This came from the New Nation newspaper of Monday 30 May 1977...the centrespread of page 10 and page 11.
Tears of Joy!
Robert Sim hugging Winning-goal hero Kim Song at the end of the match which we won 3-2. Coach Unk Choo Seng Quee...the greatest unsung hero of the day!
[ Click on photo to read ]
8 comments:
Dear Mr Yip,
I am Singaporean and am pursuing a Masters in History in King's College London. Presently I am engaging in research on my dissertation which will focus on the English FA XI World Tour that visited Malaya, Singapore, Hong Kong and New Zealand in 1961. This team, captained and coached by Sir Tom Finney, played Singapore on 17/05/1961 in Jalan Besar Stadium and beat the Singapore national team by nine goals to zero.
The intention of the project is to look at the interaction between the decolonisation process then on-going on the one hand, and contemporary sports and society on the other. With the popularity of football firmly established by the early 1960s, international football fixtures were perhaps an especially effective handmaiden to identity-building and politics. Particularly I would like to explore how the fixture was perceived by Singaporeans then, whether that fixture invoke a nascent sense of patriotism, particularly in those politically uncertain times.
I came across Mr Lam's Good Morning Yesterday and he referred my query to you. I hope you may be able to take time out to help answer a few questions I have please?
May I ask if you have any memories of that visit please? I read that the 1950s would perhaps be regarded as the golden age of football in Singapore. What were Singaporean fans feeling in a sporting encounter with England in a time when self-government was already granted and we were pushing for independence from Britain? What was the general public's response after watching the match, in which we were beaten by nine goals to nothing.
Once again, hope you would be able to get in touch! My email address is hanifalhilmi@hotmail.com
I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you! :)
Best regards,
Keng Rui
Hi Keng Rui,
Thank you for getting in touch here. Mr Lam is a friend who gives me some "homework" to do from time to time. Not that he's not doing any..he's having his fair share of delving into the past from requests near and far, too!
Ok..might be able to help you somewhat. Are you presently in Sg or away?
If you are here may I suggest it's much easier to meet up with me and have a chat about those times you are researching about. Emailing may be too tedious and unclear.
The Captain of that Singapore team you quoted was Lee Kok Seng,often acknowledged by one and all as "The CAPTAIN of all S'pore captains" from post-war to today.
I knew Kok Seng well until a decade ago when we lost touch. He used to share intimate stories of those glorious and golden days of Singapore soccer while we had coffee at my home..discussing dog breeding esp cocker spaniels ( our common first love)...and always the S'pore team he played with.
Dear Mr Yip,
Happy belated National Day by the way! Please forgive my very late reply! I had expected that you would reply by email and neglected to check your blog again if you had replied there. Sorry once again!
I'm not presently in Singapore unfortunately. And I would very much like to speak with you! But is it possible for us to get in touch over the phone, if you don't mind? Any time on your side will do for me, I'm quite adaptable!
Thanks once again!
Keng Rui
Hi Keng Rui,
Thanks for the good wishes. I presume you are away in the UK at the moment. Sure you can call me at a time convenient to you.
I'll get in touch with you at your email address.
Thanks Mr Yip! I really appreciate it!
Yes, I will be here till October when my course is completed, then I'm back in Singapore.
Hi Keng Rui,
Can you confirm your email here again.
I'd sent you an email which is in your earlier comment, moments ago but it was "undelivered", due to error or whatever.
Yes, Mr Yip, it is hanifalhilmi@hotmail.com
or you can try krakkakoni@hotmail.com (my previous address) at the same time, just in case the first one doesn't work.
Thanks once more!
Hi Mr Yip, I received your fwded email in my Inbox, and have sent an email to your email address. I hope that has got through?
Thanks, I do appreciate your trying to get through despite the initial errors!
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