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KING GEORGE FOOTBALL CLUB

The Story:

Division 8 to Division 1

1972 to 1983

KING GEORGE FOOTBALL CLUB

INTRODUCTION

King George F.C. was a living institution.

Its focal point was The King George Public House (formally known as

The King of Prussia), Ipswich Road, Norwich. The pub itself no longer

exists and a new hostelry, The Marsh Harrier, stands instead. It was at

this site that the ‘famous’ King George began!

The breeding ground for the club’s members was the two bordering

estates of South Harford and Tuckswood in an area south of Norwich.

The two estates had been built post-war to offer working class people

affordable, rented housing in communities which provided most of the

necessary amenities i.e. council estates.

This is the story of the ‘boys’ of the first occupants of those houses:

The late sixties was a time of change, especially amongst the young and a

time when a ‘mobile’ was a caravan, a ‘pc’ wore a uniform and ‘gay’

meant happy and jolly! Music was progressing and ‘Flower Power’ was

in the air.

A group of 17 year olds from the two estates formed an early incarnation

of the club. The first meeting was held in ‘The Leopard’ Public House on

Leopold Rd, Norwich. The club was named ‘Flinders’, after the name of

an electrical wholesalers based on Whiffler Rd, Norwich. One of the

founder members (Alan Bird) worked for that company who wanted to

start a football club. Geoff Vincent, Ray Kelly, Alan Bird and Roger Gaul

were some of those founding members. The club’s first ground was at

Rackheath and early day results were not good. In the words of Ray

Kelly: ‘scores were high for the opposition and low for us, but we

enjoyed it and drowned our sorrows in a pint or two of King George’s

finest!’ The first few years of existence are, otherwise, very sketchy;

suffice to say that the club entered the Norwich and District Sunday

League at some point, became King George F.C at another and all was in

place for the revolution to begin.

Everything recorded here is an amalgam of hazy memory, pictures and

stories from members who know that those days will never be forgotten.

Time always plays tricks with memory, as the bad old days are forgotten

and the good days somehow become better. This club, to me, was around

during a period when time stood still, and as a group we had a common

sense of belonging. The club became us and we became it, it transcended

individuals but was made up of individuals. Together we proved

something, did something and along the way we had some great moments

which influenced us all for life. We were ‘special’ well before ‘the

special one’. I hope that eventually there will be a King George F.C

website when my ‘rose-tinted’ memory can be corrected by those who

remember better!

As far as I recollect the ‘plan’ began on a holiday in Weston- super- Mare

during August 1972. Paul Athow and Steve Stangroom were having

lunch in a pub and between them decided, somewhat arrogantly, to take

King George F.C to a new, higher level. The team was actually picked

that day (and even recorded on a piece of paper, never seen since!) and as

soon as the holiday was over the work would begin. However, we had

only just joined the club and had to bide our time, in fact we had to go

through season 1972/73 before the journey could begin:

Season 1972/73 Division 8

Number 1s:

School’s Out: Alice Cooper.

You wear it well: Rod Stewart.

Long Haired Lover from Liverpool: Jimmy Osmond.

Cum on Feel the Noize: Slade.

Tie a Yellow Ribbon round the Old Oak Tree: Dawn.

World Events:

Watergate.

Bloody Sunday.

Three Day Week.

Britain joins Europe.

Olympic Games (Munich) Massacre.

Professional Football winners:

Football League Champions: Liverpool.

F.A cup winners: Sunderland (v Leeds United 1-0)

League cup winners: Tottenham Hotspur (v Norwich City 1-0)

European cup winners: Ajax (v Juventus 1-0).

King George Squad:

Manager: Donny Pye

Players: Ray Kelly, Geoff Vincent, Roger Gaul, Tony Moore, Dave

Pointer, Keith Metcalf, Gary Rickman, Alan Brighten, Stuart Rix, Paul

Athow, Steve Stangroom, Mel Wilkins, Steve Askham, Trevor Barcham.

Ground: Larkman School, Motum Road, Norwich.

The Famous pub! changed hands in 1986 and became known as‘Cactus

Jaks’. The original building has now been replaced by ‘The Marsh

Harrier’.

Final League Table: Division 8 1972/73

P W D L F A Pts

Balmere 26 24 0 2 166 27 48

Bunwell 24 21 0 3 130 23 42

NALGO 26 17 1 8 93 52 35

Aylsham YC 26 16 2 8 84 46 34

Spooner Row 26 13 4 9 85 49 30

Costessey YC 26 14 2 10 76 55 30

Lotus Cars 26 12 3 11 91 75 27

Poringland Res. 26 9 5 12 62 78 23

Bretts 26 9 4 13 67 95 22

May & Baker 25 9 3 13 50 88 21

King George 26 7 4 15 51 87 18

Mack. Res. 26 7 2 17 48 94 16

Oak Utd Res. 26 3 2 21 37 179 8

Blades Res. 25 3 0 22 35 137 6

Notes

1) Two points for a win, one point for a draw.

2) Bunwell still had to play two games but could only achieve 46

pts.

3) Trevor Barcham made his debut v May & Baker and scored two

goals.

