Two of the most iconic photographs in Portsmouth's history | Nostalgia

It was taken by Roy West, a former chief photographer at The News.

He had a knack of being in exactly in the right place at the right time because probably his second most famous picture was the other here today.

It captures the late Pompey striker Ray Hiron diving to score his 100th goal for the Blues in 1973.

I asked Roy in an e-mail interview how he managed to get it.

He says: ‘A sports photographer has to think ahead about what might happen.

‘I saw Ken Foggo dribbling down the right and I could see he was going to send over a cross so I lined up the camera and took the shot of Hiron in full horizontal flight. It was against Nottingham Forest on February 17, 1973.’

Roy covered the Pompey scene for 20 years and when they were away he covered Saints at The Dell.

There were also Pompey cup matches away in London and Birmingham and at Northampton. His last one was in tandem with another News veteran, Max Fletcher – at Anfield.

Roy was at Wembley in 1976 when Portsmouth lad Bobby Stokes scored the winner for Saints against Man Utd in the FA Cup Final.

During his career Roy, now retired and living in Old Portsmouth, also covered the weddings of Princess Margaret and Charles and Diana.

Roy recalls: ‘There was a strike on for Princess Anne’s wedding but I did photograph the bridegroom’s [Capt Mark Phillips] parents at their home at Great Somerford in Wiltshire.’

He remembers once illustrating a feature on Pompey’s backroom staff – a player receiving treatment from the physio on the treatment table, juniors cleaning boots, loading up the laundry basket and hanging up the kit for the next match, that sort of thing. Roy was being taken around by trainer Gordon Neave.

And Roy says: ‘He asked me if I would like to meet Charlie and he went to a slim, tall, steel locker.

‘The door opened to reveal a skeleton nicknamed Charlie which was used to give players’ information about the human body and sites of possible injuries.

‘Gordon said: “Ray Hiron looks like this. And that is why he is called Charlie by us all. Despite his training Ray never put on weight but could hold his own in front of the opponent’s goal and scored so many goals to prove it’’.’

Ray died on April 5, aged 76. He payed 330 games for Pompey scoring 110 goals. He went on to play for Reading where he played 92 games scoring 14 times.