On the date of the final (July 30th 1966 – love Google) I’d just passed my 14th birthday. I was a member of the Tudor Grange Scout troop from Solihull, a school centric but very active scout troop who were always ambitious with their summer camps.
In 1966 we’d gone to the Isle of Man on the steam packet from Liverpool to Douglas to camp “somewhere”. I’ve absolutely no way of pinning down the exact location, as it was just a farmer’s field (in those days we took with us everything we needed), however I know Ramsey and Laxey were both fairly near, and we were within a few miles of the coast. Having looked at Google maps I’m tempted to say around Cornaa.
There are a few things I remember vividly from the 2 week camp. Radio Caroline North was moored between IoM and the mainland, and the signal was so strong it was virtually impossible to pick up anything else (but being 14 I didn’t want anything else!). I had an ear infection that laid me low for several days immediately after the World Cup final, and to this day I can’t stand Jim Reeves because all I had to keep me company on my tranny was Radio Caroline, and all they did was play Jim Reeves records for days after his death on 31st July.
But the most overriding memory is the World Cup final. I think one or more of the adults in our entourage must have been die hard England fans (everybody becomes a fan when an England team gets to the final stages, right ?) as they went to extremes to find a TV on which they could watch the final. At the nearest village there was a tiny post office and store (again I’m tempted to say Glen Mona, although there doesn’t seem to be a shop or PO there now) run by a couple (who seemed really old but were probably in their thirties), and they had a typically tiny early sixties TV in the corner of their tiny living room. I think the adults then realised they couldn’t escape without taking most of us with them, and the lovely couple agreed to cram what, from memory was a minimum of 30 bodies into that living room, mostly adolescent boys but a sprinkling of adults, and we matched every ohh no and yeeessss, cheer on that tiny probably 14” screen TV, jumping up and down, and the final few minutes, well they’re the stuff of legend. I remember they kept a continuous supply of tea and biscuits going throughout.
In spite of having travelled all over the World on business and pleasure, I’ve never been back to IoM, but those memories have always been with me.
Pete Dyer
Memory added on August 25, 2016
Comments (Add your voice)
No comments have yet been added to this memory.