Results:

Fr Ag Fr Ag

Balmere 0 5 0 12

Bunwell 1 7 1 5

NALGO 2 0 1 5

Aylsham 1 4 1 2

Spooner Row 0 7 2 2

Costessey YC 1 2 1 3

Lotus 0 7 0 2

Poringland 4 3 1 2

Bretts 3 2 2 2

May & Baker 0 1 4 1

Mack. Res. 1 1 2 3

Oak Utd Res. 4 4 8 2

Blades 7 1 3 1


Number 1s:

Angel Fingers: Wizzard

Merry Xmas Everybody:Slade

Tiger Feet:Mud

Jealous Mind:Alvin Stardust

Waterloo: ABBA

World Events

Yom Kippur War begins (Arab/Israel)

Sydney Opera House opens

World Cup (1974) in West Germany

Turkey invasion of Cyprus

‘Rumble in the Jungle’ (Muhammad Ali v George Foreman).

Professional Football Winners

Football League Champions: Leeds United

F.A cup winners: Liverpool (v Newcastle 3-0)

League cup winners: Wolverhampton Wanderers (v Man. City 2-1)

European cup winners: Bayern Munich (v Athletico Madrid 4-0 replay).

World Cup winners: West Germany (v Netherlands 2-1)

Manager: Cliffy Birch.

Players: Gary Rickham, Paul Athow, Stewart Rix, Alan Brighten, Steve

Askham, Dave Pointer, Ronnie Parke, Ray Kelly, Leo Parke, Steve

Stangroom (Captain), Trevor Barcham, Keith Metcalf, John McInally,

Jimmy Mills.


Final League Table: Division 8 1973/74

P W D L F A Pts

King George 26 20 4 2 124 25 44

Coltishall Res. 26 19 3 4 83 29 41

SprowstonYC 26 18 2 6 120 52 38

Norco 26 17 2 7 109 51 36

Pegasus 26 14 3 9 73 63 31

Harbour Ath. 26 12 6 8 87 55 30

NCSSC Res. 26 10 6 10 65 69 26

Wicklewood 26 10 4 12 54 67 24

Albion 26 11 2 13 77 100 24

Taurus Ath. 26 9 5 11 68 90 23

Mack. Res. 26 5 4 17 43 98 14

May & Baker 26 5 1 20 48 96 11

Lotus Cars 26 5 1 19 61 130 11

Poringland Res. 26 4 1 21 41 128 9

Results:

Fr Ag Fr Ag

Coltishall 2 2 1 6

Sprowston YC 2 1 2 4

Norco 3 1 5 1

Pegasus 1 0 2 2

Harbour Ath. 2 2 1 1

NCSSC Res. 7 0 3 2

Wicklewood 3 0 2 0

Albion 9 0 5 0

Taurus Ath. 5 1 7 0

Mack. Res. 5 0 6 0

May & Baker 5 0 4 1

Lotus Cars 11 1 9 0

Poringland 12 0 10 0

Leading Scorers:

John McInally: 51

Leo Parke: 22

Stewart Rix: 12

Alan Brighten: 8

CHAMPIONS


Number 1s:

When will I see you again: Three Degrees

Gonna make you a star: David Essex

Lonely this Christmas: Mud

Down Down: Status Quo

ByeBye Baby: Bay City Rollers.

World Events:

President Nixon resigns over Watergate.

‘Rubik’s Cube’ invented.

Margaret Thatcher becomes leader of Conservative party.

Moorgate (London underground) crash.

World Trade Centre fire.


Football League Champions: Derby.

F.A cup winners: West Ham (v Fulham 2-0)

League cup winners: Aston Villa (v Norwich City 1-0)

European cup winners: Bayern Munich (v Leeds 2-0).

King George squad

N.B The cup depicted is for the Division 8 Championship.

Manager: Cliffy Birch

Linesman: Frank Athow

Players: Chalky Brickley, Stewart Rix, Tim Drake, Alan Brighten, Ray

Kelly, Keith Metcalf, Ronnie Parke, Glynn Brown, Steve Askham, Paddy

Brickley, Trevor Barcham, Steve Stangroom, Paul Athow, Leo Parke,

Dave Pointer, John McInally, Mel Wilkin. Jimmy Mills.


Final League Table Division 7 1974/75

P W D L F A Pts

King George 26 22 3 1 130 24 47

Coltishall Res. 26 19 4 3 94 35 42

Sprowston YCOB 26 18 4 4 140 38 40

Chartac 26 17 3 6 77 35 37

Norco 26 17 3 6 117 70 37

Pegasus Res. 26 11 3 12 72 72 25

Allegro 26 10 4 12 59 67 24

Centaurs 26 10 2 14 84 75 22

Manpower 26 9 1 16 55 91 19

Erie 26 7 2 17 53 113 16

Heartsease Res. 26 5 5 16 58 88 15

Kingsway 26 7 1 18 60 154 15

Scotts Res. 26 5 3 18 52 148 13

Watneys Res. 26 5 2 19 61 100 12

Results:

Coltishall Res. 2-0 won

Allegro 2-1 7-2

Eire Resistors 3-1 won

Sprowston YC 4-3 2-0

Watneys Res. 4-0 5-1

Kingsway 12-0 23-1

Manpower 2-0 6-1

Norco 6-0 8-0

Heartsease 3-2 2-0

Scotts Res. 9-1 1-1

Pegasus 0-0 3-3

Chartac 3-4 2-1

Centaurs 5-3 4-0

Leading Scorers:

Leo Parke 47

Stewart Rix 19

Paddy Brickley 16

Glyn Brown 15

Notes:

We owned our own nets!

