RateTheRef

Bolton News
9th February 2009
by Nick Jackson

Norman Hayes (born 3rd April 1933)

The player who became a referee

The footballing career of Norman Hayes as both player and referee underlines how much the game has changed. In the modern era it is unheard of for a referee at the top of the game to have played the game at all. But when ex-striker Hayes, now aged 75, had finished banging in goals for the likes of Bury and Burnley reserves, and a variety of non-league clubs, like Morecambe, Fleetwood, Darwen and Bacup, he was more than happy to become the man in the middle.

Hayes, who has lived in Over Hulton all his life, might have been destined for greater things as a footballer, after impressing as a speedy outside right for various local teams, including an outing in the Halliwell Rovers side which lifted the Bolton Hospital Cup following victory over Daubhill Athletic on a pitch in Lowndes Street Bolton, in 1952.

“I was a Bury player, appearing regularly in the reserves, by then. The Hospital Cup was played in the evening, and Bury wouldn’t let me off, so on the day of the final I played in the afternoon and then in the cup final, which Halliwell Rovers won 2-1.“In four Hospital Cup games, including the final, I scored 12 goals, although I didn’t have a good game in the final.”

Hayes then went to join for Burnley and was playing in their reserve team against Bolton when he was involved in a tackle with Wanderers man Bob Matthewson which damaged the cruciate ligaments in his leg. Whether that injury prevented him from playing at the highest level of the game, no one will ever know. In those days, football was a man’s game and Hayes decided to get on with it.

He plied his trade as a goalscorer at Morecambe before moving to Fleetwood, during which time he trained at Bolton Wanderers with the permission of then manager Bill Ridding, and Darwen. He stopped playing while he was at Bacup Borough at the age of 31, partly due to his commitment as works manager at Hawker Siddeley in Farnworth.

“I couldn’t get enough time off to train, I had worked my way up in the aircraft industry and I had a good career which I don’t regret one little bit. But as a referee, I did not need to train as much. Nowadays, you couldn’t do it like I did it then, you’ve got to start refereeing in your teens.”

Hayes got a good look at the game at its highest level as a referee. “I was involved in a game in which Stoke City were top of the league, they hadn’t been beaten, and they were playing Newcastle. I was the linesman and Newcastle beat them. I couldn’t do Manchester United, because it was too close to where I live. But I did matches involving Liverpool, Everton, Wolves and West Brom.”

His refereeing career was also to bring him back into contact with ex-player Matthewson, who had also converted into a referee.
“Three of us went to officiate the UEFA Cup tie between Moscow Torpedo and Napoli in 1972, when the Soviets were preparing to host the Olympics in 1980. They knew that I worked in the aircraft industry and I was detained for quite a while at the Moscow airport before they would let me in.”

Hayes was 42 when he retired as a referee, but not before he had successfully completed an F.A. coaching badge. The coaching certificate was something he put to good use as a volunteer for seven years at St. Andrew’s C of E School, Over Hulton, where his grandson, Ben, was a pupil. Meanwhile, he has always had an extra-curricular interest in motor sport as a photographer and reporter and is a regular visitor to the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire and is a keen follower of the fortunes of racers from Bolton.

Ten days later he was in the same paper again

19th February 2009
   
A former Football League referee and non-league player has claimed there is a lack of interest and effort in primary school football across Bolton. Norman Hayes, aged 75, who refereed at the highest level of the game in the 1960s and early 1970s, was a volunteer coach at St. Andrew’s C of E School, Over Hulton, until November last year when illness forced him to quit. The qualified F.A. coach helped train youngsters for seven years at the school his grandson, Ben, attended.

But Mr. Hayes, who has lived in the Over Hulton area all his life, said that while St. Andrew’s would fulfil their fixtures, there would be other schools which could not because matches had to be surpervised by teachers, who were unable to attend.

“There is a lack of effort being put into school football, in my experience. Some of the teachers just weren’t bothered, not interested at all. We played most of our matches, but other teams would only play one or two out of a dozen because it was extra-curricular. It really annoys me. That’s how football is run at school level. It’s not chaos, it’s non-existent, there is a culture among people working in primary education in Bolton that leads to a complete disinterest in football. Matches wouldn’t take place when kids wanted to play, but schools were not organised to deal with it. It’s scandalous. The saddest thing really is that there is a lack of leadership and enthusiasm.”

Headteacher of St. Andrew’s, Mrs. Liz Rogerson, said the school had a lot of out of class activities that its staff are involved in, including a choir and newspaper club. She said the school had been awarded Activemark status by Sport England for 2007 and 2008, and is linked to St. James Secondary School in Farnworth as part of the School Sports Co-ordinator initiative. She said “We try to make provision for all our children, from reception right the way through to Year Six to take part in a variety of activities, football for infants and juniors, which is often run by an outside provider, judo for many years, we’ve got fencing at the moment and we’ve had rugby courses. We take part in indoor athletics and have done for the last two to three years and I will be taking the athletics team during half-term. The children take part in swimming galas and we take them away for outdoor adventure weekends, so we do an enormous amount.”

A spokeswoman for Bolton Council said football was very much alive and well in Bolton primary schools and is an integral part of pupils physical activity. She said “Primary schools have a much broader range of activities these days. Last year, across both primary and secondary schools, we saw 90 per cent of all children participating in at least two hours of P.E. within and beyond the curriculum, an increase of 11 per cent compared to two years previously. However, football has always been, and remains, a core sport, and we recognise the need for a stable competition framework to encourage participation and progression in the sport. The council recently appointed a schools competition manager who is working as part of a Bolton primary school football development group to develop the primary football league structure.”

Sat 6 Dec 1952

Bolton v Newcastle
Referee - Peter Rhodes (York)

Derby v Stoke
Referee - Roland Burgess (Reading)

Terry Bosi (Codsall) works as a sales representative for a plywood importer in the Midlands, Married, with a son, he took up refereeing after injury ended his playing career. Graduated through the Wolverhampton Amateur and Works Leagues, the
Worcester Combination and West Midland League. Promoted to the League line in 1967 and the full Referees list in 1971 . On the line for a European Cup tie, Ajax v Hamburg in 1969 and in 1972 the F.A. Challenge Trophy at Wembley. A keen cricketer, he also plays bowls, table tennis and swims. During his playing career he played in the F.A. Amateur Cup and at centre half for Bomber Command during his National Service.

THE ITALIAN CONNECTION by Sandra Irene Harris (nee Bosi) Terry's sister

Published 16 February 2009, updated 26 August 2009

siharris1@icloud.com

INTRODUCTION
 
I was born in Wolverhampton in 1940, the daughter of an English mother, Kate Portsmouth (born 1907), and an Italian father (though by then, naturalised British), Bruno Bosi (born 1907).  I have an older brother, Tertence Peter Bosi, born in Wolverhampton in 1933.  Our father was a confectioner who owned a confectioner’s shop selling sweets, chocolates, homemade Italian ice cream and cigarettes. His father, Emilio Pietro Bosi (born 1876) had come to Britain as an economic immigrant towards the end of the 19th century, when he was just a boy.  We knew nothing of the history, only that he came from Barga in Tuscany and sold plaster statues door to door, to make a living.

Emilio Pietro obviously prospered here in the U.K. because, eventually, he became a confectioner, owning his own shops.  He married Irena Motroni from Barga, but we do not know where they married. They lived in Wolverhampton and raised three sons, Paris, Italo and my father, Bruno.  Paris and Italo were both born in Wolverhampton, but due to difficult confinements with the first two children (probably due to the language barrier, as Irena spoke very little English), she went back to Barga for my father’s birth.  She returned to Wolverhampton with Bruno when he was only 6 months old.  Sadly, he was never to return to his birthplace, although he did see service with the British Army in Italy in 1944.

