It is 60 years since England's 1966 World Cup triumph, and hat-trick hero Sir Geoff Hurst says he is still stopped everywhere he goes by fans eager to share their memories of the final on July 30, 1966. Sir Geoff, now 84, told the Mirror: "I still get stopped all the time by fans who tell me what they were doing on the day we won the World Cup."
Fans and families share their memories
Fans, relatives of the '66 heroes, and football legends have recalled the epic encounter against West Germany. Sir Geoff met residents of Hendon Hall, a residential home that was the team's hotel before the final, at a Budweiser event in London. He said: "I have such great admiration and feeling for those who remember the game and the day. I meet people on a regular basis and see how significant the day was. It is an honour to meet the fans who were at Wembley on the day. You realise, even now, what a huge part it played in their lives and how they remember it."
Charlton brothers' journey
Jack and Bobby Charlton were given an open-top limousine ride when they returned to their hometown, Ashington, Northumberland. Their father Bob worked a shift down the pit for both the quarter-final against Argentina and the semi-final against Portugal. For the final, the Mirror paid for Bob and his wife Cissie to travel to Wembley. Their late brother Gordon, a merchant seaman, listened to the final on a ship in Singapore.
Nobby Stiles' pre-match nerves
Manchester United legend Nobby Stiles was convinced he would be dropped for the game, but manager Sir Alf Ramsey assured him he was playing. His wife Kay was worried until the day before the final. Stiles' son John, 62, of Doncaster, recalled: "He told my mum that he was convinced he was going to be dropped. The TV pundits were all saying that he should be dropped after the Argentina game. He thought the country was against him. Then at training Sir Alf came up to him, and Dad was convinced he was going to be dropped. But he just said: 'You are playing tomorrow.' He later discovered the FA had called him in and told him to drop my dad, but he refused and said he would resign."
John added: "On the way to Wembley, Alan Ball nudged him and about 100 Cockneys held a sign that read, 'Nobby for Prime Minister'. So he felt 10ft tall when Alan pointed that sign out to him." Wherever Nobby went on the after-dinner speaking circuit, fans wanted to tell him where they were when he danced with the trophy. John said: "He never left without signing an autograph or posing for a picture for the fans who wanted to meet him."
A fan's memory from the ferry
Peter Laurence, now a resident at Hendon Hall, was on a Dover to Calais ferry listening to the final on a transistor radio. He recalled: "We were driving to southern Italy. I never thought that they were going to get to the final and Geoff said: 'You bloody coward!' I was very peeved when they got there. England scored the winner as they got into port in Calais. We jumped up and down like dervishes, got into a local hostelry where we proceeded to get hammered and we met some Germans. We put our arms around each other. It was the German equivalent of entente cordiale."