John McInally joined Loke United in September.

Mel Wilkin departed early season.

Trevor Barcham’s wedding June 1975

Presentation Night

Champions Division 7 1974/75

Dig those yellow carnations. We must have been hated!


Number 1s:

Sailing: Rod Stewart

Space Oddity: David Bowie

Bohemian Rhapsody: Queen

Save Your Kisses for me: Brotherhood of Man

I love to love: Tina Charles

World Events:

‘Birmingham Six’ sentenced to life imprisonment

Dictator of Spain, Franco, concedes he is too ill to govern.

The term ‘Microsoft’ is used by Bill Gates for the first time.

Pol Pot rules Cambodia

Suez Canal reopened by Egypt.

A pint of lager down The George was 18p! (lime was extra).


Football League Champions: Liverpool.

F.A cup winners: Southampton ( v Man.Utd. 1-0)

League cup winners: Man. City ( v Newcastle 2-1)

European cup winners: Bayern Munich ( v St. Etienne 1-0)

King George squad

Manager: Cliffy Birch

Players: M.Wilkin, R.Kelly, P.Athow, G.Brown, T.Drake, T.Barcham,

S.Askham, S.Stangroom, S.Rix, L.Parke, K.Metcalf, A.Brighten,

B.Cunningham, T.Grint. C. Brickley. P.Skitmore, R.Bane. D.Brickley.

Ground: Mill Hill, Horning.

Introduction

After successive championships, 1975/76 proved to be a somewhat

disrupted season and this may have been a contributory factor to our final

‘Runner up’ position.

First of all we had the problem of finding a new home ground! After

several seasons at Larkman School on Motum Road, the City Council

decided, at very short notice, to remove this facility.

Hoveton FC (brokered by Glynn Brown) kindly loaned us their ground

until we could find a permanent one. Eventually we found our ‘spiritual’

home just down the road from Hoveton at Mill Hill, Horning. This proved

to be a very lucky ground for us, and meant that if you wanted to play for

‘The George’, given the travelling involved for a home game, then you

really wanted to play for them!

The first ‘home’ game at Horning was on November 2nd

1975 against

William IV. We won 5-2 with goals from S.Rix (2). L.Parke (2) and

G.Brown.

The squad that day: K.Metcalf, M.Wilkin, R.Kelly, T.Drake, A.Brighten,

P.Athow, T.Barcham, S.Askham, S.Stangroom, S.Rix, L.Parke,

G.Brown, B.Cunningham.

The original village hall complete with tea urn!

The second ‘interuption’ to our league season was a fantastic run in the

Intermediate Cup. En route to the quarter finals we beat: Chartac,

Frettenham, Eaton Rovers and NCSCC.

The quarter final was played at Horning on January 4th 1976 against one

of the top teams from Kings Lynn: Light Blues. A fantastic team effort

saw us win 2-1(S.Rix,G.Brown) to set up a semi final against Weeting

(a). Ray Kelly reminded me that it was his free kick from which Brownie

headed home the winner! Apparently his Dad, Paddy, was moaning about

Kelly’s free kick at the time!

The squad for the ‘big’ game v Weeting in the semi final was announced

in the Pink‘Un of the previous night:

‘M.Wilkin, T.Drake, P.Athow(Captain), T.Grint, R.Kelly,

B.Cunningham,S.Rix,L.Parke,T.Barcham,G.Brown,S.Askham,

K.Metcalf, S.Stangroom.

Coach leaves King George at 08.45’.

Note we hired a coach for the day as we took plenty of supporters (and

beer, courtesy of Trevor Broom). Unfortunately the game proved to be

the end of our fantastic cup run and we were well beaten by a very strong

Weeting team 5-0.

Our Pink ‘Un notes the following week declared: ‘Although we are all

disappointed, we can still be proud of reaching the semi finals of a

competition usually dominated by clubs from higher leagues. We would

like to thank all supporters who travelled with us and we wish Weeting

all the best in the final. The game was excellently controlled by Robbo

Robinson.’

The pre-arranged, post match meal/celebration is another story and best

left to the memories of those of us who attended. There were some sore

heads next day! It was, never-the-less, a great occasion in the history of

KGFC.

To complete the story: Weeting lost 5-3 to Wymondham Sunday in the

final.

So, back to the league:

Final League Table Division 6 1975/76

P W D L Fr Ag Pts

Sprowston Exiles 26 20 5 1 109 38 45

King George 25 19 2 4 96 41 40

Dereham 26 14 3 9 73 61 31

Loke Res. 24 14 1 9 66 45 29

Coltishall Res. 26 12 4 10 63 68 28

Mile X 25 10 7 8 55 44 27

Balmere 25 12 2 11 81 71 26

CSS 25 12 1 12 68 71 25

Chartac 26 10 3 13 52 72 23

NALGO 26 10 2 14 68 76 22

William IV 25 8 2 15 55 83 18

Catton 24 8 1 15 52 70 17

BLS 25 5 5 15 42 72 15

St Pauls 26 3 2 21 27 93 8

Results:

Mile Cross 2-2 3-0

William IV 5-2 ?

Dereham 8-2 5-0

Civil Service 4-3 2-1

Chartac 7-0 2-0

Catton 6-3 4-2

Loke Res. 1-3 ?

