 Last night (January 27th) representatives from Barking FC including players from the Under 15's/16's and 18's teams attended the Freedom of the Borough awards at the Broadway Theatre, Barking. To quote the official programme "The Freedom" is "the highest tribute that a Borough can bestow, and although in modern times it is an honour only and confers no legal rights. Honorary Freeman are invariably invited to take part in all important ceremonial occasions in the Borough."
There were six receiptants - Councillor Mohammed Abdul Rehman Fani, Mr Roger Luxton OBE, Sir Paul Grant, The Royal Anglian Regiment and Miss Vera Reynolds.
The sixth and final receiptant was from a footballing point of view of most interest - Sir Trevor Brooking CBE was born in Barking in 1948. In his acceptance speech he spoke about his formative years that were spent in this Borough where he lived until he was 16. Afterwards there was a reception at which Sir Trevor spent most of the time signing autographs, posing for photos and chatting to his many admirers. Proving that even though he retired from the game in May 1984 his popularity has never waned and shows no sign of doing so. When approached by our Secretary John Faherty Sir Trevor imparted that in the early 1960s he had attended some of our matches at the Vicarage Field and that a particular Barking player had made impression on him - that player was Steve Turner. That must of been some impression as it has lasted 45+ years.
The Club would like to congratulate all of last nights recipients not only on this award but their achievements in their particular field.
The Club would also like to thank the office of the Council Leader Liam Smith for the invitation to attend this event.
Below are a few photos taken at the post ceremony reception - click on any image to enlarge:
|
