Pete's Page

Updated 17th December 1999

Supports: Dagenham & Redbridge
Vocation: Chief Executive of a Primary Care Group

My links with the club go back to the 50's when Ilford were at Lynn Road - I can recall names like Cross, Whittall and Dodkins and I remember as a boy sitting in a stand at the old Wembley (the Empire Stadium as it was known then) in 1957 watching Ilford get beaten by Woking, of all teams, in the FA Amateur Cup Final.

In those days there was no pyramid structure but ther were a number of cups othan the FAAC and the County Senior Cup- the Elizabethan Trophy, The Essex Thameside Trophy, the Mithras Floodlit Cup, all of which seemed to end in a final over 2 legs against Barking, the local rivals in those days. In the 60s performances were sometimes dire - being beaten 10-0 at home by Enfield and watching Wimbledon thrash everyone in sight (their ploy then was the same as now - a huge Irish centre forward called Reynolds who hardly had to jump to get anything that came down from the statosphere) were memories embeddded in my mind.

However the club moved on, as did I - leaving Ilford where I was born and brought up (actually born in Wanstead-so I guesss I am technically a Londoner). Now I am married with 3 boys all of whom have seen either Redbridge Forest or Dag & Red - Wembley 1997 was a family outing for them and my brothers! We live in Sussex so travelling to matches is a bit of a rarity but I guess I come up to 3 or 4 matches a season, last year included a first trip to Slough. My wife Jane is not a football fan but tolerates my interest as she would a small boy I think!

I work in the NHS as Chief Executive of a Primary Care Group based in Uckfield but previously worked for Midland Bank in London and Sheffield.

As a boy I went to Highlands and Beal schools - played for Ilford Corinthians and Glenwood on Sunday - are they still going? before going on to play until I was 33 for Midland Bank in the Southern Amateur League, played a couple of seasons in the East Sussex County League and then retired gracefully to watching when able. I played and watched soccer in Ilford with a pal named Dave Cowell and if he ever sees this site could he get in touch??

Really like this site and the humour on the forum - thanks to those who keep it going !!