PAPER CHASE

Club historian John Fennelly looks back at what supporters were reading on their way, at half-time and heading home afterwards when NORWICH CITY visited in March 1938.

IN THE NEWS

The year 1938 saw the newspapers understandably dominated by the march towards war with the government ordering 1,000 Spitfires as part of a general increase in the strength of the armed forces. All schoolchildren are to be issued with gasmasks and plans are announced to spend £200,000 on air-raid shelters.

Away from that build-up, all bicycles must now be fitted with a rear light, the last British troops leave Ireland, the school leaving age is to be increased to 16 and the BBC begins its first foreign language service – in Arabic.

Many workers enjoy their first paid holidays, 22-year-old Len Hutton achieves the highest individual score in Test cricket with 364 against Australia and the Mallard sets a new world speed record for a steam engine when it reaches 126mph between London and Newcastle. The Beano comic is launched.

PROGRAMME

Our usual pink four-page programme greeted City’s arrival. It cost one penny and featured a drawing on the cover of Norwich manager Bob Young and captain Tom Halliday sitting in front of the club’s “new nest” at Carrow Road. The Canaries had moved there from Rosary Road three years before.