On 16th April 2005 I will be “celebrating” 40 years as a Gills fan. What follows are the tales of pain and joy throughout those years.
It is Good Friday 16th April 1965, I am 7 years old, I am just settling down to watch “Bill and Ben” on the television when my dad asks “Simon, do you want to come to football today?”
The request was a bit of a surprise, my dad & 10-year-old brother, Chris always “went to football” but where they went and what they did when they got there was a mystery to me. Obviously as a curious 7 year old I wanted to know what it was all about. I replied “Yes, but can I watch the end of Bill and Ben first?” (How my priorities were to change in future years!)
So, once Bill and Ben had finished we made the 20-minute walk to Rochester station to catch a train to Gillingham. (My dad still hadn’t learnt to drive in 1965 and in fact very few people in our road had a car!)
It wasn’t long before we were standing in a queue at the Town End of the ground surrounded by what seemed thousands of people. At this early age I had never seen so many people all in one place at the same time!
We didn’t get into the ground until just before kick off and took our place at the back of the Priestfield Road terracing. I couldn’t see a thing! So in one swift movement I was hoisted on to my dad’s shoulders where I remained for the entire game!
The game went by in a blur. I didn’t really understand what was going on even though Chris had told me the Gills were in blue and the opposition, Reading, wore red. The final score was Gills 2 Reading 1 apparently!
Making our way back to the station we bumped into Mr. Basden, our next-door neighbour, and his daughter Sandi and were offered a lift home in their car, a green Morris Minor.
Travelling in a car back then was a rare treat for Chris and I and as we argued over a packet of polos the two dads talked about the game.
Little did I know that this day was to have such an impact on the rest of my life. The seed had been planted.
To be continued…
Good Friday 16th April 1965
Football League Division Three
Gillingham 2-1 Reading (HT 0-0)
Att: 14,233 (!)
Gills: Simpson, Weston, Hudson, Arnott, Burgess, Farall, Pulley, Rackstraw, Newman, Gibbs, Meredith
Scorer: Farall 2