The Bosi family became naturalised as British citizens in January 1921 and continued to prosper in Wolverhampton in the pre-war years. My grandfather, Emilio Pietro, became quite the man about town, mixing in business circles and playing crown green bowls for the Molineux club as well as for Staffordshire. In 1936, he won a national medal, whilst playing for Staffordshire against Yorkshire in the British crown green bowling national championship. My father, Bruno, left school and went straight into the business and was eventually set up with his own shop in Whitmore Reans, a suburb of Wolverhampton.

Bruno married my mother, Kate Portsmouth on 24th April 1930, at St. Anthony of Padua Church, Wolverhampton. My brother Terry was born on 28th February 1933 and I was born on 24th February 1940.  At the outbreak of war in 1939, Emilio Pietro’s business was at its peak when he owned four confectionary shops and three other properties.  However, during the war years the businesses declined. Emilio Pietro died of a heart attack in December 1951. In 1940 my parents moved to Oxley in Wolverhampton and opened a confectionery shop, which my father owned until his retirement in 1971, apart from his absence on military service during World War Two.  My mother, Kate, and my grandfather Emilio Pietro managed the business during those years. My father also became a crown green bowls champion, playing for Wolverhampton and winning trophies and died of a heart attack whilst playing in April 1986.

THE SEARCH
Although Terry and I knew little about our Italian roots, we became intrigued when Aunt Irma Bosi, nee Tazioli, former wife of Uncle Paris Bosi, who was my father’s eldest brother, sent me a postcard of the main church in Barga.  Irma told us that, as a child, she had attended our father’s christening there, which increasingly intrigued us over the years and so, eventually, we had a starting point from which to research our roots.  But sadly, my father died before we were able to even think about visiting Italy and researching our family.

My husband, Graham Peter Harris, and I had an opportunity to spend a holiday in Barga, in the summer of 1991.  We searched the churchyard, and asked around locally, but could not find any trace of the Bosi name.  We did not speak Italian at the time and this made our search more difficult.

In 2005, Graham and I, together with my brother, Terry and his wife Mavis, nee Kirkham, went on a holiday ‘Tour of Tuscany’, which was based at La Pergola Hotel in Barga.  Again, we found no direct Bosi connection, although I had now started to learn Italian but only had a basic knowledge of the language.  The holiday was a great success and served to whet our appetites for finding a family link.

We arranged a third visit to Barga in the summer of 2006, when Graham and I met our eldest daughter, Julie Harris and her partner, Lance Thompson, in Pisa.  We hired a car, drove up to Barga and spent a whole week exploring the mountain paths and researching family roots. By now, my grasp of Italian was improving, so we had the confidence to visit the priest at the church in Barga and view the christening records.  Though communication was difficult, the priest invited us into his record room, which held records going back many hundreds of years. Again, we were disappointed not to find my father’s and grandfather’s records.  Then, our first real breakthrough came when the priest informed us that there were no Bosi families in the little hilltop township of Barga. They were to be found just down the hill in the surrounding villages, which were still within the boundaries of the administrative area of the Barga Commune. It seemed that Aunt Irma might have remembered the wrong church.

However, whilst in Barga, we did trace the former home and the last resting place of my Aunt Irma’s sister, Anna-Rosa Vernolini (nee Tazioli), i.e. on my grandmother’s side of the family. Sadly, Anna-Rosa had passed away in October 2004, so she had been living in this house during our first two visits to Barga, but we had failed to find her, because we did not know of any links to that side of the family.

On the advice of the priest we searched the nearby churchyard at Loppia, just a mile or so down the hill from Barga where we found the graves of many Bosi families.  Alas, the church was locked and we could not find its priest.  As we had no names of my ancestors, we photographed the Bosi graves for future reference.

Back at the hotel, we were relating our story to an American woman, who was also on a genealogical quest.  She was able to direct us to the township of Coreglia Antelminelli, the next hilltop town just a few miles down the Serchio Valley which has a museum “Museo della Figurina di Gesso e del’Emigrazione” which was dedicated to the economic migrants who left the valley to make and sell plaster cast statues. We had found the key to understanding my grandfather’s story.

We visited the museum at Coreglia Antelminelli the next day and were able to establish the history of the migration around the turn of the 19th century. In medieval times, the Italian Peninsular was covered by a patchwork of city states, including Venice, Florence, Lucca, Rome, and Sienna, etc.  Outlying towns, such as Barga and Coreglia Antelminelli, pledged allegiance to one or other of these city states, in return for which they were empowered to raise local taxes in the form of road tolls for travellers and goods passing through their territory.  Such towns, which would otherwise have depended upon subsistence farming on marginal land up in the valleys, were financially supported by these taxes. However when modern Italy was formed in 1871, the city states were subsumed and their laws and regulations became defunct.  Hence the little towns lost their tax income overnight and were driven into poverty.

One very special skill that existed in the 19th century, in the Serchio Valley, was that of making plaster cast statues from hand carved wooden moulds. This had originated for the purpose of making religious statues for churches, known as “Figurine” and “Figurinai”.  So, the master craftsmen were sent out, with teams of very young boys, to make and sell these statues and return money to the valley. Initially, they walked through Italy as peddlers, selling from town to town, but soon they were over the Alps and selling across Europe. Eventually, mostly via the port of Genoa, they spread out across the world, settling in the U.K., U.S.A., South America, Australia and even China.  The migration into the U.K. was mainly into Scotland, possibly because the Transatlantic ships called in at Greenock, en route for New York.  Even now there are still strong cultural links between Barga and many parts of Scotland, particularly Ayrshire and Glasgow.

So we had an important clue as to why Emilio Pietro had left Barga, as a boy, selling statues.  Sadly, we now realised the significance of the two plaster statues of a shepherd and shepherdess, which had graced our parents’ lounge for many years, without an explanation by our parents, which had now long been discarded.

Whilst in Coreglia, we also visited the cemetery, and again found many Bosi graves, but still no priest to question. Again, we photographed these graves for future reference, but Lance observed that one or two of them looked recently tended.  He suggested that we compose a short introductory note in Italian, and leave a copy on the best-tended graves.  That evening armed with my trusty dictionary, I composed the following note (in Italian) and inserted copies into three waterproof bags:
"Perhaps I am related to your family?, my name is Sandra Harris (nee Bosi), English. My father, Bruno Bosi, was born in Barga 27.02.1907. My grandfather, Emilio Pietro Bosi, was born in Bargl 25.09.1876. His parents were Antonio and Paolina Bernardini Bosi. It would please me if you would write to Mrs. Sandra Harris, (contact details supplied). It would be nice to hear from you. Excuse my Italian.

With no great expectation of success, we left two of these notes on graves in Loppia and one in Coreglia Antelminelli, but went home happy to have discovered the story of the emigration.

SUCCESS
Shortly after our return home, we received a letter from a woman in Lucca saying that she had found our note, but didn’t believe that we were related as all her relatives had now died. I replied and thanked her anyway, pleased to have received a response.
Meanwhile, our interest in genealogy had led Graham to create the Harris family tree, which was published on a website This generated an e-mail contact from Duncan Ward, a long lost nephew of Graham’s, who was also researching family roots.  Duncan was able to provide us with a lot of information on Graham’s side of the family, but he had also made contact with the Vernolini family in Dunfermline, to whom I was related via the Motroni’s (on my grandmother’s side of our family).

My father had always told us that he had a cousin named Umberto Vernolini in Dunfermline, with whom he had lost touch.  On one occasion more than 40 years ago, whilst touring Scotland by car with my Mum and Dad, we had detoured into Dunfermline to try to find them, without success.  Now we made contact via e-mail, using the data provided by Duncan, with Umberto’s two sons Umberto ("Bert") and Frank and their wives, Isobel and Evelyn.  Family details and photos were exchanged and agreement reached to meet, when an opportunity arose.

