Sky Blues Beachcombers tracked down to Worthing

Regular readers will have noticed an invitation to solve the ‘who’, ‘when’, ‘where’ and ‘why’ mystery of a somewhat bizarre pair of ‘front & back’ photos of a Sky Blue squad sporting Victorian ar Edwardian beachwear sometime in the nineteen sixties. The photos were sent in by CCFPA Associate Member Dean Nelson who had copied them from the programme of the ‘Sky Blue Soccer Ball’ of 1969.

Thanks to Dean and CCFPA member (and Sky Blue star of the sixties and seventies) Chris Cattlin we have identified all the players (a complete team of eleven plus sub)  comprising goalkeeper Bill Glazier (back row, far right); full backs Chris (front row, far right) and Mick Coop (middle row, far right); half back line George Curtis, Jeff Blockley and Dietmar Bruck (all midde row); midfielders (front row left) Ernie Machin and Graham Paddon (front row left – sadly both dearly departed) and forward/strikers Willie Carr and Ernie Hunt (front row centre) and Neil Martin (back row centre).  Ian Gibson seems to be dressed differently (and even more strangely) on the left of the back row so must be counted as sub!

As far as the ‘where’ and ‘why’, CCFPA committee member Dietmar Bruck is confident the photographs were taken on a real beach front at Worthing where Jimmy Hill was wont to take the Sky Blues for a tone up before important league or cup games or pre-season. The sea and pebbles on the beach are real though there is a large artificial backdrop of a a bathing scene at Worthing of the past. He remembers the fun that was usually had by the players on these jaunts which were often enlivened by such JH team building ‘gimmicks’ as portrayed here.  However Dietmar clearly remembers this was a winterish  occasion so the sea was freezing and the hired costumes gave little protection from the biting wind.

As to the ‘when’ Dietmar thought it was probably some time in 1967 (and Dean tells us they were definitely there in February 1967) though Neil Martin did not debut for the Highfield Road club until February 10th 1968 and Chris Cattlin and Ernie Hunt until March 1968 (when Jeff Blockley and Graham Paddon had not yet broken into the first team). The precise date, therefore, remains a bit of a mystery.

If any of our former players or any other readers have any other information please let us know!