I was serving in the army in the Far East in 1966. I was a corporal responsible for communications in B Company of 1st Battalion The Royal Hampshire Regiment. During the World Cup we were based in a company patrol base in the jungle of north east Borneo. On our HF radio we were able to keep up with the scores and relay to the patrols as and when the matches took place.
On the day of the final, which took place late in the day local time, my task was to set up the radio in order that as many of the company as possible could hear the commentary. Our radio shack was relatively small and during the final we had about forty members of the company in attendance, most chain smoking as the tension increased (today’s health and safety rules clearly did not apply) The signal was, of course, not as clear as is the case with modern communications and I fear that I would have been lynched had I lost the commentary. Without doubt my most difficult and important task of the whole ten months we spent in the Far East.
I am delighted to report that the 1966 World Cup final commentary was heard by many dedicated English football fans hundreds of miles from home. There was much elation when the final whistle went and members of B Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Hampshire Regiment went to bed, tired, but extremely happy.
Philip Hall
Memory added on August 25, 2016
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