In July 2007, we went to Fife with my brother Terry and his wife Mavis, for a birthday party at the home of Julie and Lance.  Afterwards, on our way home, we set up a rendezvous with Terry, Mavis, Julie and Lance and met the Vernolini's at North Queensferry, by the Forth bridge.  We had a very pleasant lunch and exchanged more photos and data. This was our first major step in the search for surviving relatives from the Italian side of my family. 

Several months later, we received a telephone call from Francesca, in Italian, but it was too much for me to follow.  A couple of days later, she called again, but this time using the translation services of a young neighbour Roberta, who was fluent in English.  It transpired that Francesca’s grandfather, Giovanni Bosi, was the brother of my grandfather, Emilio Pietro Bosi, so we were second cousins. She had found our note on her parents grave, Giovanni and his wife Eletta Chiappa, which was also the grave of her father, Adelsone Bosi.  Therefore, the note that we left on this grave had finally located our relatives in the Serchio Valley. 

We exchanged letters and family information and photos with Francesca and it transpired that Giovanni and Eletta had 9 children, all of whom had survived, so the potential for living relatives was huge.  We drew up the tree of our long lost relatives, but there were still huge gaps. After exchanging several letters with Francesca, we planned a further trip to Barga in 2008, so that we could meet up and and so had Sunday lunch together on 22nd June 2008.

My brother Terry and his wife Mavis could not travel with us on this trip, as Mavis was recovering from major heart surgery.  Graham and I met Julie and Lance in Pisa, hired a car and drove up the Serchio Valley to stay at La Pergola Hotel for another week.  However, we had no idea at this point that we were about to experience a huge family reunion.

THE REUNION
On arrival at La Pergola Hotel on the evening of 18th June, an elderly Italian couple were waiting in reception and introduced themselves as Bosi’s. It transpired that they were Francesca’s brother Antonio and his wife Emilia, nee Borgia.  They lived in the village of Silano, at the very top of the valley, and as they could not make it to lunch on Sunday, had come down to meet us and invite us back to their home for a meal. We set up a table outside under the grapevines and spent a happy couple of hours exchanging family information, but even with help from the hotel staff, this stretched my limited language skills to their limits.  However, Graham and Antonio seemed able to converse using mime and sign language and we all had a lot of fun. We finally agreed to visit Antonio and Emilia at their home for lunch on Monday.  Emilia promised to cook us some wild boar, so we had something new to look forward to.

On the Friday morning, Roberta, the English translator, phoned me to ask if Francesca and her family could come to see us at our hotel on the Saturday afternoon.  Again, we set up a drinks table outside under the grapevines and at 4p.m., Francesca arrived with her husband Mario Venturi, their daughter Daniela and her daughter, Davina.  They also brought their friend and neighbour, Roberta Sheldon, the translator.

We were all immediately struck by the similarity of facial looks, expressions and mannerisms of Francesca’s daughter Daniela Venturi, with those of my own younger daughter Mandy Thomas (nee Harris).  We were also surprised to learn that Francesca’s grandfather, Giovanni had come to England with his brother Emilio Pietro (my grandfather), but Giovanni had returned to the valley soon after. They also told us that the family home at the turn of the 19th century had been in the hamlet of Pedona, midway between Barga and Coreglia Antelminelli.  We enjoyed a very pleasant couple of hours swapping information.

Mario bought a bottle of bubbly with which we toasted the Bosi family and then invited us to join them back in Coreglia Antelminelli for a pizza supper at a nearby restaurant. We visited their old family house in Coreglia Antelminelli, which they maintain as a holiday home, as they now live on the northern side of the mountains in Reggio Emilia.  Here we met Daniela’s partner, Guido. Above the doorway were the remains of a small coat of arms, which they told was that of their family.

We then walked to the restaurant and enjoyed a lovely evening, with Mario introducing us to various Italian delicacies, whilst trying to watch a European Cup match on television out of the corner of his eye. They walked us back to the car park and showed us the rendezvous point for our lunch appointment at noon the next day. As we left, Mario hinted that Sunday lunch promised to be a rather large party and this was the first inkling that we had regarding a bigger family reunion.

On Sunday morning, we set off early for our lunch appointment and visited the hamlet of Pedona en route. We found a sleepy little village, again with a locked church and no priest to question.  The only couple that we could find knew of no Bosi resident there. This task to find Emilio Pietro’s house will have to wait until another visit. Having motored back up to Coreglia Antelminelli we parked and went to the rendezvous point a little ahead of time.  There was one man sitting there, who looked a little like my grandfather, with his high forehead and bushy moustache, so I immediately engaged him in conversation, but it transpired that he was not related, but we enjoyed trying to converse.

Mario and Francesca arrived with the Venturi family together with a crowd of other people and a series of introductions began with hugs and kisses being freely given.  Francesca’s eldest brother Gianfrancoi appeared to lead the family and he was almost speechless with emotion. We met Gianfranco’s children, Stephano, Emiliana and Barbara. Barbara was with her husband Andrea who, with a degree in English, was most helpful in translating the conversations. Francesca’s son Daniele Venturi was also present. From Pietro Guido’s family we met Elvira D’Alfonso, nee Bosi, with her daughter Betty D’Alfonso. From Ottavia Mazzoti’s family, we met Mauro Mazzoti, and her daughters Alder Togneri, nee Mazzoti and Anna Corradini, nee Mazzoti.  From Ultimato’s family we met Valerio Bosi and his wife Tizania, nee Gonella, Valerio’s brother Alberto Bosi and his wife Manuela, nee Biagioni.

What can only be described as a fantastic banquet then began, and went on for the whole afternoon, with countless courses being served. Late in the afternoon, we were honoured by the arrival of the last surviving offspring of Giovanni Bosi and Eletta Chiappa, when Ottavia arrived.  She was a charming old lady of 94 and seemed genuinely pleased to meet us, with more hugs and kisses, and to see our photos of her long lost Uncle Emilio Pietro. Mario Venturi, Francesca’s husband, proposed a toast to the Bosi family and Graham managed a short speech to thank all these relatives for coming to meet us, promising to return again with Terry and Mavis Bosi when this was feasible.  Once again, Roberta Sheldon was there to assist with the translation. 

Before leaving, we tried to get Francesca and Mario to agree to visit us in England, but she said that she was scared of flying, so we told them to come by train. Julie and Lance made similar offers to entertain some of the younger members of the family at their cottage in Fife, Scotland.  We hope that some of this will happen. Finally, Valerio Bosi asked if he could come and see us in our hotel in Barga before we went home, as he had some old family photos to show us.  A meeting was set for Tuesday evening.
We then said our goodbyes and returned to Barga, having experienced an unforgettable day.  I felt like a long lost daughter returning to the fold, rather than a distant cousin whom no one had heard of.

THE WILD BOAR EXPERIENCE
On Monday morning, Graham, Julie, Lance and I (plus dictionary) set off to drive up the valley to meet Antonio Bosi and Emilia Borgia Bosi, at their home in Silano, with very little idea of where they actually lived. Our plan was to find the village and then ask around. The drive up the Serchio Valley was magnificent, although the one way system in the town of Castelnuovo was a nightmare, which managed to tie Lance’s Sat Nav up in knots.  We passed a series of picture post- ard villages, and then as we approached Silano, which is the very last village before the top of the ridge, we saw Antonio and Emilia standing at the roadside waiting for us, outside their house. We were made very welcome and given a conducted tour of the house, which was like a Swiss chalet. Inside, the living room was full of trophies, including a couple of wil -boar heads, at which point we began to realise that hunting was an important part of Antonio’s life. In fact, he and his friends had been the regional champion wild boar hunters for the last two years – not bad at 72 years of age.

We chatted about family; they had five children, Cinzia, Katia, Ricardo, Alberto and Monia. We were shown their photographs, together with their five grandchildren.  We took copies by photographing their photos and did the same thing with a print of the Bosi coat of arms, which was hanging in their hall. Without the help of translators, all this proved somewhat slow, but very enjoyable. Emilia then called us to the dining table and proceeded to serve up yet another generous banquet. Poor Lance was driving, so he had to concentrate on double helpings of food!

