Archie Hunter

[eamonn]

Cor, such beautiful language. And good to see we were taking the piss out of Small Heath from the get-go. Giving our goalkeeper a chair to relax on indeed!

[Flamingo Lane]

There is a very moving tribute to Archie Hunter in Peter Morris's history of the Villa, including a photograph of the monument to him, in Witton Cemetery.

[dave.woodhall]

There is a very moving tribute to Archie Hunter in Peter Morris's history of the Villa, including a photograph of the monument to him, in Witton Cemetery.

Featuring the magnificent, heart-rending tale of how his brother Andy had pulled him up on his deathbed so that he could see the crowds off to watch the Villa at Wellington Road. A wonderfully evocative story, marred only by the fact that Andy had died two years earlier, in Australia.

[Flamingo Lane]

There is a very moving tribute to Archie Hunter in Peter Morris's history of the Villa, including a photograph of the monument to him, in Witton Cemetery.

Featuring the magnificent, heart-rending tale of how his brother Andy had pulled him up on his deathbed so that he could see the crowds off to watch the Villa at Wellington Road. A wonderfully evocative story, marred only by the fact that Andy had died two years earlier, in Australia.

Well I never knew that.  That's bad!

[dave.woodhall]

Peter Morris was a great writer but often had a loose connection with the truth.

[Flamingo Lane]

All these years I've believed that narrative.  And now I'm left thinking, if it wasn't his brother Andy who helped Archie up to see the crowds going to the match, who was it?

On a strictly factual matter, Andy it seemed died 6 years before his brother, not 2 (according to Tony Matthews' Who's Who).

[Zouch Villa]

Such a wonderful account of our origins.  Thanks for sharing.

[dave.woodhall]

All these years I've believed that narrative.  And now I'm left thinking, if it wasn't his brother Andy who helped Archie up to see the crowds going to the match, who was it?

On a strictly factual matter, Andy it seemed died 6 years before his brother, not 2 (according to Tony Matthews' Who's Who).

Tony Matthews is even less reliable, although it may have been six.

[JD]

What a brilliant article about the very early days of our great club. A fantastic read.