Mylander - Issue 83

From inside the community Down Memory Lane Football at Easter 57 years ago - Colchester High Steward, Sir Bob Russell, recalls his time with Mile End Rangers From 57 years ago, Easter 1963, a trip down memory lane – to be precise, Ford’s Lane which led to Mile End Recreation Ground, home of Mile End Rangers Football Club in what was then the relatively newly created Sunday League. Football had hitherto not been played on the Sabbath. Not to be confused with the former Mile End Rovers Saturday club (which had folded a few seasons earlier) of the Colchester and East Essex League, Mile End Rangers was a new club whose headquarters was a small café inside the Mile End Fish and Chip Shop in Nayland Road (years later it was demolished and replaced with the pharmacy that is there now). Club Chairman was Mr Hicks who owned the chippy. One of the players on the books was teenager Bob Russell, now Sir Bob Russell, High Steward of Colchester, who looks back on those happy carefree days. At the time he was a student at what was then the Technical College, now the Colchester Institute. He celebrated his 17th birthday in March 1963. Club colours were red and black. The first team shirt was squares, the second team was stripes. Bob is not in this photograph, but his brother “Rusty” is. Bob jokes that he was in the second team because if there had been a third team he would have been in that! He played the occasional first team in the closing weeks of the 1962-63 as a heavily congested fixture list was concluded in rapid quick time with two matches often being played on the same afternoon! The winter of 1962-63 had been harsh, with most football matches in the first three months of 1963 postponed because of deep snow and frozen pitches. To help conclude the fixtures, where clubs had not played each other they were required to play two fixtures one after the other. Each match lasted an hour, with 30 minutes each way. There were no substitutes in those days, but teams were allowed to pick a different side for the doubled-headed fixtures. 30