After lunch Antonio took us a beautiful ride to the top of the valley, which was about ten minutes drive from their home.  Here the ridge represented the border between the provinces of Lucca and Reggio Emilia.  We returned to the house for coffee and tried to get Antonio and Emilia to agree to visit us in the U.K.  It was clear that they had no aspiration to travel and that they were very cosy in their mountain retreat. Besides, as Antonio said, he could never leave his hunting dogs. They, in turn, invited us to go back and stay with them, whenever we had the chance. We motored back to Barga after another fantastic day.

DOCUMENT SEARCH
On Tuesday 24th June, we visited the Barga "Registry Office" seeking copies of any Bosi family birth or marriage documents and hoped that my improving language skills would help us to succeed. We were pleasantly surprised to find one member of staff spoke fluent English. They were able to find and copy Emilio Pietro Bosi’s birth certificate and his brother, Giovanni Bosi and Eletta Chiappa’s wedding certificate.  They had no access to any earlier records, but suggested that we contact the priest down at his presbytery adjacent to the new church in Fornaci di Barga from where he covers the churches of Loppia, Pedona and Fornaci di Barga. As there was no time left on this trip to follow up on this important lead, we have to put it on hold until our next trip,hopefully in 2009. 

That evening, we met with Valerio Bosi and his wife Tizania at our hotel. Valerio came armed with many photo's, from which it became clear that he was a football fan, who took great pride in the Italian team. Although they spoke very little English, we had by now developed the skills required to communicate. Valerio showed us a photo of himself in a local team, whose strip was red and white stripes, “like Sunderland”.  We then told him that Lance was from Newcastle, to which he replied “Alan Shearer”.

Valerio’s old photos included one of his father, Ultimato, wearing Italian military uniform in 1942, plus one of his grandfather, Giovanni, in uniform during the Italian invasion of Albania in WWI. He helped us to complete the family tree under Ultimato’s leg of the family and we exchanged addresses so that we could send photographs from this visit. It transpired that they live just a few kilometres below Fornacia de Barga, very close to the Pedona turn off, so there are still members of the Bosi family living very near to where we believe Emilio Pietro began his emigration. We said our goodbyes to the last members of the family, again asking them to come and visit us in the U.K. and promising to meet again when Terry and Mavis were ready to travel.

On Wednesday, the last night of our holiday, the four of us held a celebratory dinner at our favourite restaurant in the old town of Barga and hoped to be back there again very soon. On reflection, Graham, Julie, Lance and I agreed that we could not have hoped for a more successful visit.  It had been an unforgettable experience, which the four of us had been privileged to share.

MANY THANKS BOSI FAMILY
Since this last visit, we have been able to keep in touch with Francesca, Valerio and Stephano by e-mail, and with Antonio and Emilia by post.  We have exchanged photos of the visit and eagerly await the opportunity to re-visit our long lost relations.

THE ITALIAN CONNECTION - PART 2

TERRY’S ITALIAN REUNION, JUNE 2009

INTRODUCTION
After our successful visit of 2008, we simply had to return to the Serchio Valley in the spring of 2009, to introduce my brother Terry to all of his long lost Bosi relatives. This trip was made possible because Mavis, Terry’s wife, was now fit to travel again.  Prior to travelling, we had advised our cousins, Valerio Bosi, Stefano Bosi, Antonio Bosi and Francesca Venturi of our trip, and we were all looking forward to meeting the new family members again. Firstly, we planned our trip to give us 4 days in Levanto, in Liguria, on the Italian Riviera, followed by 7 days in Barga.  We flew from Luton to Pisa, thereafter using a hire car in Italy.

FIVE LANDS – 30th May
Whilst staying in Levanto, we made trips by train to three of the famous “Cinque Terra” towns, namely Vernazza, Monterosso and Manarola (the other two were Corniglia and Riomaggiore) all of which were delightful. We also made a trip by car to Portovenere, which must be the most beautiful resort in the Mediterranean. Then, after four days of rest and relaxation, with lots of sun, good food and wine, we set off for another Barga adventure with our batteries fully recharged.

RETURN TO BARGA – 4th June
On the Thursday, we left Levanto, heading for Barga, but did a detour via Aulla, and Fivizzano to find the Castle at Verrucola, which, according to the internet, was occupied by the Bosi’s from around 11th to 13th centuries. For such an ancient building, we expected to find the usual pile of bricks. However, Terry and I were quite overwhelmed to find a superb building in such an excellent state of repair with our family name attached to it. Unfortunately we could not get into the castle, as it was only open on Friday afternoons, by appointment, and this was Thursday. After much posturing by the "Count and Countess of Bosi" we tried to get into the nearby Villa La Pescigola, which is famous for its gardens and was also a former Bosi residence c1100.  However it was not yet open for the summer, and a large guard dog soon saw us off.  Perhaps another time?

Due to bad weather in the mountains, we decided to go back down to the autostrada to drive the long way round to Barga.  On our way up the Serchio Valley, we stopped at Pedona, which is the hamlet were we believe that our grandfather, Emilio Pietro Bosi, and his brother, Giovanni – Francesca’s grandfather, had lived as boys. Then further on, on our way up the mountain road, we stopped off at Loppia Cemetery, to show Terry and Mavis, the first Bosi graves that we had found in 2007. Finally, we arrived in Barga and were made very welcome again by the staff at La Pergola Hotel, where we dined at their refurbished and much improved restaurant. On Friday we spent leisurely around Barga and Mavis surprised us all by walking very confidently up and down the hilly streets in the beautiful mediaeval town. Before we left the hotel, we received a telephone call from Roberta Sheldon, confirming that Francesca and Mario, who now live in Reggio-Emilia, would join us for Sunday lunch, but unfortunately, Daniela was unable to travel because she had chicken pox. Later in the afternoon, at our hotel who should arrive to see us but Valerio & Tiziano. Introductions were made and I was kept busy with my dictionary. Valerio and Tiziana then invited us to join them for dinner at their home in Ghivizzano, on Wednesday evening.  This was ideal, as it would be our last night in Italy. We went into dinner at La Pergola Restaurant when, halfway through our meal, Antonio (Francesca’s middle brother) arrived. He invited us to join Emilia and himself lunch at their home in Silano, an hour’s drive up the mountain, on Monday.  What a wonderful, enjoyable, hectic evening we had – my dictionary was working overtime.

LIVORNO REUNION – 6th June
On Saturday – 6th June, we travelled by car to Livorno, for our pre-arranged lunch date with Gianfranco Bosi’s family (son Stefano, daughter Emiliana, and daughter Barbara and her husband Andreas). Graham was delighted with our trusty Sat Nav that took us right across the city, to within ten yards of our destination, which was at Barbara and Andreas’s flat in Via Danesi.  Gianfranco and the rest of the family joined us, and after a warm welcome and exclamations of how alike Gianfranco and Terry were, we went by car to the sea front and strolled along the beautiful promenade. After our walk, we went by car along the sea front to the southern edge of the town, where we lunched in the famous Ristorante Sassoscrito sea food restaurant, which was situated on the cliff tops and has with fantastic sea views.  We enjoyed an excellent meal and much conversation - in English this time, thanks to an excellent translation service from Andreas. Finally, to complete our visit to Livorno, the Bosi family took us up the mountain behind the city, to visit the Sanctuary of the Madonna di Montenero, where Barbara and Andreas had been married. The church was hung with mementos of countless miracles, which had been attributed to the Madonna, the patron saint of Tuscany. Gianfranco and the family said that we would be very welcome to visit them anytime we came back to Tuscany. We returned to Barga in a thunderstorm and, after such a wonderful meal could only manage one large pizza to share between the four of us in the restaurant.

