IT was wonderful to see Salisbury bustling with happy England football supporters who took to the streets to celebrate the teams recent exploits in the World Cup. No doubt there were people dreaming about the team of 2018 replicating the success of our World Cup winning team of 1966 – alas, it wasn’t to be!

But how did Salisbury react during the World Cup of 1966? I found this interesting little snippet from the Salisbury Times:

“England, masters of the whole world at association football, is something of which to be proud and the amazing thing was the tremendous interest aroused by the World Cup games. Salisbury women who had never watched a football match in their lives could not tear themselves away from their television sets, and at least one we know could not bare the suspense of the closing minutes of England’s semi-final match and anxiously waited in another room until it was over to be told the result. On Saturday when England was winning the final game at Wembley, the streets of the city were, by comparison with a normal day, empty.” The snippet continued: “One party of 70 young Americans, due to arrive at the city at 4.30, cut short their stops on the way so as to get here at 2.30 and they poured out of their coaches asking for the hotel television room to see what they called the ball game.”

For one young local lad, 1966 was certainly a year to remember. Mike Channon from Orcheston was an 18-year-old striker with gold dust in his football boots! That year he signed on as a full-time professional for Southampton Football Club. Two years earlier, Mike had been playing Salisbury and District league football for Shrewton until he was spotted by the Saints. A dash to his home one evening by manager Ted Bates secured his signature in the face of competition from other clubs including Arsenal. Mike went on to have a glittering career with both the Saints and England.