Astle Gates Unveiled

11 July 2003

The Astle Gates taking pride of place outside the East Stand

Albion Chairman Jeremy Peace then spoke of the love Albion fans will always have for Jeff, how he grew up watching him play at the Hawthorns, and of his tremedous achievements as a player, scoring the famous goal at Wembley after netting in every round to get us there. An emotional Laraine Astle, Jeff's widow, then thanked all the supporters for the tremendous love and support they had shown to Jeff over the years, and how delighted the family were that he had been honoured in this way.

Laraine, together with grandchildren Matthew and Taylor, then hung an Albion scarf on the gates before officially cutting the ribbon and declaring them open and walking through to cheers and applause from the gathered crowd, and the tooting of car horns from cars, lorries and buses driving past.

A memorable occasion for all concerned, and the culmination of a year of hard work and fundraising. It kicked off just after Jeff's death, when then Chairman Paul Thompson met with shareholders and supporters and agreed to honour the life of one of Albion's greatest players, pledging that the club would match whatever funds they could raise towards construction. The plan for the Gates was born; Shareholders for Albion carried out a collection at the Hawthorns shortly at the Bradford City game and raised around ?8,000 in just one day for the cause. Grorty Dick released a special edition of the fanzine and collected donations from fans all over the world, raising even more. BOING, in conjunction with the Sela Sweet Company, produced and sold thousands of packets of Astles Mintoes (dentists around the Midlands rubbed their hands with glee), and most recently, Smethwick Regeneration Partnership and Smethwick Town Team chipped in with sizeable grants to help the project.

Jeff's widow Laraine, with grandchildren, cuts the ribbon

Together with various other activities, such as tribute CDs recorded and sold by Albion fan and David Bowie tribute artist John Mainwaring, the total reached the ?40,000 needed to cover the costs, and the project has replaced the entire run of gates and fencing along the junction of the East Stand car park and the Birmingham Road. Three gates have been erected - one memorial gate to Jeff featuring images of him in the classic "arms aloft" pose from Wembley and the number 9 on his back, and a couple of crowns (he was the King, after all). The pillars either side carry shiny Albion crests in blue and white, and the whole thing looks fantastic.

A special mention must go to John Whitehouse of Shareholders for Albion, who put his years in the metal industry to work by doing most of the early negotiations with suppliers as the designs were put together. The final design, put together by Keith Parsons of Parsons Brothers in West Bromwich, measures 3.8 x 3.6 metres and is designed to the highest quality to make sure it lasts for years to come.

We here at BOING are delighted and proud to have been part of the team that put this tribute together.

Previous Stories:

  10 July 2003:  MP backing Sakiri

  10 July 2003:  Hulse bid accepted

  09 July 2003:  Got your Stile Card?

Back to the News Index