Tottenham Hotspur Football Club (Spurs)

My Grandad - RWG Bedford was an original supporter of Spurs, back when they played on Tottenham Marshes!

Here's a potted history, courtesy of Wikipedia -

The club was formed in 1882, as Hotspur F.C., and played in the Southern League from 1896 until 1908, when they were elected into the Football League Second Division. Before this promotion Tottenham had won the FA Cup in 1901, making them the only non-League club to (or likely to) do so since the formation of the Football League.

Since then, Tottenham have won the FA Cup a further seven times, the Football League twice, the Football League Cup four times, the UEFA Cup twice and also the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. The Cup Winners' Cup victory in 1963 made Tottenham the first English team to win a UEFA competition. In 1960–61 they became the first team to complete The Double in the 20th century.

Tottenham played their first matches at Tottenham Marshes on the available public pitches and remained there for six years. It was at this ground that Spurs first played archrivals Arsenal (then known as Royal Arsenal), leading 2–1 until the match got called off due to poor light after the away team arrived late.^[5] There were occasions on which fights would break out on the marshes in dispute of the teams that were allowed to use the best pitches. Crowd sizes were regularly increasing and a new site was becoming needed to accommodate these supporters.

In 1898 the club moved from the marshes to Northumberland Park and charged an admission fee of 3d (£0.0125). They only remained at this ground for a year as in April 1899, 14,000 fans turned up to watch Spurs play Woolwich Arsenal. The ground was no longer able to cope with the larger crowds and Spurs were forced to move to a new larger site 100 yards down the road, to the current ground.

The White Hart Lane ground was originally a disused nursery owned by the brewery Charringtons and located behind a public house on Tottenham High Road (the actual White Hart Lane road lies a few hundred yards north of the main entrance). The landlord spotted the increased income he could enjoy if Tottenham played their matches behind his pub and in 1899 the club moved in. They brought with them the stand they used at Northumberland Park which gave shelter to 2,500 fans. Notts County were the first visitors to 'the Lane' in a friendly watched by 5,000 people and provided in £115 in receipts; Spurs won 4–1. QPR became the first competitive visitors to the ground and 11,000 people saw them lose 1–0 to Tottenham.

Since 1910, Tottenham have displayed a bronze cast of a cockerel made by a former player.

In 1905 Tottenham raised enough money to buy the freehold to the land and became permanent owners of the ground. As the club grew new stands were added. A new main stand was added in 1909, the East stand was also covered this year and extended further two years later. The profits from the 1921 FA Cup win were used to build a covered terrace at the Paxton Road end and the Park Lane end was built at a cost of over £3,000 some two years later. This increased the ground's capacity to around 58,000 with room for 40,000 under cover. The East Stand (Worcester Avenue) stand was finished in 1934 and this increased capacity to around 80,000 spectators but cost £60,000

Both Grandad's sons - RW Bedford and WJ Bedford carried on the tradition. Here are a few photo's:

 

Off on an away game!

 

Notice the "rattle"! A supporters "noise maker" back in the day.

Clearly a match against Southampton (Saints) 

Myself - son of "Bob" Bedford and Andy - son of "Bill" Bedford are 3rd generation Spurs supporters along with many of our cousins in the King Family.

I wonder if the tradition will continue ............

Dad (Robert William Bedford) the Pugalist!

In his latter teenage years Dad was a boxer, albeit an amateur. He boxed under the name of  "Boy'o William" and was about to become professional when war broke out which put an end to his aspirations. (Though I think secretly Mum had a bit to say about it too!)

He used to go to fairgrounds and earn a few shillings by "staying a round" with the fairground boxer!!

He also tried to get me to follow in his footsteps, training me at an early age.

 

I joined the Harris Lebus Boxing Club when I was 14, with Dad as my coach and subsequently I did win the Tottenham Grammar  School boxing championship, but the novelty soon waned after a couple of heavy defeats!! 

I think that saddened Dad but Mum was delighted.

Jenny Jenkins (nee BEDFORD) Genealogy Report.

Link to Jenny Jenkins (nee BEDFORD) Genealogy Report

The Bedfords - A genealogy Report by Colin Finch.

 Link to The Bedfords - A Genealogy Report by Colin Finch

Returning From War

Dad and his friend Ted on a POW evacuation train.

