in badly faded shirts and despaired at the state of the club. Fortunes blossomed with the purchase of a new set of kit in the old club colours of Yellow, Red and Black and the installation of Danny as club leader. With the arrival of Gerry Griffiths as first team manager the club took on a new dimension, and on the playing field the phoenix was about to rise from the ashes.
Frankie Vaughan with Billy Johns
Although our football ambitions in returning to the first division were achieved, the search for a clubhouse went on. Our application to build in Oystermouth Quarry, now a car park, was quashed; our plans to build behind the car park at Underhill Park were unsuccessful. Our joint venture with the Rugby Club
initially fell again on stony ground but the work carried out by Eric Nicholas, Des Criddle, Mike Podbielski and Chris Parkin in pursuit of Billy’s dream goes on.
Other members who have served the club well, must not be forgotten, Malcolm Miller, Ray Thompson, Russell Davies, Kim Thomas, Kevin Whittington, Ala’a Shouaib and Richard Pothecary have acted as Treasurers, Chris Jones as Secretary, Colin Henson and Keith Billington as Fixture Secretaries, Malcolm Maggs and Jeff Fackrell as club Leaders. Just as in the early years people like Alan Price, Roy Browning and Haydn Griffiths contributed so much.
In 1973 the club began a junior section with the arrival of Alec Sorley, the late Eric Nicholas, (later Club President), Malcolm Maggs, (later Club Leader), Des Criddle, (later Chairman and President), Eddie Wade, Mike Harvey, Len Rowden, Bernard Evans, Ivor Owen and Lawrie Buckland.
Some of the more recent junior managers are Chris Parkin (ex-Junior and Senior Manager x 4, Junior coordinator and Club Secretary, fixture secretary, now Chairman). Mike Isaac, Haydn Lewis (Junior Manager x 3 and Junior coordinator for last 25 years), Mike Podbielski (Junior Manager, Club Secretary) George Kyrillou (Junior Manager and Alan Martin Coordinator) Leroy Anderson, Neil Grey (ex-Vice Presidents Club Administrator), Fraser Gardiner (Player, Captain, Club Committee, Vice Presidents Assistant Secretary), Ian Jones, Clive Henson (Treasurer and ex-Chairman and Vice Presidents Secretary), Gwyn Lloyd-Jones, Simon Howells, Lawrence Jones, Renato Resteghini, Paul Skinner, John Cox, Keith Norris, Martin Duffy (Junior Manager x 2 and Club Treasurer) and Tom Cox, have been with the club for many years. Our junior section now boasts sides from under 6 through to under 16, and Mumbles Rangers is now one of the largest Clubs in Wales thanks to all our past and present managers, members and club officials.
8
Billy being presented with his British Empire Medal in 1961 by the Lord Lieutenant of Glamorgan
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