Rovers stalwart recalls a great time for football

WALLY CHICK was by the White Rock during the afternoon of 28 June 1940 when the first bombs were dropped on Guernsey by the Germans. The 24-year-old Chick managed to survive the attack by diving under a parked lorry.

Two days later, the island, along with the rest of the Channel Islands, was invaded and life under the Germans began for Chick and the rest of the population. It was to last for five years.

But certain aspects of life on island were to continue as before, football being one.

'I enjoyed the football I played during the Occupation more than at any other time of my life,' said the Rovers stalwart, now 89 years old.

'There were no medals, no trophies and no animosity. We just enjoyed our football.'

The Guernsey Football Association ceased operations when the war began and there was then no official body to organise matches.

Step forward States member Wilfred Corbet who created the Sarnian Football Association and a first and a reserve division of seven teams each were in place for the 1940-1 season.

With the population in the island at around 20,000 due to half having been either evacuated or in active service, most GFA clubs weren't able to field sides.

Only Vale Rec and St Martin's were able to and hence the new association contained social sides, teams that played midweek and specially-formed teams for the league.

Rovers, Centrals, Les Vauxbelets Old Boys' Association, Vale Rec and Grandes Rocques had teams in both divisions with the Playboys and the Pessimists making up the seven in the top league and St Martin's and Torteval Rovers in the lower one.

The best team was the VOBA led by Len Duquemin who went on to play for Spurs and who was recently inducted into Guernsey's sporting hall of fame.

The centre forward was Chick's favourite player from the period.

'He wasn't outstanding but he was always a danger as he had a good shot,' said Chick.

'He really improved when he went to Spurs training after the war.

'But it wasn't just him that won matches for the Vauxbelets. He had some good players around him.'

Chick's favourite match during the SFA years was a game he played for his beloved Rovers against Duquemin's team in a knockout semi-final in April 1943.

The first had ended in a 2-2 draw and in the replay Rovers came back from 3-1 down to even things out at 3-3. They won the resulting second replay 2-0.

Rovers went onto lose to Vale Rec in the final by the same score, Chick's men having played four matches in five days.

Initially the league matches took place on Thursdays and Saturdays, but Thursdays were later dropped from the schedule.

Four pitches were used - Beau Sejour, Cambridge Park, Delancey Park and a specially built pitch at Home Farm on the site of the car park for the North Show.

Chick noted that the standard of these pitches didn't suffer due to the Occupation and that all of them were well maintained.

There was no chance of obtaining any new football equipment such as boots, balls and goal nets.

Great care had to be taken especially with the balls and boots to make sure they lasted.

'Nowadays players want new boots every year, We had to make sure ours lasted the war.'

Adverts were placedby clubs in the Press for donations of any equipment from families of footballers who had left for active service.

Rovers' strip during the Sarnian League period was an old team strip of Castel Boys' Club, which was red and white, a far cry from Rovers' traditional colours of blue and white.

The league was well supported by the islanders and Chick remembers crowds being two to the three people deep at some matches.

With such turnouts it is curious to note that their German overlords had little interest in what was going on.

However, the general laws set down by the Germans did create problems for sport on the island.

The commandeering of motor vehicles meant that sportsmen had to cycle or walk to their sporting vehicles.

Also a ban on public meetings created problems for committees.

For example, Chick remembers the Rovers committee meeting in secrecy upstairs at the Swan pub.

With this in mind it is odd to think that Chick remembers hardly seeing a German at a football match or any other sporting event and also that they played no role in administering the sport on the island.

'The Germans never got in the way of sport,' said Chick.

'There were no games against them and they didn't ask for any either. Just as well, really, as there would have been some argy- bargy.'