John Abberley was one of the pioneers of BBC local radio, helping to launch BBC Stoke-on-Tent in 1967. During his 22 years as a radio broadcaster he specialized in making documentary programmes and chairing live discussions. However, sport was his greatest love - especially Stoke City FC and On the Ball was his idea for a Saturday afternoon sports programme.
John returned to the Sentinel at the grand old age of 57 where he gained a reputation as a much-needed controversial columnist and as the creator of The Way We Were, a monthly nostalgia magazine that went to Potteries exiles worldwide. During the early 2000s John complied three books, The Way We Were in the 1950s, The Way We Were in the 1960s, and Salute to the Potters.
The idea for this publication was to bring together some of the images from the three books along with a selection of new ones. Alas, as John was no longer around to undertake the project, journalist and historian Clive Hardy was asked to assist with the book's completion and has edited John's words only when and where necessary. Approximately 150 images and captions have survived from the original titles and more than 100 new ones have been selected from the Mirrorpix archive.
The book is divided into sections including: Out & About, The World of Work, On the Move, That's Entertainment, Grandstand? Port Vale FC, Stoke City FC.
If you accompanied John on a walk around Stoke, time had no meaning and you had no chance whatsoever of hurrying him along. Wherever he went either he seemed to know everyone, or everyone seemed to know him. People could approach him, and he was always receptive to ideas and opinions as he engaged with ordinary people. He might not have agreed with them, but he would do them the courtesy of listening where others would have walked away. He also had a grasp of local politics that few journalists ever master.
- ISBN13 9781845472535
- Publish Date 1 November 2019
- Publish Status Postponed Indefinitely
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher First Edition Group Ltd
- Imprint iNostalgia
- Format Paperback
- Pages 160
- Language English