Linton & District History Society meetings resume this evening, February 5th, with a talk from Lt Col Ian Gumm on The Battle of the Bulge. Meetings begin at 7:30pm in Linton Village Hall, refreshments are available from 7pm. Visitors are always welcome, £3 per meeting.

When the society does not meet members look back at memorable events such as the centenary of the birth of Alf Ramsey, in January. This was the England manager who coached his team to a famous victory in the 1966 World Cup.

Ramsey was a quiet man, born into a family home which had no electricity until the 1950s. He and his brothers had a two-hour walk to school, and would kick a football between them to enliven the journey. Alf was no great scholar but was good at all sports, especially cricket and athletics.

Ramsey had a successful career as a professional footballer before moving into management in 1955. He took on Ipswich Town, a struggling side, and successfully took the team from the Third Division to the First – then, of course, the highest level of club football. He was seen as the natural successor when Walter Winterbottom resigned from the management of the England team after a poor showing in the 1962 World Cup.

Ramsey immediately promised that England would win the 1966 competition, for which they automatically qualified as hosts. His first action was to appoint Bobby Moore as captain, and he built a young team around the youthful Moore which fulfilled his confident promise when England won the World Cup on 30th July 1966. See this week’s paper for more stories like this, available in shops and as a Digital Edition now.