Watching Brentford Playing Football 60years Ago.

A Memory of Brentford.

I have only just found this site for sharing your memories of days long gone by, I used to live at No 30 Coningsby Rd South Ealing W5, we lived in 3 rooms upstairs in this house until my dad was given a new council maisonette in Northolt, "what Iuxury" anyway back to the main story,I used to attend Little Ealing Infants - Juniors & then The seniors, school, Saturdays depending what football fixtures the school had organized, I would either be sent by my mother with 2/6d down to Popes lane coal yard to buy & bring back home 1/2 cwt of coal all ballanced on my Soapbox Go Cart, then she would give me sixpence for "Saturday morning pictures"or if Little Ealing was playing a match that week ,probably over nearby Gunnersbury Park, or somewhere else local, I would come home still covered in mud from the game, rub off the worse bits and then go with my mate and walk all the way to Brentford's ground, stopping outside to buy some winkles, from the seafood cart that used to be nearby, and pleading with the guy to give us a pin to dig out the winkles, then we would go in, & I don't ever remember paying to get in, we used to like getting a spot behind the goal to watch all the action, the only player I remember was "Gerry Cakebread" the goalie,I believe they used to wear the old fashioned cheese cutter caps to keep the sun out of their eyes, not much improved there then, to us boys watching football on a Saturday afternoon at Griffin Park was exiting and talked about nothing else all the way home. In those days we were a poor family, mum used to do cleaning locally to earn some extra money, dad used to work at Napiers Engineering factory in Acton, Once in a blue moon we would splash out and go to the Chiswick Empire for some laughs and cheering up,see the show and then go for a fish & chip supper,I still after all this time look to see how the Bees are doing, you can keep your Man U's & your Chelsea's big girls blouses, all of em, go and watch a real football team, a grass routes team, and see how the game should be played.( from Bill Buck still well & living in Ruislip Middx.)