The boys of '48take a break

Can you imagine any professional football team in the lower leagues, let alone the Premiership, visiting a local cafe after training for a cup of tea and a bite to eat?

By The Newsroom

Published 28th Feb 2016, 06:00 BST

The postcard of the 1948-49 Pompey team.

Back when Pompey were the team of the moment, going on to win back-to-back First Division Championships, the players were not as high and mighty as some are today.

The place they all used to visit was the Mariners’ Restaurant at 179A, Elm Grove, Southsea.

The cook was Elsie and along with her husband Bert, they used to make the business run as smoothly as possible.

The reverse of the card signed by all the team.

Elsie’s daughter Ruth is now married to Ron Meatcher and they live at Farnham.

Ron contacted me about a postcard photograph he has of that Championship-winning team.

More than that, Elsie had got to know the team well and she asked them all to autograph the back of the photograph.

A card with the entire team’s autographs must be a rare item.