Winston Norton has none of his memorabilia from his years as a Wimbledon ball boy – sweatbands and programmes proved a valuable currency when bartering for cigarettes back at the children’s home.
The lemon squash, pilfered off the courts at the end of the day and swigged undiluted on the return coach trip, never even made it that far.
Also long gone is the dodgy amateur haircut. Hacked out by a friend at the children’s home, Norton begrudgingly paid a local barber to put it right and ensure he was smart enough for the All England Club.
But the memories have stayed and been recorded by the Museum of London, alongside those of his friend and fellow 1960s ball boy Sam Hill.
With this year’s edition of the prestigious grass-court Grand Slam just days away, the pair have been recalling what happened, each year, when a list of 60 names was posted on a wall at their Barnardo’s home.
After three gruelling months of training, a mob of boys would crowd round, straining to see if they had made the cut.
For some, it was devastation. But for others, it was elation and an experience that would broaden their horizons in ways they could never have expected.
“Your life changed,” remembers Hill.
Goldings in Hertfordshire – or, officially, William Baker Technical School – was home to 240 boys at a time. They all learned a trade – carpentry, painting and decorating, sheet metal work, shoe mending, printing and gardening – so that they could then get an apprenticeship.
Norton, who opted for printing, described it as a “melting pot” of children from all walks of life, with plenty of fights and bad language, but an overwhelmingly happy environment.
He was put into care at the age of three when his mother – who was 14 when she fell pregnant – “could not cope with the level of abuse she was getting” from her family and others because she had a mixed race baby. His father was a black American GI who went back to the United States after World War Two.
The boys were known by numbers; Norton was 217. The only chance he and his classmates had to see the outside world – beyond twice yearly trips back to see their parents – was a shopping or cinema trip to nearby Hertford for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon.
They all knew of the school’s links to Wimbledon and many were keen to be selected as ball boys, so threw themselves into the training.
“Barnardo’s had a very strict regime of…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at BBC Sport – Tennis…