BARGA REUNION – 7th June
On Sunday, we entertained Francesca (nee Bosi) & Mario Venturi and granddaughter Davina to lunch at our hotel.  Roberta Sheldon (and her daughter Martina) joined us to assist with the translating. They were all delighted to see us again and so pleased to meet Terry and Mavis. After introductions we enjoyed a lovely five course meal. This was finished off with a couple of bottles of Asti Spumante, but Mario was red carded by Terry for shooting a cork across the restaurant. After lunch, Francesco asked if we would like to take a short trip down towards Loppia to meet another cousin, Anna.  She is the daughter of Lina Bosi and lives in a huge house with spectacular mountain views.  She has two sons, but they live and work away as mountain guides and only visit her occasionally. Anna was an amazingly sprightly 83 year old, who made us very welcome. Mario then invited us back to their holiday home in Coreglia Antelminelli and then onto a nearby Pizzeria for supper.  Terry and Mavis enjoyed seeing the old house, which had belonged to Francesca’s mother, and still bore the coat of arms of the Antognelli family.  We then followed Mario up a winding mountain road until it petered out almost at the top of the ridge, where we found La Pizzeria at about the same altitude as Mount Snowdon. We decided not to return to Barga via the unsurfaced road which contoured the ridge, choosing instead to go the long way round by dropping down into the Serchio valley and climbing back up via the main roads. Our Fiat limo was definitely not built for mountain roads.

SILANO REUNION – 8th June
On Monday we set off in the car to the town of Castelnuovo (or Newcastle as we call it), en route to Silano to our lunch appointment with Antonio and Emilia.  On our arrival, Antonio and Emilia were out on the road to greet us before we could even get out of the car. Emilia then treated us to one of her spectacular lunches. Emilia was disappointed that Lance was not with us, as she needs someone to mother. We began to discuss the Bosi family tree and photographs were compared all round.  Although Antonio and Emilia did not speak English, between Antonio’s excellent hand gestures, Sandra’s Italian, Emilia’s clear, slow Italian, a good dictionary and the digital translator, we all managed. At last, it was time to leave. We drove up to the top of the ridge, which forms the provincial border between Reggio Emilia and Lucca and said our goodbyes in stunning mountain scenery.   

CHURCHYARD & MUSEUM – 9th June
On Tuesday, we went back up to the village of Coreglia Antelminelli and stopped off at the cemetery there to visit the grave of Francesca’s grandparents and father (Giovanni & Eletta Bosi and Adelsone Bosi).  This was where I had left the letter in 2007, which led to us finally locating the family. We found at least another twenty Bosi graves here, so it was very fortunate indeed that I had chosen the correct one on which to leave the message. I decided it was fate.

The Figurine Museum was our next port of call, where the surprising extent of the emigration from the Serchio Valley could be seen.  The Museum had been extended since our first visit and now included a workshop, showing how the alabaster figures were made in various types of moulds.  Much to my surprise there was a shepherd and a shepherdess, just like the two figures my parents had always had beside the fireplace in our family home. Unfortunately, I had never been told of their significance within the family as my father did not know much about his family history, and so the figures were discarded when the family house was sold. Then, in the church of San Michele Arcangelo, we were very surprised to notice that a fairly new looking statue of a Franciscan Monk was dedicated to an Alberto Bosi, but for the present, we cannot tie him in to the family tree.  Another puzzle to be solved.

GHIVIZZANO REUNION – 10th June
On the Wednesday morning, we drove up the somewhat precarious road to Sommacolonia, the village that overlooks Barga.  We had walked to this village from Barga with Julie and Lance, one hot day last year, and the views of the Serchio Valley from the terrace there were spectacular.  Mavis and I enjoyed the view while Terry and Graham climbed up to see the remains of the German gun emplacement above the church.  It looked to be virtually impregnable and reminded us that the battle to liberate Italy was a very hard one. We looked around the church, which was beautifully kept and quite big for such a small village.  There were no cafes or shops. Then, back to Barga and off for our last meeting with the family, the "Grand Finale Dinner" at Valerio & Tiziana’s house down in Ghivizzano. It was a delightful surprise to find that Valerio had invited his brothers and their families (Alberto & Manuela Bosi, together with Nedo & Alessandra Bosi and their sons Alessandro and Alessio) to join us for dinner.  This made the translation task very much easier, as both of the boys spoke English. We settled down to another fantastic meal, After dinner, family photographs were viewed, including several from Terry’s career as a referee, and lots of Valerio’s long distance running events, especially the London marathons 2007 and 2008. Graham presented Valerio with a Wolves shirt, to commemorate their promotion to the Premiership, whilst Terry nipped out to change into his Referee’s shirt.  On his return he gave Valerio a yellow card, which he then upgraded to a red for dissent.  The boys loved it, because, apparently, Valerio had something of a reputation for red cards, during his soccer career. After another memorable evening, we said our last good byes, and, after being asked to come back and visit everyone again another year, we returned to Barga for the last time.

MANY THANKS FAMILY BOSI
So, once again, our Bosi relatives have made us so very welcome in Tuscany.  We sincerely hope that some of them will be able to come and visit us in the U.K. as we had extended an open invitation.  We eagerly await the opportunity to re-visit them again.  This was a memorable holiday, enjoyed by us all, that’s me (Sandra), Graham, Mavis and Terry.  Lots of love until we meet you all again.

Saturday, 29 November 1952
West Bromwich Albion v Manchester United 3-1
Referee - Len Howarth (Beverley)

Match Officials - Referee: Emily Heaslip (Bury St. Edmunds), Sr. Assistant Referee: Georgia Ball (Chesterfield),
Jr. Assistant Referee: Chloe-Ann Small (Winchester), Fourth Official: Abigail Byrne (Bury St. Edmunds), Reserve Assistant Referee: Sophie Dennington (Aylesbury), V.A.R.: Michael Salisbury (Preston), Assistant V.A.R.: Sian Massey-Ellis (Coventry)

Sat15 Nov 1952
 
Middlesbrough v Derby County 1-0
Referee - F. Cowen (Manchester)

