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13 - Post-Final celebrations Graham Lane: being at Wembley before and after the match

On the day of the 1966 World Cup final I was 8 years old, and living in Wembley. My cousin, who was 11 at the time, was staying with us. My Dad took us into Wembley to soak up the atmosphere, there were all sort of give-aways, from hats, to newspapers, and the streets were packed.

We returned to our house, from the garden we could hear the crowds cheering. We all sat round the TV and watched the game, it was such a memorable and exciting game.

Following the final whistle, my Dad took us back out into the Stadium area, the crowds seem to disperse quickly, from my memory. We walked up to the stadium, it was all open, no security, so we walked in. It was an eerie feeling given not long ago this placed was packed with crowds and noise. We found ourselves walking out on to the pitch, walking the length of the pitch, down the tunnel, my Dad lifted us up to touch the famous bar which the ball hit and bounced down just ‘across’ the line. There was no one there! We both took a piece of the turf, which we treasured for years, even moving house, we took the turf and had it separated with lolly sticks around.

My cousin then emigrated to Canada in 1969, so several years passed, but the memory stayed with us. In 2012 we visited the new Wembley Stadium, and of course, there was the famous bar in the museum area, our prints on that bar were renewed.

We went on to be life-long West Ham fans, he was already, and I followed on too. For my Cousins, 60th Birthday, I wrote to Geoff Hurst, and told him the story, and he personally signed a copy of his book which I sent to Canada. It was the highlight of his birthday, and I had a copy too.

Although we didn’t go to the game, but for my Dad, my cousin and I will never forget the day that impacted on our lives, we still talk about those events every time we meet up, and yes have bored loads of people with it I am sure.

For the day at Wembley this year, I am most definitely going to be there, and my cousin, hopefully will be able to watch and reminisce in Canada.

Graham Lane

Memory added on August 26, 2016

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