RIP In WWIi my Dad was in Army units with both Matt Busby (later Man Utd manager) and Joe Mercer (later Man City manager). After the tragic Munich plane they got back in touch with one another and Matt Busby sent Dad a newsy letter on official club letterhead (which I wish I still had). Dad had obviously told him that in Primary School I was Captain of the football and cricket teams. In closing, Matt Busby added, "Vic, if your boy's any good you know where to send him". I was likely good, but not that good, even though I later played pub league in Vancouver, BC (a prolific goal scorer) and at UNB university, as a mature student, I made the Varsity training squad, got injured (ankle) was out of shape, overweight so had to content myself running the Surveying Engineering Intramural soccer (football) team, with good success with a talented squad of English, Scottish, Brazilian, Greek and Canadian players, although when we reached the final against Geology, I only had 8 players show up against a complete team plus 6 subs). Late October here was "too cold" in the opinion of some of my players! We quickly went 0-2 down but got back to 2-2 in regular time, but with sub impacts lost 2 - 4 in extra time.
On the subject of pub football league in Vancouver, BC on the mid 1970's, there is an interesting related story as to how I secured my first job in Canada. I had been trained in land surveying working in Saudi Arabia in 1975 and then was sent by the geophysical (seismic) survey company I worked for to complete a program at North East London Polytechnic in London. Arriving in BC with a prospective job offer in Powell River, a pulp mill town, whilst in Vancouver I was walking near Stanley Parking when I noticed ap pub called the Horse & Carriage Inn with form located on the upper level, Morgan A R Stewart & Company, Surveyors & Engineers. I matched upstairs and asked to see the office manager and a short stocky guy named Keith Strudwick (with Cockney accent) appeared to talk to me. His first words were, "You're from the old country mate, aren't you, I could use a guy like you". Keith had previously worked in the British Army in the Ordnance Survey Corps, and he created a surveying job just for me that (in his opinion) no other Canadian candidate could fill. As we agreed terms, Keith indicated, "You see that pub downstairs, you must play football mate, if I give you this job you must turn out every Saturday to play them in the pub league, kay, we have a deal?" Yes, we did, I was 170 lbs super fit, only 22 and could run rings around the out of shape boozers in this league who drank beer before their games, with more at half-time and then after the match (that was more my thing) There was even a team "groupie girl" who always appeared in the changing room when all is guys were stark naked showering. It was a fun job with lots of travel throughout the province and up north. The brother of Mr. Morgan A R Stewart was an Air Canada pilot flying 747's and on this time off he flew a Cessna 175 float plane to fly us into remote native community locations to complete survey jobs, often for the BC Telephone Company which Mr. Stewart had the contract for. So I telly now grown up kids that it never hurts to knock on that door and introduce yourself, you never know what the outcome might be. As for myself, with that job secured I able to become a Landed Immigrant and later a Canadian citizen (along with dual UK nationality). Along with Keith we used to attend Vancouver Whitecaps home matches (at Empire Stadium where Roger Bannister broke the 4 min mile record) and got to see Pele, Eusebio and Franz Beckenbauer play in their twilight years in the North American Soccer Association. Some very good memories, now at 70, looking back.
