Forest supporters :rolleyes: ....still like County smile2

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Growing up PP  i was slightly more Forest than Notts but loved em both.........Uncle John was the same,,he took me to see Forest at many away matches,,  

Lincoln,,Port Vale,,Barnsley,,Bristol rovers,,Leicester,,Rotherham,,Sheffield Wednesday,, and a Midland league reserve game at Peterborough,,

                    He played a lot himself and was a good inside forward,, when i was about 10 he took me to play on Bulwell Common with all his mates who were about 17 or 18,,they played every Sunday morning from 10am............remember him telling them ''go steady with him''......made no difference they still ''Clattered'' me,,lol..............did me good though lads of my age never bothered me..............

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On 5/10/2018 at 8:03 AM, benjamin1945 said:

Newspaper cutting 31st March.....

Forest team,  Walker,,Whare,,Thomas,,Burkitt,,Gager,,Morley,,Scott,,Leverton,,Ardron,,Capel,,Collindridge,,

 

Tommy Capel was caretaker at our school in the 60s (Gedling Sec.Mod) . He lived in the bungalow on site. Sometimes remember him kicking a ball with us .

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Interesting David, believe he finished his playing days at Heanor town, a fine inside forward, 

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18 hours ago, benjamin1945 said:

I remember the death of Leon Leauty in 1955 he was only 35 and still at Notts,when he passed away and Dad took me to his testimonial match against a foreign side,think Honvod Hungary ?.....a really good centre half,,

Hi again

Leon Leuty's death in December 1955 from leukaemia knocked the heart out of Notts County. He was the club captain and according to Tony Brown's excellent book played his last match on August 25th in a 2-2 draw vs Barnsley at Meadow Lane.

Tony Brown also lists friendlies and testimonials and the only one linked to Leon Leuty is a game played on May 3rd against Wolves where it states it was played for the Leon Leuty fund.

Notts decline following Leuty's death was dramatic. They rallied in 1959/60 (my first season) winning promotion back to Div 3 after one year in the basement of the football league. But it took until 1969 when Sir Jimmy arrived to revive Notts fortunes.

Looking back I think it was the early 50s when Forest overtook Notts as Nottingham’s premier side and that's pretty much how it's remained ever since.

Football's a funny game and Nott's recent revival coupled with Forest woes might be the beginning of a change. As a Notts supporter for over 50 years I live in hope.

 

 

(BTW Wolves had the distinction of having beaten Honved in December 1954 under Wolves newly installed floodlights at Molineux. The Hoved team were captained by Ferenc Puskas and included five other Hungarian internationals who had played in the 6-3 rout of England at Wembley in 1953)

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Thats right Mess Wolves,,i was getting mixed up Honvod being the first continental team i remember,,sure it was on TV ? Seem to recall the game being played with the TV camera behind the goal? certainly remember Puskas and the magical Magyars.......Puskas i believe left Hungary after the Soviet invasion in 1956..........ending his playing days in Spain.

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Enjoyed the comments on radio nottingham after county's game at the weekend..by Lutons manager Nathan Jones....he praised Countys fans for the ovation given to his team and the the reception from from the club,,saying Nottingham is a great football city.........also good to see the attendance of  over 12,000, 4000 from Luton.............lets hope for good result in the play-offs against Coventry............

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Coventry is only 30 mins drive from Daventry where we live and my wife also lived there in the 60s. Her dad took her to see the Sky Blues many times at Highfield Road. She didn’t come with my son and I last August when Notts kicked off the new season at The Ricoh. It was a game for Notts supporters and players alike to forget. Coventry were on top most of the game with Jodi Jones scoring a hat trick on his debut in a resounding 3-0 win for Coventry.

Jones sustained a nasty injury last November which put him out for the rest of the season so he was absent for the return fixture at Meadow Lane this April which Notts won 2-1. The Coventry fans made one heck of a noise that day and went barmy when they equalised.

Notts will do well to overcome Coventry and go on to Wembley but I think they'll just about manage it over the two legs ( I would say that wouldn't I?). I fancy Lincoln to get through too and that will be a very stern test should we make it. Lincoln play a very physical game (as do Notts) and rise to the big occasion.

