{GStanding}Hampshire Football Association/William Pickford Biography/W 16/12/08 08:38 Amended by Pat Page 1 William Pickford —aBiography Norman Gannaway {GStanding}Hampshire Football Association/William Pickford Biography/W 16/12/08 08:38 Amended by Pat Page 1 William Pickford: aBiography Published in Great Britain in 2009 by Hampshire Football Association Limited Copyright # Norman Gannaway 2009 The moral right of the author has been asserted. All rights reserved. No partofthis publication maybereproduced, stored in aretrieval system, or transmitted, in anyformorbyany means, without the prior permission in writing of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in anyformofbinding or cover other than that in which it is published and without asimilar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. ISBN 978 09561223 08–Paperback ISBN 978 09561223 15–Hardback Typeset, printed and bound in Great Britain by Hobbs the PrintersLimited, Southampton, www.hobbs.uk.com Hampshire Football Association Limited William Pickford House WinkleburyFootball Complex WinkleburyWay Basingstoke Hampshire, RG23 8BF www.HampshireFA.com {GStanding}Hampshire Football Association/William Pickford Biography/W 16/12/08 08:38 Amended by Pat Page 1 THE AUTHOR The author of this biography, Norman Gannaway,was bornat Lymington (Hants) in 1930, and has, apartfrom 1949-50 National Service in the R.A.F.(much of which time was at R.A.F.Calshot) lived and worked in Hampshire. Working life has included at Lymington Infirmary, at Efford Farm,and with Hampshire County Libraryfor 43 years. Ever the keenest of sports players (particularly football, cricket and boxing) but of limited ability,awriting life acted as some kind of compensation. This began with match reports submit- ted to the local press when playing for Boldre Lads during season 1948-49. Published works from 1984 have included histories of Clubs, Leagues and Associations in Hampshire and Dorset. There have also been con- tributions to other publications, including football and cricket club programmes.Each of these efforts has been much indebted to those who have contributed readily of time and knowledge, making all end- products verymuch ateam effort. It has been atruepleasure to have workedonthis biographyof William Pickford, with hopes that some kind of fitting portrait and tribute has been given of an exceptional man, with due acknowledge- ment of that which his wife, Evelyn, contributed to William’steam achievements. Norman Gannaway, Lymington. iii {GJobs}Standing/Hampshire Football Association/William Pickford Biography/W 27/1/09 07:20 Amended by Pat Page 1 FOREWORD By Former Football Association Chief ExecutiveBrian Barwick Iamdelighted to have been asked to provide the foreword for this biographyofWilliam Pickford. William was aman who served football extremely well and it is fitting that he is remembered in this way. As well as holding the position of President of the Football Association he was acouncil member for fifty years and integral to the development of the Hampshire FA. The Hampshire FA todayisaflourishing organisation with over a quarter-million players of the game in its remit. It subscribes to the wider FA’s national game strategy –increasing participation, uphold- ing our values and promoting football for all –and Iwould like to take this opportunity to praise their work. Like myself,William started his working career as aregional news- paper journalist. He workedfor the Bolton Evening News and it was the local team Wanderers who sparked his lovefor the game. That passion for football spurred him on to write several books on the subject, including ‘A FewRecollections of Sport’, which documents the development of football in this countryaswellasproviding afasci- nating insight into his life. William was around for the 75th anniversaryofthe organisation and as apresent to his colleagues had chapters from his ‘Recollections’ book printed and presented, ‘A Glance Back at The Football Association Council, 1888–1938’. At the time of writing The Football Association has recently cel- ebrated its 144th birthdayand the council voted for reformfollowing the Burns Report. I’m sure William would have found all the develop- ments fascinating! In this current environment where virtually all The FA’s activities are highly-scrutinised it is hard to believeatime where there is little writ- ten about the organisation. William’slife and work fills in some of these historical gaps and Ihope youenjoythe book. Brian iv {GStanding}Hampshire Football Association/William Pickford Biography/W 16/12/08 08:38 Amended by Pat Page 1 CONTENTS LIST The Author iii Foreword iv Chapter 1. Setting aScene 1 Chapter 2. Bournemouth Background 8 Chapter 3. County Associations 14 Chapter 4. Purpose