In the year before his death, we had quite a bit of momentum going here for a petition for Mick McManus to appear in the honours list. Unfortunately, his passing brought our campaign to an abrupt end.
I was just rewatching his interview from 1997 where he is seated in (his) garden and he says it was a great career which took him to "Buckingham Palace and Downing Street."
Sure enough, he's photographed with Harold Wilson.
I am wondering what the circumstances would have been that took him to both places?
Lord's Taverners activities I guess.
But I'm wondering who he went with? And whether those colleagues were honoured for equivalent services to charity?
The Duke of Edinburgh seems to have been long term president of the Lord's Taverners and this probably explains how he came to attend RAH wrestling presentations.
Is there any possibility Mick McManus did have an honour of some kind and we just don't know about it? Maybe even pre-1965 and under his previous name?
Were any other wrestlers Lord's Taverners?
Did the Lord's Taverners, within their own activities, make any mention of thanks or the financial benefit from the times Prince Philip attended the wrestling?
And the magic of Bernard's stories. To think Bernard started out on here and said he'd nothing to say. Another lovely story Bernard, thanks.
Sorry, my mistake. The Taverners game was after I came out of the RAF and moved to Romford, so it would have been about 1961/2 time.
All the rest is o k.
They were 1970 Anglo , here is Mick with the team in 77.
Thanks Bernard.
Wherever do you magic these photos up from, Ron! Briliant to see Mick at his athletic best...
I played cricket against a Lord's Taverners team when I was working at Fords.
Of course it was a charity match, and was probably about 1953/4, at one of the two Ford's grounds in the Ilford/ Newbury park area.
I can only remember a few things about the game.
John Snagge (old boat race commentator) was doing a commentary, and Bill Edrich was batting. Snagge said Bill has now been batting for 35 minutes and hasn't yet scored. The next over that Edrich faced went for 6x6's including one right over the beer tent!
Everton Weekes came in and I was in the covers. He stroked a ball for four and it seemed to sizzle past me and he put no effort into it at all.
Ben Barnett (Australia) kept wicket for them and he laughed and told us anecdotes at suitable times during our innings.
We lost closely due to a lot of help from the Taverners side.
Eddie Capelli was with Mick in the Taverners Cricket team. (circa 1970)