I'm just glad Mansfield didn’t make the play-offs. Notts rarely get the better of them these days.

The whole of the Notts set up deserves a huge pat on the back even if we don't triumph. We were going out the league last season until Big Al and King Kev stepped in. Massive progress and it's not over.

Come on You Pies. Good times are coming back.

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More from Uncle John in his own writing,    28th October 1950,,

Notts first home win.......Notts County 2  Barnsley  1   scorers Lawton,Johnston for Notts,,   Mcormack for Barnsley,  referee E.Flintstone ,Stockton,

                                                                      Countys Team,

                                                                              Bradley

                                                Deans                                         Corkhill

                        Robinson                                   Leauty                            Simpson

Evans                  Broome                            Lawton             Johnston                   Crookes

 

 

also a few action photos from Football Post or News............

 

                                                               

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Uncle John states,,had meeting in Pavilion on Bulwell common to select commitee,,   (sometime in 1949)

Manager  C.maccallough..Manager

Secretary  D.Ellson

Treasurer  J R Jackson

Captain  J.Rossington

V. Captain  R.Walters,

I remember the old Pavilion top of the first hill on Bulwell Common,,long gone now,,

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Just to show 'Uncle John'''..............apart from being a Forest fan and Notts he also liked to see other local teams doing well (as i do) Derby,Chesterfield,Mansfield and Lincoln,,in his book there are many references to them,including this one.............Baseball ground 11-2-50'.......a cup match     Derby 4 Northampton 2,

Derby team that day,

                                                                                                         Townsend

                                                                              Mozley                                        Parr

                                                              Ward                                    Leauty                      Musson

                                  Powell                  Morris                         Stamps             Steel                     Mclaren..........

Also a photo from football post showing Morris scoring,,      forgot Leauty played for Derby prior to joining Notts,,     believe Sam Ward later became Derby Manager.

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I've an affinity with local clubs as although I was born in Nottingham, I was adopted in Mansfield, and lived in Sutton in Ashfield until I was three. I also lived in Kirkby for a while after leaving Wollaton. Also, my youngest daughter lives in Lincoln, so I always look for their results too. However, Forest is my favourite as I was a season ticket holder for over 35 years. 

Ooh, the outlaws are mostly Notts fans, so I haven't had much banter with them this season.

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Would'nt it be nice if they were all in the 'Premiership'...........some ding-dong local Derbys there would be............and plenty of 'Banter'............can always dream can't we,,

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Yes Ben, it was great about 30 years ago when there was Forest in div 1 along with Derby, B'ham, Villa, Stoke, Wolves, WBA, Coventry, both Sheffield clubs, Barnsley and a couple of others. Minimal travelling, good beer and home for supper ! Great days.

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Remember coming back on a Forest supporters coach with Uncle John and a few cousins from a match at Barnsley..........near Sheffield somewhere a Derby supporters coach had broken down,, cut a long story short we gave a lift to some of em.......the banter was really flying......with much laughter among both sets......i was about 8, and it was was first encounter with football banter........doubt it would be enjoyable today.......

 

Edit......also recall Lincoln supporters at Sincil Bank passing me down by hand to the front so i'd get a good view.......Fans were not segregated back then.

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Hey 'Frinton John''  you do realise Uncle John was your Mams brother don't you ?    so your Uncle as well.......bet you were named after him...........

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Don't seem a lot of interest from Uncle Johns scrapbook,,except from Mess,,but i'm glad ive put it on here,because when the book finally disintigrates a bit of my Uncle will still be on here,hopefully for generations to come, his name was John Jackson who lived and grew up on Leybourne drive Bestwood estate,,and just about the nicest man i ever knew,

So my last bit of his scrapbrook is as follows,,

 

A photo of the the new home of Nottingham Forest A, in Eastwood 1950,

and 2 photos of Forest v Brighton and Hove Albion  23-8-50, Capel scoring 1st goal,,and Collindridge the 2nd...........Forest 4 Brighton hove albion 0,

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