Replacement plaque unveiled at King George V playing fields

[gateman49]

I see from the club website that there was a TU presence at the unveiling of a replacement gate plaque at KGV playing fields yesterday.

The fields (and those further up the hill at Easterbrook Lane) have a place in my heart as my childhood bedroom window in Halsteads Road looked straight across the valley, over the puffing chimney of Watcombe Pottery to them. So apart from playing on Barton Downs, I spent many childhood hours playing football or a rudimentary form of cricket there.

As some of the pitches had a serious slope from side to side and from end to end football watching was always interesting there on days when TU were playing away. I can particularly recall watching Ernie Pym still plying his trade, I think for St Marychurch Spurs, well after he had retired from Plainmoor and I can also recall a grand scout jamboree when rows and rows of tents were erected across the fields. If my memory doesn't fail me it was accorded a Royal Visit and the Queen's representative arrived in a helicopter. Witnessing that was a first for me but I can't recall the year.