Supporting Ingerlund

[Swiss Peter]

I was 9 years old in 1966, and I have just one memory of that tournament: My dad, falling to his knees with his head in his hands when Germany equalized in the dying moments. I think I was more into Crackerjack at that stage of life, laughing at Peter Glaze's inability to get out of the way of a squirty flower.

I find this fascinating. I'd read before about how many in Wales were supporting England in that game. I was a 6 year old living in Germany at the time, but we were back visiting my parent's friends in London. All I remember was the stick we took after the game driving across London in a car with German plates. All good natured though (at least through the eyes of a 6 year old).

Something changed not so long after that, and the whole thing got nastier.

[RonnieBird]

I find this fascinating. I'd read before about how many in Wales were supporting England in that game. I was a 6 year old living in Germany at the time, but we were back visiting my parent's friends in London. All I remember was the stick we took after the game driving across London in a car with German plates. All good natured though (at least through the eyes of a 6 year old).

Something changed not so long after that, and the whole thing got nastier.

Everyone I knew supported England. There were very few Welsh nationalists in those days and they were regarded as nutters.
One thing you’ll notice is that there were mainly union jacks at England games in those days whilst now they’re St George’s Cross Flags. That was before the big divide and conquer brainwashing programme which seeks to divide our previously great and unified British nation.

[the other bob wilson]

Everyone I knew supported England. There were very few Welsh nationalists in those days and they were regarded as nutters.
One thing you’ll notice is that there were mainly union jacks at England games in those days whilst now they’re St George’s Cross Flags. That was before the big divide and conquer brainwashing programme which seeks to divide our previously great and unified British nation.

Well, for a start, there’s the true story about Dennis Law deliberately playing golf during the 66 World Cup Final and being not best pleased, to put it mildly, when he heard the result when he got back to the club house. That’s one example, and I’ve heard many more of people not as famous as Mr Law who didn’t want England to win.

That said, I agree that the UK was more “British” in 1966. Although my father in particular had that attitude so many of his generation did towards Germany and German people, he’d supported England all the way through the tournament, as had my mum. Therefore, their three children did as well and I can remember bursting into tears and running out into our back garden in a strop when West Germany scored their late equaliser.

We were still an England supporting family in 1970 for the Mexico World Cup, but something happened between then and the night in 1973 when Poland drew at Wembley to deny England a place in the following year’s competition - the whole family, particularly my mum I remember, were really pleased about England’s failure.

I’ve tended to put the change in attitude down to the arrogance of English pundits like Brian Clough and Malcolm Allison in the lead up to the match, but there was more to it than that because it wasn’t just with sport that we became anti English, yet neither of my parents ever had any interest in Welsh nationalism, so it wasn’t anything like that in our family at least.

For myself now, I filled in the fifth Census form of my life a couple of weeks ago and I classed myself as Welsh just like I had done with the previous four and I’ve never been closer to supporting the idea of an independent Wales than I am now, yet I wouldn’t be surprised at all if my parents had classed themselves as British in the 1971 census, but I think my dad said he was Welsh ten years later and I know for a fact that my mum did.