Cobblers season ticket holder Gareth Kingston is appearing on Mastermind on Friday June 12th at 7.30pm on BBC 2. Here is his diary of his visits to the famous black chair; Continued from yesterday...

June 4th
Spoke to Jon the Producer today and it's all confirmed. I will be sitting in the black chair and facing questions on the History of Northampton Town FC in just over 5 weeks time.

June 6th
I decided to go back to the start and work my way through Frank Grande's excellent Centenary History. What struck me when looking at those early years was just how different the football world was back then. In amongst all of the notable 1sts (first game, first goal, first penalty, first substitute) you see tales of players being late for matches due to missed trains, and matches abandoned because it got dark - no floodlights in those days.

I've been busy noting down all of the key facts and trivia nuggets that I spot, and there are some clear candidates emerging as potential question topics. Perhaps Pat Darnell and his role in founding the club, and of course Herbert Chapman. Although in the case of Chapman I haven't yet reached his managerial years, but I am sure that he will crop up in a question.

10th June
I've now covered the years up to the First World War. The contribution of Walter Tull to our club and our country is well documented. I would not be at all surprised to see him crop up on Mastermind.

I was surprised however, to find that a former Cobblers player received the Victoria Cross in the First World War. His name was Bernard Vann and he earned his VC less than two months before the end of the war. An amateur centre-forward for the Cobblers, he went on to play for Derby County.

The citation reads:
"On 29 September 1918 at Bellenglise and Lehaucourt, France, Lieutenant Colonel Vann led his battalion with great skill across the Canal du Nord through a very thick fog and under heavy fire. When the attack was held up by fire of all descriptions from the front and right flank, the colonel, realising the importance of the advance going forward with the barrage, rushed up to the firing line and led the line forward himself. Later he rushed a field gun single-handed and knocked out three of the detachment. He was killed four days later leading his battalion in attack."

I had never heard of Bernard Vann before, and yet having won a VC, a Military Cross with Bar and the Croix De Guerre with Palm Leaves he is the most decorated soldier ever to have played for a professional football club. I'd not heard of him before, now I'm unlikely to forget him.

Oops. I just received a message on quizzing.co.uk. The guy setting my questions has contacted me. He wants to borrow a copy of Frank Grande's book. He doesn't know I am the contestant but I simply can't risk replying to him. I got straight on the phone to the production team and they are going to find a copy of the book for him. Phew.


One way or another, the spectre of war hangs over the period I've just been reading about. Many former players were killed in the First World War and the club struggled for a little while to find its feet again.

The inter-war years saw records set and fall. The club became a company, a stand was built (and burnt down) and the Cobblers played the Dutch national side and won 4-0!

In 1938 the Cobblers signed John Parris from Luton. Parris was the first black player to play for Wales. He's another good candidate for a Mastermind question.

As war approached in 1939, it was understandable that people's focus drifted away from football, and that other things were deemed more important. Of course it may be co-incidence that the Cobblers' record league defeat 10-0 v Bournemouth occurred on the day before war broke out. However, that is one fact that I must commit to memory.

The war years themselves are interesting but in a strange sort of way. Football continued but very much in an ad hoc manner. Players from many clubs turned out for the Cobblers if their military units happened to be based nearby. Sometimes teams would take to the field without their full compliment of 11 men. Score lines reflected the possibility of horrendous mismatches. Yet through it all the Cobblers played a vital role in maintaining morale on the home front. Note: Bill Shankly was among those who turned out for the Cobblers during the war.

to be continued....