Balmere 4-0 7-1

St. Pauls ? ?

NALGO 2-2 2-1

Sprowston Exiles 1-4 ?

Coltishall Res. 4-2 ?

BLS 9-1 ?

Leading Scorers

Leo Parke (only ever present) 28

Notes

League table shows final positions but not all games.

Some results proved elusive!

Runners Up Division 6 1975/76

Summer 1976

The summer of 1976 is best remembered for being long and hot! Drought

and searing temperatures were the order of the day.

As far as KGFC is concerned it is best remembered for 5 a side

competitions. We (Stangroom/Athow) had decided to enter a series of

competitions and to pick only five players: Athow, Stangroom ,Parke and

Kelly. The fifth member was a new goalkeeper who had been suggested

by Cliffy Birch: Stephen Hatch. We had decided he could keep goal for

us during these competitions and we would assess him for the season

proper. He was excellent and quickly established himself as our number

1.

Memories of the various competitions are very hazy but these are the

facts:

Spixworth: Winners

Reepham: Runners- up

Salhouse: semi finalist

Bintry: semi finalist

The original ‘Motley Crew’

The highlight of that summer, however, came in the prestigious Watney’s

7 a side tournament. The exact format of the competition is gone from

memory but I seem to remember playing a series of games over several

weeks at Hainford against other pub teams of high standard. The usual

suspects played for us but I also remember we ‘drafted’ in a few

celebrities to don the famous shirt: Andy Lochead and Graham Franklin

being two such players. Andy was playing for the great CNSOBU team

of the day and Graham was with NCFC at the time. Results and incidents

are lost to the mists of time but, we won the tournament!

Watney Cup 7s Winners 1976

The downside of that wonderful, endlessly warm summer was the severe

drought. Local councils could not water their grounds (hosepipe ban) and

as a consequence, by the time the season started, most pitches were

brown, grassless and dead. The season start was delayed and, with respect

to the Norwich and District Sunday League, it was announced that

promotion and relegation would not happen for season 1976/77. The

league would, however, do their best to play as many games as possible

using grounds as and when available. Norwich City Council also

announced that their park and school pitches would remain unplayable

until January.

Our opening fixture (at Horning) would be played on October 3rd

1976.


Number 1s:

Dancing Queen: ABBA

When a Child is Born: Johnny Mathis

Don’t cry for me Argentina: Julie Covington

When I need you : Leo Sayer

If you leave me now: Chicago

World Events:

Pol Pot becomes Prime Minister of Cambodia

African nations boycott Summer Olympic games

Jimmy Carter elected US President.

The ‘Rings of Uranus’ are discovered.

‘Rumours’ is released by Fleetwood Mac.


Football League Champions: Liverpool

F.A cup winners: Man. Utd. (v Liverpool 2-1)

League cup winners: Aston Villa (v Everton 3-2)

European Cup winners: Liverpool (v B.Mochengladbach 3-1)

King George squad:

Manager (temporary): Terry Grint.

Players: Glyn Brown,Steve Hatch, A.Brighten,

G.Preston,R.Kelly,J.Mills.L.Parke,T.Barcham,S.Stangroom,

K.Metcalf,I.Napier,P.Athow,A.McRobert. T.Drake, T.Grint, G.Purling,

M.Bond.

Our notes in the ‘Pink Un’ of August 21st 1976:

1) ‘King George begin their warm up for the 1976/77 season with a

friendly against Wymondham Sunday at Horning tomorrow. This is

followed by a game against Hoveton on Tuesday.

2) Manager Cliffy Birch has resigned due to work commitments and

Terry Grint has taken over as temporary manager.

3) All but two of last season’s regulars have signed on and in addition we

welcome to the club: goalkeeper Steve Hatch, forward Andy McRobert

and midfielder Glen Preston. Jimmy Mills and Alan Brighten have

rejoined and, despite some tempting offers, top scorer from last season

Leo Parke has decided to remain with the club.

4) Ray Kelly enters his tenth season.

5) Following a highly successful summer around the five and seven a side

tournaments the club is hoping for another good season’.

Final league table Division 5 1976/77

Copita: Champions

Sprowston Ex.: Runners up

Poringland : third

King George P: 24 W: 12 D: 5 L: 7 Pts: 29

The final table proved elusive. We finished fourth.

Results:

Loke Res. 3-0 0-5

Blades 6-3 3-0

Heartsease 6-2 5-1

Lingwood Res. 6-1 6-1

Bridge Utd. 7-0 2-2

Spooner Row 2-0 1-2

Frettenham 2-1 2-1

John Youngs 2-2 0-3

Sprowston Ex. 3-4 won

Copita 1-2 1-1

Poringland 1-1 1-2

Reliance 1-1 2-3

Notes

1) Iain Napier made his debut on 28/11/76 v Loke Res.

2) Terry Grint broke his leg v Poringland.

3) Glyn Brown leading scorer with 12

4) Athow, Kelly and Stangroom everpresents.

5) League positions decided on ‘average’ points.

What a season 1976/77 proved to be:

There had been a delayed start to any regular league football caused by

the drought, followed by winter disruption due to floods, snow and ice!

It was, therefore, nothing short of a miracle that any sort of competition

was ever finalised and a testament to the dedication and efforts of the

league management committee (Brian Ward and Bernie Hardiman) and

the individual club secretaries.