1                  First Round                   1. Full Referee            Referee & Linesmen      from programme   
2                  Division 3 North and  Division        3 South clubs plus the             2. Supplementary Referee            Referee Only      from newspaper    
3                  F.A. Amateur Cup finalists,      Walthamstow Avenue             3. Football League Linesman            Referee TBC only      from appointments   
4                  and Leyton, were exempted to       Round 1. Draw was P-P            4. Not Football League            Referee TBC only      if reffed initial draw   
5                  a day to Tue 11th November                              Not F.L. & not found      town unknown    
6                  North                                       
7   1   Sat   22   11   1952   Chester   3N   Hartlepools United   3N   0   1      Bowers   2               
8   2   Sat   22   11   1952   Gateshead   3N   Crewe Alexandra   3N   2   0      Thurman   2               
9   3   Sat   22   11   1952   Chesterfield   3N   Workington   3N   1   0      Turner   2               
10   4   Sat   22   11   1952   Bradford City   3N   Rhyl   NL   4   0      Bostock   2               
11   5   Sat   22   11   1952   Scunthorpe United   3N   Carlisle United   3N   1   0      Jackson H.   1               
12   6   Sat   22   11   1952   Beighton Miners Welfare   NL   Wrexham   3N   0   3   at Rotherham U.   Ratcliffe   2               
13   7   Sat   22   11   1952   Horden Colliery Welfare   NL   Accrington Stanley   3N   1   2      Power   1               
14   8   Sat   22   11   1952   Scarborough   NL   Mansfield Town   3N   0   8      Howarth   2               
15   9   Sat   22   11   1952   Halifax Town   3N   Ashton United   NL   1   1      Gerrard   1               
16   10   Sat   22   11   1952   York City   3N   Barrow   3N   1   2      Wood W.   2               
17   11   Sat   22   11   1952   Darlington   3N   Grimsby Town   3N   2   3      Webb   2               
18   12   Sat   22   11   1952   Southport   3N   Bangor City   NL   3   1      Fletcher   1               
19   13   Sat   22   11   1952   Tranmere Rovers   3N   Ashington   NL   8   1      Hartley   1               
20   14   Sat   22   11   1952   Bradford (Park Avenue)   3N   Rochdale   3N   2   1      Evans   1               
21   15   Sat   22   11   1952   Gainsborough Trinity   NL   Netherfield (Kendal)   NL   1   1      T.B.A.                  
22   16   Sat   22   11   1952   Selby Town   NL   Bishop Auckland   NL   1   5      T.B.A.                  
23   17   Sat   22   11   1952   North Shields   NL   Stockport County   3N   3   6      Heselton   2               
24   18   Sat   22   11   1952   Boston United   NL   Oldham Athletic   3N   1   2      Dunbar   2               
25                  South                                       
26   19   Sat   22   11   1952   Hendon   NL   Northampton Town   3S   0   0      Davis S.V.    2      Haynes   3   Oliver H.C.    3
27   20   Sat   22   11   1952   Grays Athletic   NL   Llanelli   NL   0   5      T.B.A.                  
28   21   Sat   22   11   1952   Kidderminster Harriers   NL   Finchley   NL   0   1      Joyce    3               
29   22   Sat   22   11   1952   Swindon Town   3S   Newport (IoW)   NL   5   0      Fiander   1      Meadows   3   Roberts H.A.   3
30   23   Sat   22   11   1952   Leytonstone   NL   Watford   3S   0   2      Pollard   2               
31   24   Sat   22   11   1952   Peterborough United   NL   Torquay United   3S   2   1      Clapton   2               
32   25   Sat   22   11   1952   Wellington Town   NL   Gillingham   3S   1   1      Bucknall   2               
33   26   Sat   22   11   1952   Yeovil Town   NL   Brighton & H.A.   3S   1   4      Elliott   2      Meaden   3   Newman   3
34   27   Sat   22   11   1952   Leyton   NL   Hereford United   NL   0   0      T.B.A.                  
35   28   Sat   22   11   1952   Crystal Palace   3S   Reading   3S   1   1      Leafe   1      Pritchard    3   Weir    3
36   29   Sat   22   11   1952   Queen's Park Rangers   3S   Shrewsbury Town   3S   2   2      Buckle   2      Bickmore    3   English    3
37   30   Sat   22   11   1952   Tonbridge   NL   Norwich City   3S   2   2      Mackay   1               
38   31   Sat   22   11   1952   Walthamstow Avenue   NL   Wimbledon   NL   2   2      Jackson J.B.   2               
39   32   Sat   22   11   1952   Ipswich Town   3S   Bournemouth & B.A.   3S   2   2      Dellow   2               
40   33   Sat   22   11   1952   Bath City   NL   Southend United   3S   3   1      Tarratt   2               
41   34   Sat   22   11   1952   Aldershot   3S   Millwall   3S   0   0      Pearce   1               
42   35   Sat   22   11   1952   Coventry City   3S   Bristol City   3S   2   0      Rogers   2               
43   36   Sat   22   11   1952   Guildford City   NL   Great Yarmouth Town   NL   2   2      Clark G. (Lewisham)   4               
44   37   Sat   22   11   1952   Newport County   3S   Walsall   3S   2   1      Burfield   2               
45   38   Sat   22   11   1952   Port Vale   3N   Exeter City   3S   2   1      Taylor   1               
46   39   Sat   22   11   1952   Weymouth   NL   Colchester United   3S   1   1      Burgess   1               
47   40   Sat   22   11   1952   Leyton Orient   3S   Bristol Rovers   3S   1   1      Clements   2      Freake    3   Stone    3
48                  First Round Replays                                       
49   9   Tue   25   11   1952   Ashton United   NL   Halifax Town   3N   1   2      Gerrard   1               
50   15   Thu   27   11   1952   Netherfield (Kendal)   NL   Gainsborough Trinity   NL   0   3      T.B.A.                  
51   19   Thu   27   11   1952   Northampton Town   3S   Hendon   NL   2   0      Davis S.V.   2   tbc            
52   25   Wed   26   11   1952   Gillingham   3S   Wellington Town   NL   3   0      Bucknall   2   tbc            
53   27   Thu   27   11   1952   Hereford United   NL   Leyton   NL   3   2      T.B.A.                  
54   28   Wed   26   11   1952   Reading   3S   Crystal Palace   3S   1   3      Leafe   1      Dowse   3   Martin H.   3
55   29   Thu   27   11   1952   Shrewsbury Town   3S   Queen's Park Rangers   3S   2   2   AET 2-2   Buckle   2      Sant   3   Daniels   3
56   30   Thu   27   11   1952   Norwich City   3S   Tonbridge   NL   1   0      Mackay   1               
57   31   Wed   26   11   1952   Wimbledon   NL   Walthamstow Avenue   NL   0   3      Jackson J.B.   2   tbc            
58   32   Wed   26   11   1952   Bournemouth & B.A.   3S   Ipswich Town   3S   2   2   AET 2-2   Dellow   2   tbc            
59   34   Thu   27   11   1952   Millwall   3S   Aldershot   3S   7   1      Pearce   1   tbc            
60   36   Thu   27   11   1952   Great Yarmouth Town   NL   Guildford City   NL   1   0      Clark G. (Lewisham)   4   tbc            
61   39   Thu   27   11   1952   Colchester United   3S   Weymouth   NL   4   0      Burgess   1   tbc            
62   40   Mon   24   11   1952   Bristol Rovers   3S   Leyton Orient   3S   1   0   replaced Clements (2)   Ball   2               
63                  First Round Second Replays                                       
64   29   Mon   1   12   1952   Shrewsbury Town   3S   Queen's Park Rangers   3S   4   1   at Aston Villa   Buckle   2   tbc            
65   32   Mon   1   12   1952   Ipswich Town   3S   Bournemouth & B.A.   3S   3   2   at Arsenal   Dellow   2               
66                  Second Round                                       
67   1   Sat   6   12   1952   Barrow   3N   Millwall   3S   2   2      Sherlock   2               
68   2   Sat   6   12   1952   Colchester United   3S   Llanelli   NL   3   2      Williams F.C.   2               
69   3   Sat   6   12   1952   Peterborough United   NL   Bristol Rovers   3S   0   1      Pankhurst   2      Ilott   3   Malcolm   3
70   4   Sat   6   12   1952   Shrewsbury Town   3S   Chesterfield   3N   0   0      Thorpe   2               
71   5   Sat   6   12   1952   Halifax Town   3N   Southport   3N   4   2      Dunbar   2               
