A group of young schoolchildren who won the trip of a lifetime to cheer on Aberdeen in Gothenburg in 1983 have been reunited.
Ahead of Aberdeen’s European Cup Winners’ Cup final against Real Madrid 40 years ago, the council approved the use of £12,000 from its Common Good Fund to cover the cost of sending 33 pupils from schools across the city to the match.
Councillor Charles Devine came up with the idea and he was given the green light by the then Lord Provost Alexander Collie to “take whatever action thought appropriate” to make it happen.
A competition ran in the Evening Express to find 33 pupils aged 11-14 who were Dons fans who regularly attended Pittodrie.
George Wyatt was one of the chaperones on the trip and came up with the idea of getting the group back together again for this week’s 40th anniversary celebrations of Aberdeen’s most famous win.
A dozen members of the original group were reunited at Friday’s event at Pittodrie where the members of the Aberdeen FC team that defeated Real Madrid were awarded Freedom of the City.
They will also be guests at Saturday’s Premiership match between the Dons and Hibernian.
Mr Wyatt said: “The reason I was chosen as one of the chaperones in 1983 was because I was on the organising committee of the Aberdeen International Football Festival that was held at Seaton Park.
“Going to Gothenburg was a great experience, especially for the school pupils.
“Towards the end of last year I was in the Aberdeen pub McNasty’s and a guy came over to speak to me.
“He said: ‘You won’t know me George but I’m one of the kids you took to Gothenburg.’
“I spoke to him for a while and when he left I started to think about what happened to the rest of those kids and came up with the idea of trying to get as many of them back together again for the 40th anniversary.
“It grew from there.
“It’s great for these people to get back together again. They were all very young at the time but they are now all aged over 50.
“They all enjoyed seeing each other again and got on great together. They really enjoyed the day.”
‘I felt very lucky to be chosen’
Brian Taylor, who was a Culter Primary School pupil, said: “Unfortunately I can’t really remember that much about Gothenburg as I was only 11 at the time but I have enjoyed the coverage this week and I watched the documentary that was on BBC.
“I think I had only seen one of the others over the years since we went to Gothenburg together.
“It was a once in a lifetime trip and I felt very lucky to be chosen to go.
“I’m an Aberdeen season ticket holder and I have been on a few European trips to watch the Dons since then but nothing will ever match what happened in Gothenburg.”
‘It feels like it was only yesterday’
Stephen Harvey, who was a pupil at Robert Gordon’s and now works as a technician at North East Scotland College, said: “I was in disbelief when I found out I had won and I was going on the trip.
“It was my late granda who put the entry into the Evening Express. I was only 12 at the time but there was a boy, Dave Nicol, who stayed around the corner who was also going.
“I remember going to the deputy headmaster’s office to tell him I needed time off to go to Gothenburg.
“To be honest, whether he said it was fine or not I was going anyway!
“I was a bit nervous as it was the first time I had been away from home by myself.
“I remember going to the Town House before we went and met everybody else who was going. We got a bag with scarves and other items in it.
“It was a really early start when we flew over to Sweden. I still have the itinerary and tickets at home.
“We had a day in Gothenburg and we went to a funfair and to see the Dons training at their hotel before the game which was incredible.
“My parents gave me a camera and I’ve still got the photos.
“We got soaked at the game. I remember quite a lot of the match, especially a lot of the banners around the game which for someone of my age then caused quite a lot of hilarity. There were a few funny ones.
“When the winner went in we were all pinching ourselves and thinking ‘This can’t be happening – it’s Real Madrid.’
“It was a very good-natured game. There were a lot of Real Madrid supporters in our hotel and we were possibly celebrating a bit more than we should have been but we were only young.
“When we got back to Aberdeen we were all presented with a medal which was engraved.
“They are great memories and nice to share them again with the people who were also there.
“It was 40 years ago but it feels like yesterday.
“There weren’t that many people who were able to get to Gothenburg so I consider myself very lucky to have been there.”
A buzz of excitement
Monique Fletcher, an Aberdeen Grammar pupil at the time who now works for the police, was one of four girls who went on the trip.
She said: “I remember being taken out of the class and down to the headmaster’s office. There were people there from the Evening Express to tell me I had won.
“It was exciting.
“I was 12 and a big Aberdeen fan who went to Pittodrie regularly.
“I had never been to Sweden before – nor since – but I remember it was a very early flight.
“It was a buzz of excitement even though none of us really knew each other.
“It was a nice thing to be part of and have that experience.
“We were really well looked after. We didn’t just go to the game, they took us to a theme park beforehand and we got to meet the players.
“It was a different time then and more difficult to keep in touch.
“I met up with a couple of the girls at the home games but as life went on we lost touch.
“If it had been nowadays we would have all been Facebook friends and it would have been much easier to have kept in contact.”
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