Actual newsreel footage from which this photo was taken can be found by clicking this link:
My Dropbox Newsreel Footage

Welcome to our family blog site.
It was only after going through some old photos of our mum and dad when they were young,  we came across one of my dad in his army uniform.  This got us to thinking how little we knew of his army career.  Dad didn’t talk about it very much but from the little information we  did gather I knew he had been a prisoner of war.
So we decided to do some digging to leave a commemorative web page to mum and dad (Robert William Bedford and Winnie May Bedford (nee King) so that our children and their children would have a record of their grandparents ( & great grandparents).

So where do we begin?  

Dad signed up for the army in 1934 at Mill Hill.

We don't know why he chose this particular path.
Dad was posted to Aldershot Command Royal Army Medical Corp unit and passed an
examination in August 1934.

It remains a mystery what the exam covered but we suspect medical training.  Dad then passed a further exam in November of the same year in English, Army and Empire, map reading and maths.
Strange combination but it's there in black and white

Dad then underwent a course of instruction and passed with flying colours in
Anatomy, Physiology, First Aid, Medical and surgical nursing and Ward Management
and Hygiene to qualify as a Nursing Orderly First Class in July 1935.

Dad's time in the R.A.M.C. commenced............

The period from 1935 - 1940.

The time between 1935 to 1940 is a little murky as we do not actually know what

year dad met mum but what we do know is it was at a dance. They both loved
dancing but dad was a real dab hand at it and had partners for all the different
dances - much to mum's annoyance!

We're not sure if it was love at first sight but on 21st October 1940 dad and mum got married. 

Now this of course should have been a joyous and romantic occasion but it was

not to be!  The sirens went off in good old London Town so Mum & Dad along with other
families headed for the air raid shelter.  All night the bombs dropped around
them so a lovely 'hugged up', (well it might have been ''huddled up') night was
not to be and Dad and Mum ascended from the shelter the next morning with their
marriage unconsummated!

As if that wasn't bad enough the worst happened and Dad
got called up that very day to go to war..........

The period from 1940 - 1943.

Dad was sent out to join the 7th Armoured Division (known as the Desert Rats).

Communication was practically if not totally non existent until mum received a
telegram to say Private Robert William Bedford was missing believed dead.

Mum was in shock, so much so her hair started to turn white at such an early age.

How long after receipt of the telegram we are not sure but just one week before
she was due to draw her Widows Pension she received a letter from dad telling

her that he had been captured and interned in a Pow camp in Salmona Italy

Campo 78......the shock completed the hair transition to white.

 Dad and Ted, We think this photo must have been before becoming prisoners of war as they are too well dressed for prisoners!! (new information proved the photo was taken at Campo 78)

Another of Dad and Ted in Campo78. Seems they made friends with the Guard dog!!

Dad was captured at Fort Mechili by Rommel's troops

 Italian tanks with Fort Mechili in the background

Dad was captured and taken to Tripoli and then from there to Campua.

Later he was removed to Salmona near Rome surrounded by high walls and mountains.

 

 P.O.W. Huts at Campo 78

 Life was definitely far from a bed of roses in Campo 78.  The Red Cross parcels

were not  getting through so the POW's, including Dad, were very short on food.  I remember
dad telling me that some prisoners, including himself, killed cats if they could catch them
and were even reduced to stewing paper and grass on numerous occasions!

Camp internment was an horrific experience for everyone unfortunate enough to
have been captured. When Dad refused to give up his wedding ring the guards broke his fingers with a rifle butt to remove it.

One good thing was to come from this, Dad and Ted Baldock became his lifelong friends.  

They agreed that if they came through the war and hads sons they would name them after each other. Ted kept his part of the bargain and named his son Robert. However, Dad got overruled when Graham was born so he was not named Edward. Sad really, Edward Bedford would have had a ring to it!!

They and several others got involved in constructing their very own football pitch as a way of keeping busy.

Dads War Medals.

Like everyone who served in WW2, Dad received some medals for his efforts.

The 1939 - 1945 Star

The Africa Star

The George Medal

Returning from War.

When Italy surrendered Dad and Ted were among the first to come home due to

their being in the R.A.M.C. protected personnel and had charge of the
repatriated wounded ex prisoners.

The main picture ( at the beginning of this blog) shows the train at Lisbon and

women of the British colony there giving out packs of cigarettes to the
soldiers.  The ex prisoners, including dad and Ted, were transferred to a hospital
ship homeward bound......the date was April 1943.

Dad's sister Lilly

This is the only picture I have of Dad's sister Lilly, who was killed at the age of 23 during a bombing raid.

.....and finally,

Thanks to Jenny for contributing the majority of the words & material for this blog, 

Graham holds a small amount of memorabilia from this time, including Dad's medals, service pay book and certificates. 

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May we never forget the sacrifices made by our war heroes!

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