Wimbledon 2023: The ball boys from Barnardo's |
By Sonia Oxley BBC Sport |
Sam Hill (right) was often a ball boy at the net on the main show courts in the early 1960s |
Winston Norton has none of his memorabilia from his years as a Wimbledon ball boy - sweatbands and programmes proved a valuable |
Training - led by the school vicar - started in April on the school's courts, both grass-court and hard-court, and boys learned to pass the ball |
Goldings pupils, under the watchful eye of their trainer Rev Nixon, practice retrieving tennis balls |
Being at Wimbledon also presented an opportunity for Hill's family to catch a rare glimpse of him on television - an extra reason to try to get |
American Dennis Ralston asks a ball boy for new shoes during a match at the Championships |
Norton described how one particular player seemed to not like receiving balls thrown to him by black or mixed-race boys. |
Wimbledon's ball boys attend a morning briefing at the All England Club in 1960 |
Norton describes his Wimbledon experience - from the moment he and his friends piled out of the coach after their two-hour journey every |
Mike Sangster had one of the fastest serves of his generation |
A group of ball boys meet American Darlene Hard, who finished as runner-up to Althea Gibson, |
Page Compiled June 2023 |
Queen Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, meets Winston Norton on a visit to Wimbledon in 2016 |
All images and text copyright © to Goldings Old Boys reunion members |
READERS COMMENTS |
Many thanks to Winston Norton and Sammy Hill for allowing us to display this article on our website |