Post by Jon on Dec 14, 2018 0:59:05 GMT
When United arrive at Boreham Wood on Saturday, they will be just a couple of miles away from the scene of a horrific car crash that claimed the life of Torquay United's very first centre-forward, captain and star player William Waring Clarke Pitts.
Those who own the Centenary History will have read that WWCP "who was an architect in London, was killed in a road accident".
Those who have read Luscombe's 1948 original will see that the end of the sentence was accidentally omitted and it said "who was an architect in London, was killed in a road accident while returning from a Cup Final about ten years ago".
torquayfansforum.co.uk/thread/4416/1948-49-jubilee-handbook-history
As I have said many times, Luscombe is totally unreliable on the details of "facts" but usually very close in spirit to what he writes.
Pitts died on 4 April 1936. The 1936 Cup Final was on 25 April 1936. So Luscombe is wrong.
But as the Pathe newsreel says you "might think the Cup Final was brought forward three weeks" such was the excitement of the England v Scotland match.
The accident took place on the morning of the England v Scotland match at the Galley Lane section of the A1 Barnet Ring Road.
Pitts was a front seat passenger when the driver - his neighbour - overtook in the centre of the road while a car travelling in the opposite direction did the same. There was a head-on collision with front seat passengers in both cars killed.
Pitts had lived in Greenford near Wembley - he was the manager of a huge wallpaper factory in Southall. By 1936, he had moved out of London to Welwyn Garden City.
The accident took place half way between Welwyn Garden City and Wembley.
Was he on his way to watch England v Scotland when the accident happened?
Very possibly.
Luscombe's facts are wrong, but maybe he is very close to the truth in spirit.
Those who own the Centenary History will have read that WWCP "who was an architect in London, was killed in a road accident".
Those who have read Luscombe's 1948 original will see that the end of the sentence was accidentally omitted and it said "who was an architect in London, was killed in a road accident while returning from a Cup Final about ten years ago".
torquayfansforum.co.uk/thread/4416/1948-49-jubilee-handbook-history
As I have said many times, Luscombe is totally unreliable on the details of "facts" but usually very close in spirit to what he writes.
Pitts died on 4 April 1936. The 1936 Cup Final was on 25 April 1936. So Luscombe is wrong.
But as the Pathe newsreel says you "might think the Cup Final was brought forward three weeks" such was the excitement of the England v Scotland match.
The accident took place on the morning of the England v Scotland match at the Galley Lane section of the A1 Barnet Ring Road.
Pitts was a front seat passenger when the driver - his neighbour - overtook in the centre of the road while a car travelling in the opposite direction did the same. There was a head-on collision with front seat passengers in both cars killed.
Pitts had lived in Greenford near Wembley - he was the manager of a huge wallpaper factory in Southall. By 1936, he had moved out of London to Welwyn Garden City.
The accident took place half way between Welwyn Garden City and Wembley.
Was he on his way to watch England v Scotland when the accident happened?
Very possibly.
Luscombe's facts are wrong, but maybe he is very close to the truth in spirit.