John Window with the Herminator
At a time when we have had a lot of sad news about Charlton stalwarts, I would like to commemorate the 80th birthday of John Window.
John Window was born in Didcot, but at an early age his family moved to Catford and he soon developed an Addicktion. Sam Bartram was a particular hero and I know that John took particular pride in a spell in goal in a post-season kickabout at The Valley.
John started life as a gas fitter and I have photo of him as a young man tending a motor bike with a large patch of oil underneath it on a Catford street.
Starting with one horse on a waste piece of ground, in 1966 he established Mount Mascal Stables in Bexleyheath which is still run by the family: https://www.mountmascalstables.com/
Through the stables business he was an active sponsor of Charlton in the years after the return to The Valley. John always talked horse sense about Charlton.
One of my memories of John is when Charlton went to play FC Roda in the Netherlands during the Premier League years. We found ourselves in the same hotel and John offered us a lift in his very smart car. When we arrived at the ground, John wound down the window and said 'Charlton directors' and we were allocated a special parking place.
On another occasion we stayed in the same hotel in Totnes for friendlies in Devon. The manager knew I was there as an Addick, but he seemed to be strangely deferential to me. It took a while to work out that he thought I was the owner of John's car (if not a Rolls, it was a Bentley) in the car park.
A Charlton fan has now sent me a picture on Facebook that suggests it may have been a red Jag. Certainly the poshest car I have ever been in, even counting the one laid on for me to go to Brenda's place.
John has had some health challenges in recent years and I haven't seen him for a while, but I know he remains Charlton through and through.
No comments:
Post a Comment