Save Our Town has been championing the achievements of Harry Batt and his wife June for some time. In an earlier piece we highlighted how Luton bus driver Harry formed the Chiltern Valley Ladies Football Club in our town and then took teams representing England to the first Women’s World Cup in Italy in 1970 and the to the second in Mexico in 1971. In Mexico they were feted as superstars and played to huge crowds of 80,000 Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Women%27s_World_Cup Harry was a remarkable man who spoke five languages and fought with the International Brigade in the Spanish Civil War.
Many of his ‘Lost Lionesses’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Lionesses attended the unveiling of a Blue Plaque on the gatepost at Crawley Green Sports and Social Club on Saturday afternoon. It was an emotional occasion for Harry’s son Keith and the teammates, reuniting again for the event. The unanimous feeling was one of pleasure that, at last, there was a memorial to their leader, Harry – and June, fittingly at the ground where they played so many of their games in those pioneering days.
There aren’t many Blue Plaques in Luton – even this one was fixed to the gatepost when it should (& will be) mounted at the Clubhouse. Save Our Town were delighted to be invited to attend this latest, and most deserved, commemoration and pleased to share our pictures of the occasion.
Look out for our videos and interviews from the event, in the coming days.
