The World Cup is over. We didn't win....again. So again we'll have to hark back to the glorious year 1966 when we were the triumphant giants of football.
 | | Sir Geoff Hurst signs the Mini |
One man from Wokingham has done just that - but he's done it with a difference. In fact his pride for the 1966 World Cup team has literally taken him on a mini adventure. Craig Killoran is the proud owner of a gleaming white Mini emblazoned with the England crest and with the authentic signatures of 1966 World Cup heroes: Sir Geoff Hurst, Gordon Banks, George Cohen, Ray Wilson, Jack Charlton, Jimmy Greaves, Alan Ball MBE, Martin Peters and Roger Hunt. Peter Shilton, who is the most capped England player, also has his 'auto'graph on there.
 | | True England legends' autographs |
Speaking about how it all happened, Craig said: "My son Frankie asked me about the single star on the England shirt and basically wanted to know about the 1966 squad. So we started to look it up and research it on the Internet." He added: "I saw that in 1966 they got 15 girls in a Mini and it went into the Guinness Book of Records so I thought, Mini, signatures: a fantastic way to educate my son to meet all these great legends." With the help of his friends Mark Fordham and Wayne Hall he tracked down surviving members of the squad. After removing the Mini's lacquer, they travelled 1400 miles up and down the country to have the car signed.
 | | A unique Mini |
It has now been relacquered so that the famous signatures are a permanent fixture on the car. "We took ages getting the autographs but it was worth it" said Frankie. The car is World Cup through and through: The team travelled to meet the legends during the World Cup, the car was registered on 9 June - the day the World Cup started - and they acquired a private number plate that reads WO(rld cup) 06 ENG. The car had a custom paint job by hand (no transfers/stickers) and new lacquer to protect the signatures, which were written using a special pen. So all in all, this is perhaps one of the most exciting World Cup collector's items this country has. Friend Mark said that they now want to help charities with this car. "The original concept was that Craig was going to keep the car for himself and Frankie" he said, "it was only in the last week when England went out of the World Cup that he took it out for a drive and everyone was just staring at it."
 | | Gordon Banks signs the Mini |
They then came up with the idea to offer it up to charities to have it on display at their events. "People can pay to have their photo taken with it and look at the signatures" suggests Mark. But the charity work won't end there. Craig and his team plan to embark on a trip that travels through all the countries the 1966 England squad beat to win - Uruguay, Mexico, Argentina, Portugal, France and Germany. The plan is to get sponsored per mile and to donate the proceedings to charity. It looks like this particular mini adventure is set to continue...
Charities who would like to benefit from this magnificent Mini can get in touch with the team by calling 01189 787 957 or emailing:
email:
mini@beaulieuhomes.co.uk |
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