Lifelong Portsmouth fan Gloria, 90, enjoys last Blues game thanks to wish scheme

ONE of Gloria Guest’s favourite memories was being hoisted on her father’s shoulders to see the open top bus parade of Pompey’s win of the FA Cup in 1939.
Gloria Guest, a lifelong Pompey fan, wanted to go and see the Blues play one final time, so a care home has arranged for the pensioner to go and watch the game against Rochdale. Picture: Duncan ShepherdGloria Guest, a lifelong Pompey fan, wanted to go and see the Blues play one final time, so a care home has arranged for the pensioner to go and watch the game against Rochdale. Picture: Duncan Shepherd
Gloria Guest, a lifelong Pompey fan, wanted to go and see the Blues play one final time, so a care home has arranged for the pensioner to go and watch the game against Rochdale. Picture: Duncan Shepherd

Now the-90-year-old from Portsmouth has had last wish granted to see the Blues play one last time thanks to a new scheme at her care home.

The Ferns Care Home in Fareham arranged for Gloria to watch her favourite team take on Rochdale at Fratton Park – and she was delighted with the result.

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Carer Mercedes Moxham said: ‘She kept saying on the way there it was going to be 3-2 and for a while I thought she was going to be right but when they won with four goals she was absolutely over the moon.’

The Blues took a 4-1 win at Fratton Park, the same score as the 1939 FA Cup win, with Oli Hawkins, Brett Pitman, Gareth Evans and Jamal Lowe all on the scoresheet and is the team’s fifth successive League One victory.

Mercedes added: ‘It was so heartwarming to see her enjoy herself and have all those lovely family memories come back to her.

‘I was just worried she was going to get cold as she wouldn’t put her gloves on as she wanted to clap and hear herself clap her team to victory.’

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Gloria was taken to games with her mother and father, who fought in the First World War, as soon as she could walk and from the age of 14 she went to every match at the stadium and further afield with school friends until she was married.

Following on family tradition, Gloria took her daughter to her first match in 1966 and the pair continued going for the next 35 years until the grandmother-of-two had to be content with radio commentary.

Daughter Chris Perkins said: ‘Our whole family love Pompey and it is amazing what the care home have done. I had no idea they did anything like this but my son went to see her at half time and she was cheering and waving her arms around.’

In 2009 when the Pompey Supporters Trust was set up, Gloria and her family owned six shares between them and were pleased to be a part of supporting the club.

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Chris, 65, added: ‘We are a proud Pompey family, my husband and son go all the time and it was lovely for my mum who is quite immobile and basically blind to enjoy Fratton Park once more.’

Speaking about the care home wishes scheme Mercedes added: ‘It has been running for the last couple of months and this is one of the first and it means so much to us to see them happy.’

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