72   6   Sat   6   12   1952   Bradford (Park Avenue)   3N   Gateshead   3N   1   2      Brown   2      Parkinson   3   Robinson    3
73   7   Sat   6   12   1952   Hereford United   NL   Scunthorpe United   3N   0   0      Buckle   2      Speake    3   Evans W.J.R. (Shrewsbury)   4
74   8   Sat   6   12   1952   Bradford City   3N   Ipswich Town   3S   1   1      Wood W.   2               
75   9   Sat   6   12   1952   Brighton & H.A.   3S   Norwich City   3S   2   0      Clapton    2      Husband    3   Holt W.G., C.P.O (Portsmouth)   4
76   10   Sat   6   12   1952   Swindon Town   3S   Northampton Town   3S   2   0      Read   2      Browning   3   Fox   3
77   11   Sat   6   12   1952   Finchley    NL   Crystal Palace   3S   3   1   ab 61 mins fog   Pullin   2      Ross   3   Bellwood   3
78   12   Sat   6   12   1952   Great Yarmouth Town   NL   Wrexham   3N   1   2      Davis S.V.   2               
79   13   Sat   6   12   1952   Tranmere Rovers   3N   Hartlepools United   3N   2   1      Webb   2               
80   14   Sat   6   12   1952   Walthamstow Avenue   NL   Watford   3S   1   1      Ling   1               
81   15   Sat   6   12   1952   Bishop Auckland   NL   Coventry City   3S   1   4      Richardson    2               
82   16   Sat   6   12   1952   Stockport County   3N   Gillingham   3S   3   1      Chadwick   2      Smith J.K.   3   Tuck    3
83   17   Sat   6   12   1952   Grimsby Town   3N   Bath City   NL   1   0      Overton   1      Jepson   3   Brant R. (Goole)   4
84   18   Sat   6   12   1952   Accrington Stanley   3N   Mansfield Town   3N   0   2      Holland   1      English   3   West C.H. ()   4
85   19   Sat   6   12   1952   Port Vale   3N   Oldham Athletic   3N   0   3      Evans   1               
86   20   Sat   6   12   1952   Newport County   3S   Gainsborough Trinity   NL   2   1      Hill   2               
87                  Second Round Re-Match                                       
88   11   Wed   10   12   1952   Finchley    NL   Crystal Palace   3S   3   1      Pullin    2               
89                  Second Round Replays                                       
90   1   Wed   10   12   1952   Millwall   3S   Barrow   3N   4   1      Sherlock   2   tbc            
91   4   Wed   10   12   1952   Chesterfield   3N   Shrewsbury Town   3S   2   4      Thorpe   2   tbc            
92   7   Thu   11   12   1952   Scunthorpe United   3N   Hereford United   NL   2   1      Buckle   2   tbc            
93   8   Wed   10   12   1952   Ipswich Town   3S   Bradford City   3N   5   1      Wood W.   2   tbc            
94   14   Wed   10   12   1952   Watford   3S   Walthamstow Avenue   NL   1   2   AET 1-1   Ling   1   tbc            
95                  Third Round                                       
96   1   Sat   10   1   1953   Derby County   1   Chelsea   1   4   4   replaced Pearce (1)   Webb   2      Cawkwell    3   Collins W.A. (Birmingham)    4
97   2   Sat   10   1   1953   Newport County   3S   Sheffield United   2   1   4      Mackay   1      Sawyer    2   Griffiths H. (Lichfield)   4
98   3   Sat   10   1   1953   West Ham United   2   West Bromwich Albion   1   1   4      Luty   1      Hill L.A.   3   Rowlands J.R., Sn. Cd. Shpt. ()   4
99   4   Sat   10   1   1953   Halifax Town   3N   Cardiff City   1   3   1      Overton   1   tbc            
100   5   Sat   10   1   1953   Sunderland   1   Scunthorpe United   3N   1   1      Holland   1      Rhodes   2   Rennison W.W. (Morpeth)   4
101   6   Sat   10   1   1953   Preston North End   1   Wolverhampton W.   1   5   2      Leafe   1      Wilkinson   2   Edwards T.B.   3
102   7   Sat   10   1   1953   Lincoln City   2   Southampton   2   1   1      Dellow   2   tbc            
103   8   Sat   10   1   1953   Barnsley   2   Brighton & H.A.   3S   4   3      Bucknall   2      Hunt J.   3   Robinson G. (Nottingham)   4
104   9   Sat   10   1   1953   Hull City   2   Charlton Athletic   1   3   1      Hartley   1      Oxley   3   Dawson G.A. (Huddersfield)   4
105   10   Sat   10   1   1953   Everton   2   Ipswich Town   3S   3   2      Pankhurst   2      Cornwell   3   Wilson A. ()   4
106   11   Sat   10   1   1953   Huddersfield Town   2   Bristol Rovers   3S   2   0      Topliss   1   tbc            
107   12   Sat   10   1   1953   Portsmouth   1   Burnley   1   1   1      Griffiths   1      Cook    3   Hailes H.C.T. (Dorchester)    4
108   13   Sat   10   1   1953   Sheffield Wednesday   1   Blackpool   1   1   2      Jackson H.   1      Daniels    3   Wright F.   3
109   14   Sat   10   1   1953   Arsenal   1   Doncaster Rovers   2   4   0      Taylor   1      Freake   3   Eastbrook (Tiptree)   3
110   15   Sat   10   1   1953   Rotherham United   2   Colchester United   3S   2   2      Buckle   2   tbc            
111   16   Sat   10   1   1953   Grimsby Town   3N   Bury   2   1   3      Murdoch    1   tbc            
112   17   Sat   10   1   1953   Gateshead   3N   Liverpool   1   1   0      Coultas   2               
113   18   Sat   10   1   1953   Bolton Wanderers    1   Fulham   2   P   P   P-P fog    Bell   2   tbc            
114   19   Sat   10   1   1953   Millwall   3S   Manchester United   1   0   1      Ratcliffe   2      Hewinson   3   Barker   3
115   20   Sat   10   1   1953   Manchester City   1   Swindon Town   3S   7   0      Mann   2      Wain    3   Hall A.R. ()   4
116   21   Sat   10   1   1953   Aston Villa   1   Middlesbrough   1   3   1      Clough   1      Wildman    3   Hall E.J.   3
117   22   Sat   10   1   1953   Walthamstow Avenue   NL   Stockport County   3N   2   1      Clements   2      Cooke   3   Laflin   3
118   23   Sat   10   1   1953   Plymouth Argyle   2   Coventry City   3S   4   1      Davis S.V.   2               
119   24   Sat   10   1   1953   Stoke City   1   Wrexham   3N   2   1      Collinge   2      Gardner    3   Babington    3
120   25   Sat   10   1   1953   Mansfield Town   3N   Nottingham Forest   2   0   1      Ling   1               
121   26   Sat   10   1   1953   Tranmere Rovers   3N   Tottenham Hotspur   1   1   1      Beacock   1   tbc            
122   27   Sat   10   1   1953   Shrewsbury Town   3S   Finchley   NL   2   0      Cowen   1   tbc            
123   28   Sat   10   1   1953   Leicester City   2   Notts County   2   2   4      Ellis   1               
124   29   Sat   10   1   1953   Oldham Athletic   3N   Birmingham City   2   1   3      Bond   1               
125   30   Sat   10   1   1953   Brentford   2   Leeds United   2   2   1      Evans   1   tbc            
126   31   Sat   10   1   1953   Newcastle United    1   Swansea Town   2   0   0   ab 8 mins fog   Gerrard   1      Bates   3   Hodgson W.F. (Carlisle)   4
127   32   Sat   10   1   1953   Luton Town   2   Blackburn Rovers   2   6   1      Power   1   tbc            
128                  Third Round Re-Matches                                       
129   18   Wed   14   1   1953   Bolton Wanderers    1   Fulham   2   3   1      Bell   2   tbc            
130   31   Wed   14   1   1953   Newcastle United    1   Swansea Town   2   3   0      Gerrard   1               
131                  Third Round Replays                                       
132   1   Wed   14   1   1953   Chelsea   1   Derby County   1   1   0   AET 0-0   Webb   2      Cawkwell   3   Collins W.A. (Birmingham)    4
133   5   Thu   15   1   1953   Scunthorpe United   3N   Sunderland   1   1   2      Holland   1      Ryalls    3   McLean   3
134   7   Wed   14   1   1953   Southampton   2   Lincoln City   1   2   1      Dellow   2   tbc            
135   12   Tue   13   1   1953   Burnley   1   Portsmouth   1   3   1      Griffiths   1               
136   15   Thu   15   1   1953   Colchester United   3S   Rotherham United   2   0   2      Buckle   2      Husband    3   Moore   3
137   26   Mon   12   1   1953   Tottenham Hotspur   1   Tranmere Rovers   3N   9   1      Beacock   1               
138                  Fourth Round                                       
139   1   Sat   31   1   1953   Preston North End   1   Tottenham Hotspur   1   2   2      Luty   1   tbc            
140   2   Sat   31   1   1953   Blackpool   1   Huddersfield Town   2   1   0      Griffiths   1               