Remember that, in 1976/77, the ‘Pink’Un’ was our internet, a landline

(and not every house had one) was our iPhone and the written letter

(remember stamps?) was our text message! Club secretaries had to rely

on a good attendance at training to pass on match information!

A different world back then, but the bottom line was we just wanted to

play football.

The internet 1977! The number (181) at the top was my Grandad’s house

number for delivery.

Season 1977/78 Division 5 (again!)

Number 1s:

Silver Lady: David Soul

Mull of Kintyre: Wings

Wuthering Heights: Kate Bush

Night Fever: Bee Gees

Uptown Top ranking: Althia and Donna

World Events:

Elvis Presley dies 16th August 1977

South African activist Steve Biko dies in police custody

Rhodesia announces multi racial democracy within two years

‘Saturday Night Fever’(film) released.

Regular radio broadcasts of British Parliament begin.


Football League Champions: Nottingham Forest

F.A cup winners: Ipswich Town (v Arsenal 1-0)

League cup winners: Nottingham Forest (v Liverpool 1-0)

European cup winners: Liverpool (v Bruges 1-0)

World Cup winners: Argentina (v Netherlands 3-1)

King George squad:

S.Askham, G.Brown, L.Parke, G.Rickman, G.Preston, I.Napier, S.Rix,

T.Barcham, P.Athow, S.Hatch, R.Kelly, S.Stangroom, A.McRobert,

C.Holmes, N.Henson, M.Bond, M.Flatman.


Introduction

Given the unusual nature of last season it is useful to record Brian Ward’s

(League Secretary) notes in the Pink’Un of August 20th 1977:

‘Although there was no promotion and relegation on merit last season

never the less some teams did in fact move up to fill vacancies although

no teams were relegated.’

This explains why we lost Copita, Sprowston Exiles and Poringland from

our league and gained University Arms, Fiorentina, Balmere and Mile

Cross Rangers reserves.

We also had another great run in the Intermediate cup defeating Civil

Service, Coltishall, NCSSC and Ford & Slater before losing to North Star

(Kings Lynn) in the last eight.

Our early season Pink ‘Un notes also provided interesting information:

Leo Parke had been elected captain, Trevor Barcham had re signed

(where had he been?), David Lamotte (keeper) signed .Chalky Brickley

along with Cliff Birch joined the ‘Selection Committee’.

Final League table Division 5 1977/78

Final complete table: elusive.

University Arms Champions

Balmere Runners up

King George Third:

P W D L Fr Ag Pts

24 17 3 4 80 27 37

Results:

Lingwood Res 4-0 6-1

Heartsease 7-1 4-1

Fiorentina 5-0 6-1

Frettenham 5-1 3-1

Spooner Row 11-0 3-2

University Arms 1-3 1-2

(Bridge) dropped out mid season records deleted.

Reliance 1-0 2-0

John Youngs 3-1 5-0

Loke Res. 0-1 1-0

Balmere 1-1 0-5

Mile Cross 2-1 2-2

William IV 2-2 5-1

Notes:

1. We played our first league game of the season( v William IV) without

six of our regulars due to holiday. The team that day included one Cliffy

Birch playing his first game in 19 years at the age of 50! Mervyn Flatman

(of Norwich Union fame) also guested. The 2-2 draw was highly

commendable under the circumstances.

2. We had tracksuit tops bearing ‘King George F.C’ on the back!

3. Leo Parke represented Norfolk (v Suffolk) during this season and also

played his 100th

game for the club v Spooner Row, March 1978.

4. Iain Napier scored his first hat-trick for the club, v Spooner Row,

March 1978.

5. Although we finished third we still gained promotion to Division 4 for

next season.


Number 1s

Three times a lady: Commodores

Rat Trap: Boomtown Rats

Mary’s Boy Child: Bony M

YMCA: Village People

I will survive: Gloria Gaynor

World Events

First test tube baby born: Louise Brown in England.

Artificial insulin is invented

Camp David Accords signed (Egypt and Israel)

Ayatollah Khomeini retuns to Iran after Shah deposed.

Margaret Tatcher elected first female Prime Minister.

Professional football winners

Football League Champions: Liverpool

F.A cup winners: Arsenal ( v Man.Utd. 3-2)

League Cup winners: Nottingham Forest ( v Southampton 3-2)

European Cup winners: Liverpool ( v Real Madrid 1-0)

King George Squad

S.Hatch, I.Napier, R.Kelly, J.Mills, K.Metcalf, S.Rix, A.McRobert,

S.Stangroom, T.Barcham, G.Brown, D.Chaplin, G.Rickman, G.Preston,

T.Lovett, A.Brighten, L.Howard.

Ground: Mill Hill, Horning

Steve Stangroom’s wedding May 5th

1979 in Sunderland.

May 5th

1979. Not a bad 5 a side team!


Full information (Forum) proved elusive at this point:

P: 24 W: 14 D: 4 L: 6 Pts: 32

Results

Balmere 3-3

Fiorentina 5-2

William IV 3-3

Coltishall 5-2 2-4

Drayton 6-0

Vauxhall 3-2

New Inn 7-0

Jarrolds 6-0 4-1

University Arms 0-2

Eaton Rovers 1-1

Wreningham

Loke Res. 1-3 3-3

Leading scorers

R.Kelly: 16

A.McRobert: 15

Notes

1. The following players ‘joined’ at the start of the season and may have

played the odd game(?): Tony Gotts, Miles Fish, Micky Shoot and

Graham Plumstaed.

