This Page Is Dedicated To Playfoots' Everywhere

I hope this page will grow over time into something of interest to fellow Playfoots:

 

Our first Playfoot from around the world is Ian Playfoot

Ian lives in Kent, England

One interesting fact about Ian:-

He played at Lords Cricket Ground for Eynsford in the Village Cup Final in 2005 and Ian also played with James Tredwell who has now been selected for england one day cricket team who will play new zealand this winter 2008

Gary Playfoot, originally born in Northern Ireland although has lived in England now for 11 years. His father is from Nottingham and he is a second year international business student at Nottingham Trent University.

His interesting fact is that he spent a year in Chicago, USA teaching under privileged kids and appeared on ITV's documentary, teenage Tourettes Camp USA….as a counsellor, not a tourettes sufferer!

Next up is………..Christian Playfoot

He lives in B.C. Canada and claims to be pretty much 100%english
 
He wrote in reply to my email “I don’t really know one interesting fact about me lol.
I’ve had heart surgery, knee surgery, broken arm; I’ve had a fractured jaw for around 2 years. I like soccer, girl, and partying ha-ha don’t know anything really.

Thanks for the info Christian

 

This first article from and is Canada from Janice and I would like to thank her for the trouble she went to:-

Surrey Local News

Taken  28/6/2007

Flame memories still burn bright

Austin Playfoot with the torch he carried

THE archives page story of when the Olympic flame was carried by runners through Guildford for the 1948 games in London has resulted in further details and pictures flying in.

Austin Playfoot of Elstead, who carried the flame from the Horse and Groom pub in Merrow into Guildford, rang to say that he has the metal torch that he used in the relay.

He also has photos recording the day – Saturday, July 31, 1948.
Back then he was a middle-distance runner for the Godalming Athletic Club, but was actually doing his national service at the time of the Olympic relay.
He was given special permission to return to Guildford to play his part in the carrying of the Olympic flame from Dover and through southern England on to Wembley, for the games.
Recalling the day he said: “The weather was very warm and so was the torch. I ended up holding it right at the bottom so as not to burn my hand.”
When Mr Playfoot got to Guildford the flame on his torch was used to ignite the torch held by the runner for the next leg of the journey.

 

 

“I then put my hot torch into a bucket of water in the council’s municipal offices to cool it off,” recalled Mr Playfoot.

He added that when he returned to his RAF base near Liverpool there was a good deal of interest in what he’d done.

So much so, that he was told to return home again to collect the torch and to take it back for his squadron’s sports event, at which it was proudly put on display.
Mr Playfoot has continued his interest in local athletics, holding the position of president of the Guildford & Godalming Athletic Association for 22 years and acting as a senior track official.

The runner who took over from him and carried the flame out of Guildford and up to Stoughton was Frank Ede of the Dennis Athletic Club.

 

Smoke from the Olympic flame can be seen drifting across the crowd gathered in Guildford’s upper High Street

The archive page story has also been posted on to the Surrey Advertiser’s website under the Yesteryear section. By an amazing coincidence, Mr Ede’s daughter, Susan Jennings, from Tring in Hertfordshire, just happened to be surfing the internet doing some family history research a day or so after the article was posted.

She immediately rang to say that she has pictures of her father on the historic day.
Sadly, Frank died in 1987. He worked for Dennis Bros up to the late 1950s and then went on to live in the Bagshot and Camberley area.

The two runners wearing black saltires on their vest and seen in the picture that appeared in the earlier article have been identified.

Frank Carpenter, former secretary and president of the Thames Hare and Hounds cross-country running club, has written to say that they are David Percival (left) and Maurice Kensit. At the time they were captain and vice-captain of the club.

 

Frank Ede (centre) with fellow runners David Percival and Maurice Kensit took the flame from Guildford town centre to the next hand-over point at Stoughton

He added that its club records show that the two accompanied the torch. Both men have now passed on.

Michael Williams of Guildford called in to our offices at Stoke Mill with an interesting selection of photos of the runners amid the huge crowd. The  pictures were taken from an upstairs window of the Municipal Buildings in the upper High Street.
His grandfather was the mayor at the time and the then very young Michael

remembers the day well looking down on all the people who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the Olympic flame.

 

Austin Playfoot at Merrow pictured with the motorcycle out-rider who accompanied him

 

Another shot of the crowds that thronged Guildford’s upper High Street