Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
My father started following Chelsea after the war guided by his maternal grandfather Henry Nichols. Barry was due to go to the famous Chelsea v Moscow Dynamo game with Henry in November 1945, but on seeing the crowds his grandmother, Emma, would not let him leave the car with his grandfather. Barry finally made it to Stamford Bridge for his first game against Middlesbrough on October 22nd 1947 and saw a 4-2 victory. I know this, as many years later my father produced this match programme from inside his jacket when I went with him to Wembley in 1997 to see Chelsea win the F.A Cup against Middlesbrough. Who knows, maybe the lucky programme ensured Chelsea’s first major honour in over 25 years!
In his later years my father really looked forward to attending the weekly senior supporters club meetings held at the Cobham training ground. Whilst he may never have become proficient at surfing the web (the original reason for the Chelsea Foundation setting up the club) he loved meeting the new friends he had made there and catching up on all things Chelsea. My father also got involved in the projects they ran and talked fondly of when the Foundation arranged for the senior blues to visit local school children and share their memories of growing up in the war.