2. Leo Parke left at some point during the season to join Loke United.

3. Paul Athow left in October 1978 to join Farmhouse.

4. Gary Rickman rejoined the club as did Jimmy Mills.

5. Steve Hatch was taken to hospital during the draw with Balmere.

6. Lee Howard broke his ankle playing for a Saturday team.

7. We finished outside the top two but still gained promotion.


Number 1s

Cars: Gary Numan

Message in a Bottle: Police

Another Brick in the Wall: Pink Floyd

Going Underground: The Jam

Brass in Pocket: The Pretenders

World Events

Saddam Hussein becomes Iraq’s president.

Iran hostage crisis in Teheran begins.

Soviet Union invades Afghanistan.

USA boycott Olympics in Moscow.

Riots in St Paul’s,Bristol.

Professional Football winners

Football league winners: Liverpool

F.A cup winners: West Ham ( v Arsenal 1-0)

League Cup winners: Wolverhampton ( v Nottingham Forest 1-0)

European Cp winners: Nottingham Forest ( v Hamburg 1-0)

King George squad

I.Napier (captain), A.McRobert, A.Brighten, T.Barcham, S.Stangroom,

S.Askham, R.Kelly, S.Hatch, G.Brown, G.Preston, L.Howard,

G.Rickman, T.Woodthorpe, G.Gilmore, S.Smith.

Pre season meeting notes: agreed to increase subs to 60p!


Full information (Forum) proved elusive at this point.

P W D L Fr Ag Pts

22 18 2 2 76 23 38

Results

Balmere (4-2 1-2) see note 1.

Anglian 1-3 3-2

Park Rangers 1-0 2-0

Loke Res. 4-0 7-1

Barford 7-1 5-1

Aylsham 2-2 2-1

New Inn 3-0 1-0

Bedford 4-0 8-1

Lakenham 2-1 4-1

Herrels 4-1 4-1

Five Star Res. 3-0 6-2

Uni. Arms 1-2 3-3

Notes:

1.The Pink ‘Un announced on 22/12/79 that Balmere (league leaders) had

withdrawn and all their results deleted. This sent us into second position

and there we stayed!

2. We lost the first three games of the season (including a cup defeat to

North Park) and then only suffered one more defeat to University Arms).

Division 3 Runners up 1979/80


Number 1s

Ashes to Ashes: David Bowie

Woman in Love:Barbara Streisand

Woman: John Lennon

Shadd up your face: Joe Dolce

There’s no one quite like Grandma: St Winifred’s school choir.

World Events

‘Solidarity’ union formed after strikes in Gdansk,Poland.

Ronald Reagan elected President of USA.

Led Zeppelin disband after the death of John Bonham.

John Lennon shot dead.

Brixton riots erupt in South London.

Professional Football winners

Football league winners: Aston Villa

F.A cup winners: Tottenham Hotspur (v Man. City 3-2)

European cup winners: Liverpool (v Real Madrid 1-0)

League cup winners: Liverpool (v West Ham 2-1)

King George squad

Steve Hatch, Glynn Brown, Gary Rickman, Steve Stangroom, G.Preston,

Lee Howard, Trevor Barcham, Steve Smith, Keith Webb, Andy

McRobert, Leo Parke, Iain Napier, Kevin Ferguson.


P W D L Fr Ag Pts Av

King George 24 16 5 3 88 33 37 2.7

Unity Emeralds 24 17 3 4 60 25 37 2.4

Marlpit 24 17 3 4 67 33 37 2.0

Golden Star 24 14 3 7 53 26 31

Poringland 24 12 1 11 68 49 25

Mile Cross 24 9 7 8 43 36 25

Pegasus 24 9 5 10 54 50 23

Lingwood 24 8 6 10 56 59 22

Manpower 24 8 4 12 50 80 20

Aylsham YCOB 24 7 3 14 51 68 17

Sprowston 24 5 7 12 47 67 17

Hellesdon 24 6 4 14 36 61 16

Rural 24 2 1 21 27 110 5

Results

Sprowston 5-2 2-2

Manpower 3-4 7-0

Hellesdon 1-1 2-0

Golden Star 1-2 3-1

Aylsham 6-1 3-1

Mile Cross 6-2 1-1

Rural 6-1 4-0

Marlpit 1-0 5-0

Poringland 3-2 7-4

Pegasus 5-1 9-1

Unity Emeralds 3-1 1-1

Lingwood 2-3 2-2

Leading scorers

Leo Parke: 21

Iain Napier: 12

Glyn Brown:10

Kevin Ferguson: 10

Notes

1. We won the league on goal average (goal difference not invented yet!)

2. Hatch, Brown, Rickman, Stangroom all ever presents.

Division 2 Winners 1980/81

INTERLUDE

Division 2 Champions 1980/81!

The dream of 1972 realised and King George FC would enter ‘The

Promised Land’ for season 1981/82. From Division 8 to Division 1 in

nine glorious years, and the backbone of the club still intact, was a

fantastic achievement.

However, Paul Athow had already tasted Division 1 with Farmhouse FC

(only to return?) but the other half of the ‘Dream Team’ had played in

every game during that Championship season, although he was about to

announce his retirement from Sunday league football.

