Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League - First Division
Some days from your childhood stand out more than others, the 12th of December 1987 being one of them.
From the age of eleven, up until turning sixteen, I spent virtually every Saturday of the football season travelling the length and breadth of the Northern Counties East League. It wasn't a bad existence, and especially so in 1985 when I got to see my team, Belper Town, lift the league title. With Dad being the Secretary, I got to both see and hear some of the internal machinations of what running a semi-professional football club was all about.
Two and a half years after winning the league, things had taken a turn for the worse at Belper, the club were in a financial mess, and on the pitch under then manager Geoff Clarence, it was not looking great.
On that fateful day just prior to Christmas, the once mighty Nailers were to make their first ever visit to Cemetery Road to play newly promoted Grimethorpe Miners Welfare. It was a shocking performance, and the 3-1 defeat did not tell the true story of the sheer ineptitude, the dreadful indiscipline and the downright mess the club was now in. I remember the Chairman's words after the game "Belper Town should not be losing football matches at Grimethorpe..." The post-mortem in the car on the way back was memorable, I think it was the first time I'd been party to a discussion that ultimately lead to a phone call that lead to a sacking!
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| Cemetery Road - Falling Down |
I also remember Grimethorpe the village, and if you recall we are talking a period just after the Miners Strike. The place was hit very hard indeed, rioting took place and the Police became the enemy, then in 1994 it was declared to be the poorest village in the UK, and among the poorest in Europe. Crime and drug abuse became chronically prevalent and unemployment rose to above 50%, with a large proportion of the residents registered as disabled, caused by the mining industry itself.
Out of all of this came a shining light, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. Without doubt the most famous band of it's type in the Country, it scored an incredible 99 out of 100 points to take first place in the National Brass Band Championships at the Royal Albert Hall in October 1992. Ironically just four days after the pit closed it's gates for the final time. The Miners worst fears coming to fruition.
The story made it's way to the screen. 'Brassed Off' starring Pete Postlethwaite, Stephen Tompkinson, Tara Fitzgerald and Ewan McGregor, was based on the story of the closure of Grimethorpe Colliery and the impact upon both the community and the band. Set in the thinly veiled 'Grimley', and filmed in Grimethorpe, it was a dark and at times tragic tail, but also a story of hope.
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| Once Proud.... |
I've not set foot in Grimethorpe since that day in December 1987, so almost 30 years later I decided to go back. It meant a detour though, because Grimethorpe Sports (a new club) no longer play at Cemetery Road, they play in nearby Shafton. When I drove through the busy streets of the village and pulled up alongside the football ground, I could see why, derelict and overgrown, with the large 'White City' estate overlooking it, it looked a sorry sight. It was a strange feeling though, because as an innocent teenager you simply have no idea of what was going on in the background. As you can probably appreciate, us posh types from Belper were perhaps somewhat disparaging about Grimethorpe, but when you start to peel back and look what was happening to the village and it's people, you can't help but feel sorrow, but, with the benefit of hindsight, huge respect. I cannot begin to imagine what life was like, and continues to be like. For some, it was too much, they decided to end it when it became unbearable.
Grimethorpe Sports sit in a promotion place in the First Division of the County Senior League, and look well placed to return to Step 7 football, the level the Miners Welfare team were playing at before they folded. Playing now in Shafton, the pitch is roped down one side and sits behind the Working Men's Club, I called in for a pint, half a dozen locals were in watching the racing on TV, the debate was about how much footballers earn compared to the working man.
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| Shafton Welfare Park - It's Not Cemetery Road! |
The first half of the game was a tight affair, with few chances created, but it was fellow promotion chasers Wickersley who took the lead just after half time with a well placed shot. Backed by a small but vociferous (and well oiled) bunch of supporters, Grimethorpe pressed forward and grabbed a deserved equaliser from close range.
A well taken effort from the edge of the box made it 2-1, and then as the game moved into injury time, a third goal came although from where I was standing it did look suspiciously offside.
The bandwagon rolls on, but I guess to make the journey complete, a promotion combined with a return to their home village would be the ideal. Grimethorpe has been regenerated over recent years, but while industry and some jobs have returned, it seems sporting facilities have not, Cemetery Road, despite at one stage last season being used temporarily by Worsbrough Bridge, appears to be dying a slow death.
Some would argue it died in October 1992.
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| The End? |
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