Islington Tribune - by CATHERINE ETOE Published: 25 April 2008
Simon Inglis, Bill Savage and Tom Watt at the Offside Bar and Gallery
Nostalgia night scores for charity
FOOTBALL fans dug deep on Thursday when a raft of Arsenal memorabilia went under the hammer to raise cash for goalkeeping legend Bob Wilson’s charity, the Willow Foundation. The Offside Agency’s iconic images of Highbury and its much-loved players, along with classic front covers from 1950s soccer magazine, Football Monthly, were snapped up by a string of eager fans, including television presenter Jim Rosenthal, whose winning £200 telephone bid from Las Vegas brought the grand total to £610.
The auction, overseen by die-hard Gooner and radio presenter Tom Watt at the Offside Bar and Gallery in City Road, topped off a night of nostalgia for supporters who had gathered to toast Arsenal striker and Football Monthly magazine creator, Charles Buchan.
The trip down memory lane, organised by Simon Inglis, editor of Played in Britain’s The Best of Charles Buchan’s Football Monthly, celebrated the life of a man whose goals brought joy to Highbury in the 1920s and whose groundbreaking football glossy brought pleasure to thousands of young fans across the country in the 1950s and 60s.
Among the young supporters back in the day was former Ashburton Grove resident Bill Savage, who now helps run the Arsenal museum, and whose photo appeared in the magazine in 1961.
He said: “I class myself as a football fan and the magazine told me about other clubs and other players and it was the highlight of the year when the annual came out.”
For information on Played in Britain’s Charles Buchan series visit www.playedinbritain.co.uk