The Pink’Un’s Keith Peel in his ‘Soccer Scene’ article wrote the

following piece March 1981:

“Loyalty is a priceless commodity and there are many outstanding

examples in local soccer clubs. Several have been brought to my notice

this week, particularly by officials of two successful League sides King

George and Copita. Since winning Division 8 in 1973/74 season King

George have failed only once to gain promotion at the first attempt. They

are now certain to step up from Division 2 and, barring a remarkable

scoring spree by Marlpit in their last two matches, will do so as

Champions. Seven of the King George side of 1973/74 are still very

much part of their set-up: Paul Athow, Gary Rickman, Steve Stangroom,

Trevor Barcham, Leo Parke, Stuart Rix and Keith Metcalf. Says secretary

Steve Stangroom ‘Ably supported by King George public house landlord

Trevor Broom and guided through the early seasons by ex Norwich City

player Cliff Birch, we have become one of the best clubs in the county at

our level’

King George won 16 and drew 5 of their 24 league games this season.

Their overall league record for the last eight campaigns reads:

P 196 W 139 D 28 L 29 Fr 751 Ag 260 Pts 306”

N.B. A win ratio of 71%

The rest of this story is down to others: their memories, cuttings,

memorabilia and good old fashioned research (no Google back then!).

It has to be concluded to finish what was started in the summer of 1972.

Not a bad haul for eight seasons!

Division 8 Winners: 1973/74


Division 6 Runners Up: 1975/76

Division 5 No promotion/relegation: 1976/77

Division 5 promoted as third: 1977/78

Division 4 promoted: 1978/79

Division 3 Runners Up: 1979/80


The Promised Land beckons:

SEASON 1981/82 Division 1

Number 1s

Green Door: Shakin’ Stevens

Every little thing she does is magic: The Police

Don’t you want me: Human League

A town called Malice: The Jam

Ebony and Ivory: Paul Mc Cartney and Stevie Wonder.

World Events

Charles and Diana got married

MTV launched.

Muhammed Ali’s last fight v Trevor Berbick.

The Falklands war begins.

Laker Airways collapses.


Football league winners: Liverpool

F.A cup winners: Tottenham Hotspur (v QPR 1-0)

European cup winners: Aston Villa (v Bayern Munich 1-0)

League cup winners: Liverpool (v Tottenham 3-1)

World Cup winners: Italy (v W.Germany 3-1)

King George Squad

Iain Napier, Tony Gotts, Leo Parke, Kevin Ferguson, Keith Webb, Glen

Preston, Gary Rickman, Andy McRobert, Glyn Brown, Trevor Barcham,

Paul Holmes, Stuart Rix, Keith Metcalf, Martin Hubble, Steve Smith,

John Spaxman, Ray Savino.

Sponsor: ‘Symbol Computers’ (Tim Drake)


Steve Smith’s wedding with KGFC jumpers!

As worn by the great (his word) Iain Napier!


P W D L Fr Ag Pts

Mackintosh 24 20 1 3 98 24 41

Hobbies 24 17 4 3 61 18 38

Unity Emeralds 24 11 8 5 60 44 30

Busmen 24 12 6 6 69 58 30

NCSSC 24 12 4 8 69 48 28

Wymondham Sunday 24 10 4 10 53 55 24

Quebec 24 8 5 11 80 57 21

King George 24 7 7 10 54 46 21

Five Star 24 8 5 11 49 55 21

Copita 24 8 4 12 42 60 20

Parkside 24 5 6 13 36 67 16

Boundary Exiles 24 6 3 15 46 70 15

Loke 24 2 3 19 27 142 7

King George’s debut in the First Division came on September 5th 1981

and was played at Horning against Hobbies. We lost 5-2.

Results:

Hobbies 2-5 0-1

Wymondham Sun. 1-3 5-0

Five Star 0-0 4-0

Boundary Exiles 2-3 4-1

Busmen 2-2 2-2


Mackintosh 0-1 0-1

Copita 3-2 3-3

Quebec 3-1 5-1

Loke 1-1 4-4

NCSSC 6-1 1-2

Parkside 2-3 2-4

Comment

A fantastic debut season in Division 1! King George would have settled

to finish level on points with Quebec before a ball had been kicked?

Equally remarkable was a cup run that took us took us to the semi final of

the Sunday Senior Cup:

v Brooke won 5-2

v Freethorpe won 6-2

v Quebec won 5-2

v MT Villa won 3-0

v Feasts lost 4-3

Action from the Quarter Final v MT Villa (Gt Yarmouth) 17/01/1982

Notes

1. We lost the services of Kevin Ferguson to a broken leg sustained

with his Saturday club.

2. John Spaxman fractured his jaw against NCSSC and Glyn Brown

took over goalkeeping duties that day.

3. A new management team of Rickman and Webb took over from

the game against Quebec (won 5-1) on 7th March 1982.


No 1s

Fame- Irene Cara

I don’t wanna dance- Eddy Grant

Billy Jean- Michael Jackson

Total Eclipse of the Heart- Bonnie Taylor

True- Spandau Ballet

World Events

Falklands War ends

Prince William born

Michael Jackson releases ‘Thriller’

Seatbelts’ use in cars becomes mandatory in UK

Official beginning of the Internet


Football League Winners: Liverpool

F.A cup winners: Man. Utd. (v Brighton 4-0)

League winners: Liverpool (v Man. Utd. 2-1)

European Cup winners: Hamburg (v Juventus 1-0)

King George squad

Leo Parke left the club preseason joining Quebec.

