Bobby Moore’s daughter recreates iconic shot and pays emotional tribute to dad
Bobby Moore’s daughter paid an emotional return to an east London primary school loved by her dad - the scene of one of the most iconic photos in Daily Mirror history.
Roberta visited St Edward’s Catholic Primary in east London where - exactly 51 years ago yesterday - Moore marked what was about to be his 100th international appearance by posing for a team photo with 99 pupils from St Edward’s, all wearing blue and gold England caps.
The pic of the 1966 World Cup winning captain was taken by Mirror photographer Kent Gavin. He was back there today to be reunited with 12 of the children - now in their 50s and 60s - who were in the picture.
Two of them went on to become professional players: Ken Charlery who played for Watford, Birmingham and Peterborough and Paul Roberts for Millwall, Brentford and Southend.
Bobby Moore posed with 99 school children back in 1973 (Mirrorpix)Martin Greenfield, 57, and Phil Towers, 57, were both cheeky seven year olds in the front row in the picture. “I just remember how excited everyone was,” said Martin.
Nursery apologises after child with Down's syndrome ‘treated less favourably’
Phil added: “I remember that day very well. All of us have a copy of that photo. I remember being told: ‘keep your head up and pull your cap down’.”
It emerged yesterday that one or two of the boys in the photo had actually bunked off from another nearby school just so they could sneak into the playground to be in the picture.
Months before Moore’s 100th game Gavin came up with the idea to take him back to St Edward’s - right opposite the old West Ham Boleyn Ground - to pose with 99 of the school’s current pupils, representing all the caps he had collected up to that point. Gavin remembers: “The result was a truly iconic image.
“The expressions on the boys’ faces were just great. It was one of my most favourite photos. It was pretty chaotic at the time as we had to do it all in the lunch break without a rehearsal.
Roberta joined with former school kids to recreate the 1973 shot (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)“The famous picture went on to be recreated by Steven Gerrard and Wayne Rooney at their respective old schools when it was the turn of that pair to join the elite group of nine England players to have won 100 caps for their country.”
Roberta said; “Dad would have been so proud and honoured that he was being remembered 51 years on. He always had very fond memories of his time at the school and loved going back for that photo.
“It’s one of my favourite photos of my dad. I remember my brother had the photo on his bedroom wall.”
Yesterday she posed with 99 of the current pupils in a re-enactment of the 1973 photo. She told the children the tale of how her Dad rose from humble beginnings to lead West Ham and his country to glory in the mid-1960s, becoming one of the biggest legends in world football, but never forgetting his East London roots.
She said: “Whatever ambitions they have for their own lives, my dad stands as an example that they can fulfil all their greatest dreams if you work hard, and make the most of the natural talents they have within them.”
Roberta Moore has visited St Edward’s Catholic Primary (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)Roberta also explained that, in his later career, Bobby devoted himself to helping the next generation of talented youngsters to come through the ranks at West Ham.
Striking teacher forced to take a second job to pay bills ahead of mass walkout
Furthermore, beyond the pitch, his legacy continues through work of the Moore Family Foundation which promotes six core values he displayed: courtesy, generosity, hard work, humbleness, respect for others and self-discipline.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
