Club stalwart Hatchard tells of Pulborough’s history in book

Mick Hatchard played for the club from 1958, when he was just 15, and represented them for most of a 21-year career. He later managed the reserves and then the first team for much of the 1980s.

The 72-year-old has extended his service to the club by charting their progress in the book, titled Pulborough FC – An Illustrated History of The Robins 1898-2010.

Hatchard said: “It took me just over four years and I used libraries and the records office for research, as well as getting information from a number of old players, including my 90-year-old uncle, who played for the club.

“The book recalls the days when we won the West Sussex League three years in a row and won the Sussex Intermediate Cup and Benevolent Cup.

“The club got into the Sussex League in the 1950s but more recent times have been tough, though we’re still going strong in division one of the West Sussex League.”

Hatchard was delighted by the response to the book at a reunion at the club attended by nearly 180 people. He invited the two players from the 1940s he knew were still around – Peter Harrison attended but John Rayner was unable to.

“I’d asked for 150 of the books to be printed and all of them have gone,” he said. “You can still get copies from the publisher – Woodfield Publishing of Bognor – and on Amazon.”

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