Matchday Memories: On This Day 1957 – Harry’s Busy Bantams Gut The Gills In Kent
CCFC Manager- Harry Warren 1956-58
On this day (20th April), way back in 1957, the man in charge at Highfield Road was Harry Warren as CCFC was coming to the end of its 1956-57 Division Three South season. Things were a bit of a struggle with very patchy results and City wins were a fairly irregular occurrence.
It was a busy April and Easter period with eight fixtures and, so far, during this month things were looking up with two wins and two draws from the last five games. Last time out (yesterday) the Bantams had profited from their visit to the South Coast with a 2-1 win at Bournemouth and today were visiting Gillingham just south of the Thames. Guess what, they returned to Coventry with a second away win, also by the same score!
Alan Moore
Ray Sambrook in action
Coventry City’s marksmen on this day were two different forwards to yesterday’s scorers Ken McPherson (later a CCFPA member) and Jack Boxley. Today it was Alan Moore with a twenty yard ground shot in the fiftieth minute and Ken Sambrook with a somewhat fortunate last minute tap in (profiting from a defensive tangle) that netted our goals!
Paul Lucas got the Gill’s goal just after the hour with a header off the cross bar. There were 5,076 fans present in south-east London to see a rather poor game. Interestingly, in only his second season for the club, the young George Curtis, who soon became a club giant was tried at inside right in place of the injured Jimmy Rogers for this game when his other eighteen appearances were at full back. It was not a success!
George in 1958
Warren’s men on this day lined up as follows (CCFPA members underlined):-
Alf Bentley; Bill Patrick & Charlie Timmins; Frank Austin, Roy Kirk and Iain Jamieson; Alan Moore, George Curtis, Ken McPherson, Jack Boxley & Ray Sambrook
Sadly we think all members of this team are no longer with us. George’s all too recent death (along with John Sillett later fellow manager with the ‘Iron Man’ of our 1987 F.A.Cup winning squad – and even later both CCFC Presidents) removed the last living link with this side. Iain later became a CCFC director and club chairman!
Archie Clark‘s Gills’ XI lined up as follows:-
Fred Kingshott; Charlie Marks & Ted West; Jimmy Boswell, Tommy Nekrews & Les Riggs; Errol Crossan, Jim Taylor, Bill Parry, Larry Baxter & Paul Lucas Referee:- M.McCoy (Doncaster)
City also won their remaining two games against Bournemouth (h) and Aldershot (a) to make it four wins in a row at the end of the 1956-57 season and a sixteenth place finish in Division Three South this season. Gillingham just kept themselves out of the bottom two in 22nd spot with Swindon Town and bottom club Norwich City the two clubs required to seek re-election (which they were able to do).
Ipswich Town took the title and were promoted to Division Two.
Thanks to CCFPA’s Mike Young for sourcing the images.
