Bernie's Scrapbooks - Part 2

13)  The Two Year Gap

Bernie was called up for National Service and posted to Hong Kong.

While he was away, Leicester City finally hauled themselves out of Division Two.

14)  Back At The Top

Bernie arrived back in Sileby in time for City's first game in the top flight for 15 years, at home to Chelsea in August 1954. And he got straight back in the habit of posting the match previews in his scrapbook:

'The most improved Division One side of last season', the article says of Chelsea. They lived up to that billing. After a 1-1 draw at Filbert Street, they went on to lift the title for the first time, while City went straight back down.

15)  The Dynamic Duo

In 1955/1956, there were two players fighting for the top goal scorer's crown in Division  Two - Willie Gardiner and Arthur Rowley - and both were Leicester City players.

One report described the pair as 'the thin man with the rapier touch and the supreme physical specimen with the power house finish' (Willie and Arthur).

Here they are in the scrapbook:

In the end, Willie was top scorer in the Division, but add in Cup goals and they finished level with 35.

All those goals couldn't get City back in Division One, though. 

16)  Rowley's Record

A great article from December 1956 about Arthur Rowley breaking the post war goalscoring record (with the text enlarged underneath):

17)  Thumbing It To Edinburgh

That Doncaster win was the third in an amazing sequence of twelve League games in which we won ten and drew two.

But then on February 9th, Liverpool came to Filbert Street and were leading 2-0 at half time. It looked like the run was coming to an end, but in the second half City stormed back to win 3-2.

Press reports speak of fans 'going wild with delight, throwing caps in the air'. No doubt Bernie was among them. The win put us six points clear at the top of Division Two.

The City must have been buzzing with excitement - but then there was a frustrating wait of two weeks for the next League game. 

Bernie couldn't wait that long, and nor could Leicester. They hastily arranged a friendly in Edinburgh, and Bernie knew he just had to be there.

He hitch-hiked up the A1 to Scotland in the middle of winter, and was rewarded with another come-from-behind 3-2 victory.

18)  Division Two Champions Again

City went on to clinch the Division Two title with several games to spare. Here's a photo of the team that Bernie kept:

And accompanying that picture was captain Jack Froggatt's reflections on the season:

19)  Busby Babes

Back in Division One, Champions Manchester United were the visitors to Filbert Street on opening day.

United won 3-0, with a hattrick from Billy Whelan. 

Six months later, Whelan was one of the players killed in the Munich air crash.

Bernie posted this article from the Evening Mail in his scrapbook:

20)  Could You Sign This Please, Louis?

Bernie was a great music lover, and in 1959 he got to see one of his idols in concert at the De Montfort Hall.

Here's his ticket:

Here's a report from the concert that Bernie kept:

'A hopeful fan trying to get an autograph', says the caption.

Do you recognize that hopeful fan?

It is of course, the man himself.

When he saw the article, Bernie sent off for a copy of the photo:

21)  When You're Smiling

We need a close-up:

Louis seems to be pointing at his trumpet. No doubt he's saying, "No problem, sonny, you hold this while I write the message. Who shall I sign it to?  Oh sure, you go ahead and play a tune!"

There is, unfortunately, no trace of a Louis Armstrong signature, nor the concert programme he was invited to sign, in the Bernie collection.

We do know, however, that one of the songs he played that night was 'When You're Smiling'. 

The story of how that became City's song goes like this: on a Friday night in the Three Cranes pub in the late sixties, a group of City fans heard it being sung, then at Filbert Street the next day they sung it themselves. 

But I think we can allow the makers of the movie a little artistic license, and a scene in which it is in fact, Bernie, fresh from this concert, that starts it all off at the following home game in 1959.

22)  Photographer

Around the turn of the 60s, Bernie started taking a camera to matches. 

Here's an early example:

Bernie didn't label his pictures, but we can pin this down to a specific occasion 

It's Craven Cottage, and Ken Leek and Gordon Wills (the City players) are walking towards the dressing room with manager Matt Gillies squeezing through the coppers on the right. The Fulham player is Jim Langley, who's wearing socks with a pattern that the club only wore for one season - 1959/60 - which tells us it must be the 1-1 draw on April 9th 1960.

Here's another shot from the same day where you can see those unique socks more clearly:

23)  Back to Wembley?

City had a great Cup run that season, culminating in a quarter-final v champions Wolves at Filbert Street. Bernie took his camera to that game too.

Here he is getting close to the stars again, snapping Wolves and England left half Ron Flowers as he steps off the coach.

Then he parked himself in a good spot behind the goal at the Kop end to take this fine action shot of Wolves keeper Geoff Sidebottom:

City lost 2-1, but they wouldn't have to wait long for another trip to Wembley. 

Good action from the game here:

24)  Town Hall Reception

There are no cuttings at all for our FA Cup run in 1961, when we played Spurs in the final. That match was lost, and so, it seems, were the cuttings.

There is just one photo, which Bernie seems to have ordered specially again:

Despite losing the final, there was still a bus tour and a reception at the Town Hall. This photo had appeared in the Evening Mail two days after the final - so why did Bernie send away for the original? 

Could it be that, like the Louis Armstrong photo that he ordered, he is there in the shot?

Looking closely, there is one candidate in the crowd:

Is that him?

We know he traveled into Leicester from Sileby that day as he was at the De Montfort Hall for a concert: