Cricket Witness No 5 - Whites on Green

158 Acknowledgements Bob Harragan had completed a chapter-by-chapter synopsis, plus a rough draft of half a dozen chapters by the time his health deteriorated and I’m very grateful to his brother John for extracting Bob’s efforts, plus his working notes on the remaining sections. From telephone conversations and emails with Bob, I had a good idea of how he envisaged the finished work so I hope that I have done him justice in finishing things off and filling in the gaps from his rough drafts. Thanks also to John Williams of the St. Helen’s Balconiers for access to a number of superb images, plus several lengthy chats about his memories of watching and supporting Glamorgan at St. Helen’s since the 1960s. My thanks also to Richard Bentley for his recollections of county cricket at Swansea, plus the whereabouts of some of the quoted material, and also to Edward Cooper, another staunch Glamorgan supporter, who kindly helped with the photography, including the outstanding image which adorns the front cover and captures the unique, maritime atmosphere of the ground. A group of local historians and sporting experts also kindly assisted with the early days of cricket and rugby in Swansea, including Dave Dow, Gerald Gabb, David Farmer, Peter Stead and Alun Wyn Bevan, whilst my thanks to Felicity Kilpatrick, Jeff Towns and Daryl Leeworthy for other historical nuggets. Over the years, a host of other people, including former players, journalists and Glamorgan supporters, have shared their memories as well as images, and my thanks to them (as listed in alphabetical order): Edward Bevan, the late Ernie Billings, Dave Brayley, Stephen Chalke, Robert Croft, Tony Davies, Peter Davies, the late Bill Edwards, the late Ron Griffiths, Stephen Hedges, Clive Hemp, Lawrence Hourahane, the late David Irving, John Jenkins, Alan Jones, Ron Jones, the family of the late Willie Jones, Tony Lewis, Brian and Emma Lile, Gareth Mainwaring, Matthew Maynard, the Mercer family, Douglas Miller, David Morgan, Malcolm Nash, Chris Peregrine, Duncan Pierce, the late Jim Pleass, the family of the late Arthur Porter, the late Don Shepherd, Richard Stevens, Richard Thomas, the Turnbull family, Peter Walker, Ossie Wheatley and the Wooller family. Thanks also to a number of librarians in Swansea and Cardiff, as well as staff at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth and the South Wales Miners Institute whose collection is now housed at Swansea University. Other images have been made available from the Glamorgan CCC Archives and Swansea RFC, whilst lastly – but by no means least, thanks to Scott Reeves for acting as proof-reader, and also to the staff at City Press in Leeds for producing such a handsome product. Andrew Hignell