TIME TEAM

Connections between ourselves and tonight’s opponents from Antwerp, plus other Belgian links. Jon Rayner finds out more…

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Just a matter of weeks after securing promotion back to the First Division in 1950, we made our first ever visit to Antwerp as part of our close season tour to Germany and Belgium.

We set off for Germany in mid-May to embark on a five-match trip. The first four were all in Germany and we won all of them – against Hanover Arminia, Tennis-Borussia, Wacker Club and Borussia Dortmund – before we headed to Antwerp. We took a coach from Dortmund to Aachen, where we were due to catch the train, but almost didn’t make it all when the coach lost one of its rear wheels en route!

Fortunately no-one was hurt and our travelling party awaited for a replacement coach. After a train journey from Aachen to Brussels, we got another coach for the final part of the trip into Antwerp, where we were received by offiials of our opponents, Royal Beerschot Club.

The players were able to do some shopping and enjoyed a trip to the zoo where, according to our club handbook of 1950/51: ‘…it seemed that the monkeys also appreciated our visit, if one might judge from the antics they were induced to perform for some members of our party!’

After a gruelling 17-day trip, this game on 27 May was a step too far and we lost 2-1, much to the delight of our opponents who had used the game as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations. Len Duquemin scored our goal.

We returned to Belgium the following February to face a Combined XI from the city of Liege. Peter Murphy netted a brace with Sonny Walters and Sid McClellan also on the scoresheet in a 4-1 victory.

LIGHTING IT UP…