Keith Webb departed October 1982 to join Unity Emeralds.

Paul Holmes, Iain Napier, Andy McRobert, Steve Smith, Keith Webb,

Glyn Brown, Gary Rickman, Charlie McDonald, Stuart Rix, M.Anderson,

Kevin Ferguson, John Spaxman, ?Harris, ?Stangroom, Keith Metcalf,

Glen Preston, Adrian Harris, Lee Howard, Andrew Tate.

Ground: Keswick Hall, Keswick, Norwich

Management team: Tim Drake and Paul Holmes

Sponsor: Symbol Computers (Tim Drake)

Match Ball sponsor: Trevor Broome (King George Public House).

Final league table 1982/83

P W D L Fr Ag Pts.

Mackintosh 22 18 4 0 98 32 40

Quebec 22 15 4 3 78 29 34

Unity Emeralds 22 15 3 4 61 29 33

Hobbies 22 9 9 4 45 26 27

NCSSC 22 10 5 7 45 33 25

Busmen 22 8 7 7 51 45 23

Wymondham 22 6 7 9 56 59 19

Heartsease Twrs 22 6 6 10 55 59 18

Parkside 22 5 3 14 30 75 13

King George 22 5 3 14 38 87 13 Five Star 22 4 3 15 30 75 11

Marlpit 22 1 6 15 32 73 8

Results

Busmen 1-8 3-3


Heartsease Towers 1-1 4-5

NCSSC 0-3 2-6

Wymondham Sunday 4-2 3-2

Five Star 2-1 0-4

Marlpit 3-3 1-6

Parkside 2-3 3-1

Mackintosh 1-6 0-12

Hobbies 0-2 3-2

Quebec 2-4 1-7

Avoidance of relegation and completion of the season was a fantastic

achievement and a testament to the remaining spirit of King George FC.

It was always going to be an up hill struggle to replace players of the

calibre of Leo Parke and Keith Webb but those who ‘stuck’ it out should

be applauded.

Team raising was the biggest problem and after an article by Kevin Piper

appeared in the local paper (viz) an emergency meeting was arranged,

and as reported in the Pink’Un of 22/01/1983:

‘after an emergency meeting to discuss the club’s future it was decided to

carry on. Every member promising 100% effort in a bid to avoid

relegation. This new found enthusiasm was carried onto the pitch in the

next game v Wymondham which was won 3-2. The defence, with

Spaxman returning in goal, looked very secure. Steve Smith and Lee

Howard were dominant in the centre of defence. It is now up to the

players to continue producing this effort if the team are to climb the

table.’

Our Sponsor’s badge and a remarkably clean pair of socks!

Notes:

1. Copita resigned from the league in December 1982. Their records

were deleted. We had won 4-0 against them.

2. The final game of the season ( and, as it turned out, EVER) was

played in May, midweek at May & Baker’s ground in Hellesdon.

The opposition that evening was Quebec who needed any sort of

victory to become Division 1 runners up. They defeated King

George FC by 7 goals to 1.

3. One Duncan Forbes played for Unity Emeralds against us that

season.

4. We were bottom of the league on 06/02/83 after a heavy defeat to

Marlpit. They were eventually relegated whilst we finished a

respectable 9th

equal (separated by goal average).

5. This was the final season of King George Football Club based on

the fact that we do not appear in fixtures for Division 1 1983/84.

Epilogue

The end of King George Football Club, when it finally came, was a

natural death.

Any club is an intangible force held together by a common cause- a

belonging. It is the property of no one and merely in the hands of the

current custodians.

A club is held together by a soul and supported by a backbone and if

either gives then the end results.

One or both giving, may have been responsible for the end of King

George Football Club.

R.I.P 1972 to 1983.

Final comment:

The author could easily relive numerous, personal memories but it seems

better to put out some prompts and allow everyone, who has been

interested enough to read this far, to remember their own version of

events:

-Sunday Lunchtimes, post match, at the ‘George’.

-Christmas Raffle

-Norfolk Dumpling

-Weeting (a) in the cup

-Light Blues (h) in the cup

-Trevor, Wendy, Charlie and Grace.

-Paddy and Wally

-Cliffy Birch

-Frank Athow

-Boxing Day lock in

-Christmas Day matches

-‘Bubbles’ and the Keswick Hall crew

-Jimmy Mills on a bike at the disco and his GG impersonation!

-Painting the lines at Horning

-Pinebanks (did we own it?)

-Holidays with the boys (Yugoslavia 1974)

-Yellow carnations

-Tracksuit tops

-Lee Howard’s pre-match, tension relieving jokes

-Made and broken relationships

-Weddings

-England v Scotland at Wembley

-F.A cup finals (free tickets)

-Division 2 Champions 1980/81

-Great first season in Division 1

-Semi final Senior Cup 1982

-‘The oranges are good!’

- Urinal switch around of the famous midfield trio (Barcham, Napier,

Stangroom).

-King George jumpers

-‘You can’t get to the moon on an 83 bus!’

Reference sources

1. Norfolk Heritage Centre, Forum, Norwich: (Pink ‘Un on micro

film)

2. Memories of Stangroom, Kelly and Napier.

THE END

S.G.Stangroom July 2015

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