Brian Thompson Memorial Trophy to be played for after 20-year break
The mystery of the Brian Thompson Memorial Trophy, played for by u13 teams for Berwick and Tweedmouth Middle Schools, was solved on the Forgotten Berwick facebook page.
A LONG lost football trophy formerly contested by teams from Berwick and Tweedmouth Middle Schools is to be reintroduced as a coveted prize.
The Brian Thompson Memorial Trophy was keenly played for by the two schools’ under 13 teams during the 1980s, but hasn’t been seen for nearly two decades.
That was until Steve Bird, a teacher at Berwick Middle School, uploaded an old photograph on to the ‘Forgotten Berwick’ facebook page, asking for help identifying the people in it, and the occasion on which it was taken.
Over 50 comments later, the story was revealed and the whereabouts of a long-lost trophy was discovered.
Steve, who has worked at Berwick Middle School since the mid 1990s, explained: “I have evolved into a job where I have been given responsibility for trophies and prize givings over the years, and have inherited a whole load of old photographs which I am slowly but surely trying to digitalise.
“When I uploaded this photograph asking if anyone knew the story behind it, it actually generated quite a lot of interest.”
When he saw the old photograph, retired teacher Dougal Moir, who is in it, remembered: “The Thompson Trophy was for U13 team, the Blackhall U12 and the Barham U11. We we played four games that season for each trophy.
“Alice Thompson was presenting the Thompson Trophy to Graham Robertson of Berwick Middle School, who was a quality player in his day, and Charlie Elvin, our soccer celebrity having just finished playing professional football, presented the Blackhall Trophy to Aggers of Tweedmouth Middle.
“I am presenting Tom White with the Barham Trohpy, and Anthony and Paul Murray were the U11 and U13 Borough Players of the Year which shows how good they were! Wilf was ‘Mr Borough football’ and also a scout for Burnley.”
A number of people who commented on the picture identified the unusual cup in the top left as the Brian Thompson Memorial Trophy, but nobody seemed to know what had happened to it, including Brian Thompson’s son Michael, who now lives abroad.
“It wasn’t until I saw some of the comments on the photograph that I thought ‘I have seen that trophy before’,” Steve Bird said. “It has been in a cardboard box in my classroom for about 15 years!
“It was so dirty and the engraving on it was so fine that I hadn’t noticed that it was engraved - it was just an anonymous trophy in a box.”
But now that he knows what the trophy is, and the significance behind it, Steve is keen to re-establish the competition.
“I have now spoken to staff here and at Tweedmouth and everyone is keen to restore the fixture between the schools,” he said. “In addition to the numerous other inter school competitions, we plan to resurrect the Brian Thompson Memorial Trophy and will organise a fixture as soon as possible.” He added: “I am grateful to everyone for their help - I have had the trophy and the photo for years but never linked them until posting the picture on the site.
“What would be really great would be if we could get the three teachers who are in the original photograph to present the trophy to the winning team.
“Charlie Elvin is at the high school now and Wilf Renton and Dougal Moir are both retired, but it would be really good to get them together and recreate the old photograph. Peter Oliver is now our deputy head so we could even get him to lurk in the background! He also thought the trophy had been lost and was amazed when I told him that I had kept it in a box for years without appreciating its importance.”
Commenting from across the pond, Brian’s son Michael said: “Both me and my brother played football for Tweedmouth Middle and my dad was always there to watch us play, even if it meant watching from his coal wagon! He was a cool dude and my hero.
I was 14 when my dad died, my brother Peter was 12 and my sister Diane was 18. Being so young I am not sure how the trophy came about, but I’ve spoken to my brother and sister and we think it was my mum’s idea, I would guess with the help of Wilf Renton.” He added: “It would be great if the trophy was played for again!”
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Weather for Berwick-Upon-Tweed
Saturday 25 May 2013
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