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Harwich and Parkeston FC to celebrate 75 years of stand

Harwich And Parkeston FC Harwich and Parkeston FC's Grand Stand of the royal oak non league groundHarwich And Parkeston FC
Harwich and Parkeston FC's grandstand, unveiled in November 1948, will be celebrated this weekend

An Essex non-league football club is marking the 75th anniversary of its grandstand this weekend with guided tours.

Harwich and Parkeston FC, which plays in the Eastern Counties league, will be celebrating the anniversary ahead of the match with Dussindale and Hellesdon Rovers on Saturday.

The stand was erected in November 1948 by then FA secretary Stanley Rous.

The tour will take place at 14:00 ahead of the 15:00 GMT kick-off.

Andy Schooler, the club historian who organised the event, said: "The Royal Oak is the second oldest senior football ground in Essex. Only Saffron Walden's is older. It once took in a record crowd of 5,649 for an FA Amateur Cup tie in 1938.

"The current grandstand was built in 1948 but was years in the making. It was initially part of a five-year plan for the ground, which was drawn up in 1936 but the war intervened - the ground was taken over by the Army and used as a base.

Harwich and Parkeston FC Stanley Rous, opening the grandstand at the Royal Oak ground in 1948Harwich and Parkeston FC
The stand was opened by Stanley Rous in November 1948, secretary of the FA

"After the war ended, the ground was in a right state, but the clean-up provided the opportunity to finally replace the old, smaller stand."

He added that £2,500 was raised - about £75,000 in today's money - and it was finally built and opened by Mr Rous.

At the event there will be pictures on display to tell the story of the stand. There is a clean-up taking place beforehand, with volunteers welcome to help from 11.30 GMT.

The club has seen an average of 200 supporters through the turnstiles this season.

"By modern day standards, it's pretty good - it's probably the best average in Division One North," said Mr Schooler.

"In fairly small towns like Harwich, I think the football club is usually a big focal point."

Harwich and Parkeston FC A photo of the Royal Oak, from the point of view from the grandstandHarwich and Parkeston FC
The club says that due to the stand's raised level you get a "good view" of the pitch

Mr Schooler added: "It's had some tough times and came pretty close to folding early in the 21st Century - to lose it would have been a disaster for football in the town."

The club currently sits in sixth place at step six of the pyramid, having missed out on promotion in the play-offs last season.

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