DALE DANIEL, an authority on all things relating to Witton Park, sends details about Witton Park County Senior School winning a football competition called the Durham County Joseph Cup, a competition for senior schools in the county which had 70 or fewer boys in the 11-plus age group. The Joseph Cup started in 1950-51 and finished nearly 60 years ago in 1963-64.
Witton Park had a poor record in the final of the cup, having lost in 1951-52 to Fatfield, in 1955-56 to Cassop, and in 1961-62 to Newhouses RC.
In the last season of the competition, they reached the final for a fourth time, and this time put in a super performance to beat Newbottle Modern 1-0 with Lennie Cradock their scorer.
The Witton Park County Senior School team which won the Joseph Cup in 1963-64. Back, left to right: Roy Thomas (coach), Leonard Cradock, Alan Knighton, Sonny Allison. Centre: Norman McKimm, Kevin Bryan, John Martin, Jimmy Bramley, Barry Nicholson. Front: John Johnson, Tom Foster, Colin Mills, Neil Blighe , Jackie Foster
Roy Thomas, a teacher at the school for a number of years, was the master in charge of the successful team which also won the Auckland and District Schools League that season.
The team included Jackie Foster (above), now deceased, who later was a wonderful footballer with Northern League teams like Bishop Auckland, Crook Town, Willington, and occasionally Escomb in the Auckland and District League, as well as with some prominent Sunday morning teams.
In his later years he was good pals with John Fenwick. John, also deceased, played with Jackie at Willington when they famously held Third Division Blackburn Rovers to a 0-0 draw at Hall Lane in November 1973 before losing the replay 6-1 at Ewood Park.
John remembered walking down the tunnel at Ewood Park with Jackie to take a look at the pitch before the game. Jackie said: "John, look at the length of this pitch."
John replied: "That's not the length, Jackie son, that's the width."
John used to say: "On a pitch that size it was no wonder we lost 6-1."
The Witton Park winners with their cups in 1964
MY father was the signalman at the Witton Park railway station, which was called Etherley, for many years and from my early years, the pair of us would kick a ball about in his signal cabin, the ball made from newspapers which he had rolled into a ball and tied up with string. Sometimes the telephone would ring, meaning a train was on the way, so we would have to stop playing.
Arthur Emmerson, the station master at Etherley ( Witton Park) railway station, in the signal box
Whether it was a goods or passenger train, it always stopped in the station, so that dad had time to change the points in order for the train to be transferred on to the correct track. When everything was ready, I was occasionally given the job of waving a green flag from an open window, to allow the train through.
After our game of football there was often a visit to the village to buy some ice creams from Mr Quadrini, who travelled around Witton Park with a horse and cart.
Mr Quadrini selling ice creams in Witton Park
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