On a Tuesday afternoon in 1975, a number of Rangers players visited the children’s ward of Mount Vernon Hospital in Northwood. Captured above is the moment Dave Webb met 9-year-old Denise Rayford. Steve Russell (The Press photo is from my collection)
QPR’s Goalless but exciting Draw at the Den in 1920
Team: Merrick, Wingrove, Pullen, Cain/Broster (?), Mitchell, Baldock, Ramsey, Birch, Smith (J), Gregory, Donald Attendance: 26,000 On the 20th March 1920, the R’s took on Millwall at the Den. The following match report later appeared in the West London Observer: ‘Queen’s Park Rangers visit to New Cross on Saturday, where they shared the honours of Continue reading
When Rangers Goalkeeper Harry Brown realised his ambition in a Fog
As a bit of a follow-on to Martin Percival’s excellent recent articles, Harry Brown wrote the following for ‘Soccer Star’, which appeared in the magazine on 3rd January 1953: ‘I was standing in the middle of a fog congratulating myself. Ever since I was a kid I’d always had an ambition to play for Arsenal. Continue reading
QPR (5) – Bristol City (0) – ‘Amazing Scenes at Loftus Road, Uproar after Fitzgerald is Knocked Out’
Team: Mason, Jefferson, Rowe, Lowe, Farmer, March, Bott, Charlton, Cheetham, Fitzgerald, McMahon Attendance: 9,576 On Christmas Day 1936, QPR recorded a 4-0 win at Loftus Road over Exeter City. Another home game followed the next day when the R’s took on Bristol City. Bushranger 11’s match report appeared in the Middlesex County Times a week Continue reading
Brentford (2) – QPR (2) – ‘The Incessant Rain on Saturday Afternoon had its effect on the Attendance at this Match’
Team: Howes, White, Newlands, Yenson, Hitch, Ryder, Thompson, Sugden, Roberts, Fletcher, Bevan. Attendance: 3,000 Following a goalless draw with Tottenham Hotspur the previous week, the Park Royalists travelled to Griffin Park on 17th February 1906. A match report appeared in the Sporting Life two days later: ‘The incessant rain on Saturday afternoon had its effect Continue reading
Watching Football again……after a very Long Wait – Part 2
In part 1 of this piece posted on 17th November 2020, I wrote about the first Rangers match that my father, Frank Percival, attended after he arrived home after the war at Barnet in the FA Cup. However, his first match back home was not to see Rangers play. That first match had been four Continue reading
QPR (1) – Watford (0) – ‘Allen in Goal Saved the Day’
Team: Allen, Smith, Jefferson, Lowe, James, March, McEwan, Mallett, Swinfen, Fitzgerald, Bott Attendance: 7,364 On the 22nd April 1939, the R’s took on Watford at Loftus Road. The following match report later appeared in the Marylebone Mercury: ‘Staging a spirited late rally, Watford almost succeeded in snatching a point from the Rangers in a Southern Continue reading
Watching Football again……after a very Long Wait
November 1945 For most of us, the nine months since we last saw a live match in a stadium have been pretty excruciating. Back in 1945 however, many fans had to wait over six long years. 75 years ago, World War Two had just ended and football fans who had been in the Armed Services Continue reading
We Will Remember Them – ‘His Mother Never Accepted that he was Dead’
The following servicemen had at some point in their careers played for Queen’s Park Rangers Football Club, and all tragically lost their lives serving their country: Albert Edward Bonass was born in Yorkshire on 1st January 1912. He arrived at Loftus Road from Chesterfield in 1939 and made his debut on 26th August against Watford. Continue reading
I Wish I had…
known my Grandfather, Harry Cecil Woodley. Over the past two years I have undertaken extensive research into my family ancestry and although it is possible to find a wealth of information on such a subject, there are some areas you are frustratingly missing. My Dad’s side of the family travelled up from a life of Continue reading