and Pursuit 20 Chapter 5. Widening Horizons 25 Chapter 6. Entering aCentury39 Chapter 7. Beginning Again 57 Chapter 8. Into his Sixties 62 Chapter 9. Later Sixties 74 Chapter 10. Rule and Law82 Chapter 11. Chosen Word 87 Chapter 12. Thriving Nineteen Thirties 92 Chapter 13. Seasons of Jubilee 101 Chapter 14. Peaks of Achievement 117 Chapter 15. Impact and Influence 130 Chapter 16. Leaving aLegacy142 Author’sNote 151 Acknowledgements 153 List of Pickford Cup Winners154 v {GStanding}Hampshire Football Association/William Pickford Biography/W 16/12/08 08:38 Amended by Pat Page 1 {GStanding}Hampshire Football Association/William Pickford Biography/W 16/12/08 08:38 Amended by Pat Page 1 ONE SETTING ASCENE William Pickfordwas aman of considerable and varied talents. He wasalso aperson of clear commitment to any chosen cause. Of his manycontributions to public life, he might par- ticularly be regarded as asports administrator,and as an author.Ofhis writing, asubstantial weight of published work wasinaddition to his professional output as ajournalist. He was, valuably in the interests of anypursuit to which he devoted his attention, aman of foresight and imagination. In her personal tribute,William’swife,Evelyn Pickford, referred to him as ‘‘the Father of Hampshire Football.’’ From his fields of achievement, he might specially haveliked to be remem- bered in such away. Of his background, and the partthat it playedinhis life and endeav- ours, much can be learned from Pickford’sown words. ‘‘AFew Recollections of Sport’’was written at his Pokesdown home during the winter evenings of 1937-38, with its last chapter completed in the following summer.While preparing for the 75th Anniversarycel- ebrations of the Football Association, the then President Pickford developed awish to present an appropriate memento to each member of the F.A. Council. With this in mind, he selected chapters of the ‘‘Recollections’’verymuch related to his ownfifty yearsonthat Council, and had them printed in asmall volume ‘‘AGlance Back at The Football Association Council, 1888-1938.’’ ‘‘AFew Recollections’’and ‘‘AGlance Back’’can both be read as absorbing autobiographyaswell as volumes providing an illuminating picture of the individuals and organisations with whom the author worked in anumber of sporting and other activities, over aspan of years. The opening paragraphs of ‘‘AFew Recollections’’are particularly interesting in light of the fullness and character of life that William Pickford was to enjoy. ‘‘The first nine years of my life were spent in Little Lever, a village on the outskirts of Bolton, in mid Lancashire. The inhabitants were mostly employed as coal miners, cotton operatives and in bleaching and chemical works and paper mills, who lived hard and had little opportunity for rec- reation. My father, who was the Minister of the 1 {GStanding}Hampshire Football Association/William Pickford Biography/W 16/12/08 08:38 Amended by Pat Page 1 William Pickford: aBiography Independent Chapel, was very troubled at times about the dog racing,wrestling and other rough sports that attracted some of his ‘flock’. Forusboysinthe ‘Sixties’ there were no organised games. Inever sawacricket bat or afootball, and it is verylikely that Satan found plenty of mischief for us to do on the slag heaps and debris-strewn open spaces all about us. Iwent to aWesleyan DaySchool, but the teachers, energetic as they were in their zeal to drive pri- maryfacts into our heads, had no regard for the physical side of education.’’ It is intriguing to consider the extent to which that conveyed in these few sentences, as in other parts of ‘‘Recollections’’, is reflected in William Pickford’slater life’sstandards and achievements.Setting the scene, in asense, for much that would follow. There can be seen aregard for the place of sportinthe lives of both young and adult. There is appreciation of the needs for standards of behaviour and rules of conduct at work and play. Asympathyfor those whose lot in life is less favoured than that of others. Often too, glimpses of the sense of humour that would at times mark his writing and speech making,engagingly so. That he was giftedly descriptiveinboth the written and spoken word enables later generations to know much not only about Pickford him- self and those with whom he was associated, against their respective backgrounds, but also considerably about the wider scene. Knowledge of the shaping of the Laws of Association Football, for instance, relies appreciably on his account of the process, with which he was closely involved. Importantly too,for anystudy of his life and times, William Pickford maintained aset of scrap books containing awide range of newspaper cuttings and other relevant material. The documents in this collection