141   3   Sat   31   1   1953   Aston Villa   1   Brentford   2   0   0      Edwards   1   tbc            
142   4   Sat   31   1   1953   Manchester United   1   Walthamstow Avenue   NL   1   1      Rhodes   2      Daniels   3   Griffiths J.H.   3
143   5   Sat   31   1   1953   Everton   2   Nottingham Forest   2   4   1      Smith A.W.   1   tbc            
144   6   Sat   31   1   1953   Chelsea   1   West Bromwich Albion   1   1   1      Ellis   1      Court A.E. (Kettering)   4   Baxter C.V. (Diss)   4
145   7   Sat   31   1   1953   Halifax Town   3N   Stoke City   1   1   0      Glendenning   1   tbc            
146   8   Sat   31   1   1953   Bolton Wanderers   1   Notts County   2   1   1      Smith R.E.   2   tbc            
147   9   Sat   31   1   1953   Sheffield United   2   Birmingham City   2   1   1      Plinston   1      Lowther R.A. (Luton)   4   Coulson D.G. (St. Ives, Hunts)   4
148   10   Sat   31   1   1953   Hull City   2   Gateshead   3N   1   2      Black   1      Peverelli   3   Green N.L. (Tollerton, Notts)   4
149   11   Sat   31   1   1953   Newcastle United   1   Rotherham United   2   1   3      Gaiger   2      Jessop E.E. (Middlesbrough)   4   Jolly H.M. (Chorley)   4
150   12   Sat   31   1   1953   Arsenal   1   Bury   2   6   2      Leafe   1      Straten   3   Jewell R. (Exeter)   4
151   13   Sat   31   1   1953   Plymouth Argyle   2   Barnsley   2   1   0      Blythe   1               
152   14   Sat   31   1   1953   Shrewsbury Town   3S   Southampton   2   1   4      Pickles   1      Harper   3   Wilton F.B. (Gloucester)   4
153   15   Sat   31   1   1953   Burnley   1   Sunderland   1   2   0      Evans   1      Walker T. (Huddersfield)   4   Clapperton T. (Wakefield)***   4
154   16   Sat   31   1   1953   Manchester City   1   Luton Town   2   1   1      Sawyer   2      McCabe   3   Clapperton T. (Wakefield)***   4
155                  Fourth  Round Replays                                       
156   1   Wed   4   2   1953   Tottenham Hotspur   1   Preston North End   1   1   0      Luty   1   tbc            
157   3   Wed   4   2   1953   Brentford   2   Aston Villa   1   1   2      Edwards   1      Bearman    3   Hart V.J. (Maidstone)   4
158   4   Thu   5   2   1953   Walthamstow Avenue   NL   Manchester United   1   2   5   at Arsenal   Rhodes   2      New H.G. (Portsmouth)   4   Mason A.F. (Swindon)   4
159   6   Wed   4   2   1953   West Bromwich Albion   1   Chelsea   1   0   0   AET 0-0   Ellis   1      Sherlock    2   Aldred J.E. (Derby)   4
160   8   Thu   5   2   1953   Notts County   2   Bolton Wanderers   1   2   2   AET 2-2   Smith R.E.   2   tbc            
161   9   Wed   4   2   1953   Birmingham City   2   Sheffield United   2   3   1      Plinston   1               
162   16   Wed   4   2   1953   Luton Town   2   Manchester City   1   5   1      Sawyer   2               
163                  Fourth Round Second Replays                                       
164   6   Mon   9   2   1953   Chelsea   1   West Bromwich Albion   1   1   1   at Aston Villa AET 1-1   Ellis   1               
165   8   Mon   9   2   1953   Bolton Wanderers   1   Notts County   2   1   0   at Sheffield W.   Smith R.E.   2               
166                  Fourth Round Third Replay                                       
167   6   Wed   11   2   1953   Chelsea   1   West Bromwich Albion   1   4   0   at Arsenal   Ellis   1      Dellow    2   Gotts S.A. (Ilford)   4
168                  Fifth Round                                       
169   7   Sat   14   2   1953   Halifax Town   3N   Tottenham Hotspur   1   0   3      Overton   1      Johnson   3   Stafford R. (Derby)   4
170   8   Sat   14   2   1953   Rotherham United   2   Aston Villa   1   1   3      Griffiths   1               
171   6   Sat   14   2   1953   Chelsea   1   Birmingham City   2   0   4      Clough   1      Burchell    3   Rich A. (Devonport)    4
172   5   Sat   14   2   1953   Plymouth Argyle   2   Gateshead   3N   0   1      Pearce   1      Thorne C.J. (Dorchester)   4   Lobb W.R.T. (St. Austell)   4
173   4   Sat   14   2   1953   Everton   2   Manchester United   1   2   1      Beacock   1      Wood W.   2   Birch F.W. (Hanley)   4
174   3   Sat   14   2   1953   Luton Town   2   Bolton Wanderers   1   0   1      Bond   1      Hall    2   Caffrey A.H. Cpl (Kettering)    4
175   2   Sat   14   2   1953   Burnley   1   Arsenal   1   0   2      Ling   1      Bowers    2   Porter A.R. (Liverpool)   4
176   1   Sat   14   2   1953   Blackpool   1   Southampton   2   1   1      Flanagan   1   tbc            
177                  Fifth Round Replay                                       
178   8   Wed   18   2   1953   Southampton   2   Blackpool   1   1   2      Flanagan   1   tbc            
179                  Sixth Round                                       
180   1   Sat   28   2   1953   Aston Villa   1   Everton   2   0   1      Bond   1      Haworth    2   Hughes  A.E. ()   4
181   2   Sat   28   2   1953   Arsenal   1   Blackpool   1   1   2      Luty   1      Wright    2   Damen E.F. (Weymouth)   4
182   3   Sat   28   2   1953   Gateshead   3N   Bolton Wanderers   1   0   1      Smith A.W.   1   tbc            
183   4   Sat   28   2   1953   Birmingham City   2   Tottenham Hotspur   1   1   1      Brown   2      Naylor   3   Williams E.J. (Hereford)   4
184                  Sixth Round Replay                                       
185   4   Wed   4   3   1953   Tottenham Hotspur   1   Birmingham City   2   2   2   AET 2-2   Brown   2               
186                  Sixth Round Second Replay                                       
187   4   Mon   9   3   1953   Tottenham Hotspur   1   Birmingham City   2   1   0   at Wolverhampton W.   Brown   2   tbc            
188                  Semi-Finals                                       
189                  Replays initially announced as      1. at Huddersfield                                  
190                  and 2. Aston Villa (if Tottenham)      Everton (if Birmingham)                                 
191                  but revised to if only one then        at Huddersfield but if                                 
192                  two then 1. at Huddersfield      2. at Sheffield W.                                 
193   1   Sat   21   3   1953   Bolton Wanderers    1   Everton   2   4   3   at Manchester City   Bond   1      Beacock H.   1   Buckle    2
194   2   Sat   21   3   1953   Blackpool    1   Tottenham Hotspur   1   2   1   at Aston Villa   Ellis   1      Tarratt    2   Buscombe    3
195                  Final                                       
196   1   Sat   2   5   1953   Blackpool    1   Bolton Wanderers   1   4   3   at Wembley   Griffiths   1      Davis S.V.   2   Sawyer    2
                                                         
                                                         
                                       No F.A. Cup ties (yet)                  
                                       Everett   1               
                                       Gibson   1               
                                       Houston   1               
                                       McCann   1               
                                       Seymour   1               
                                       Vickery   1               
                                       Williams J.G.   1               
                                       Wood R.   1               
                                                         
                                       Davis H.   2               
                                       Hall   2               
                                       Haworth   2               
                                       Martin   2               
                                       Peake   2               
                                       Tootill    2               
                                       Wilkinson   2               
                                       Wood T.L.   2               
                                       Wright   2