Family of Harwich and Parkeston FC great visit town from Arizona

The trans-Atlantic trip came about after research by the club discovered what became of Robert ‘Jock’ Haugh, one of the players who represented the Shrimpers in the 1953 Amateur Cup final at Wembley.

As part of the club’s 70th-anniversary celebrations, officials wanted to track down Haugh after contact was lost with the left-half after he emigrated to the US the year after the final.

With the help of social media and the internet, Haugh’s family was found last month with his daughter, Liz Orras, now living in Arizona.

Sadly, the search discovered that Haugh died in California in 2016 at the age of 94, although that made him the last surviving member of the 1953 Wembley team.

On Monday, Ms Orras, along with her husband George, visited Harwich – and the club’s Royal Oak ground – to learn more about their Scottish relative’s footballing story.

She said: “It was amazing. It was so great to see the field and the stands where my dad used to play.

“I took some grass – I got permission!

“Everybody was so friendly and it’s amazing what they are doing in the town.

“They told me they had 80 girls signed up for a youth session which is coming up. My dad would have loved that as he was involved with coaching youngsters once he stopped playing.”

Haugh played for Harwich from 1947 to 1953, making 195 appearances in total. He also had a brief spell at Clacton Town.

Harwich also has strong links to modern American history with Christopher Jones, the captain of the Mayflower which took European pilgrims to the US in 1620, having lived in the town.

Liz and George visited his former home in King’s Head Street, now a museum, during their trip. They also took in Harwich Museum, which is currently staging a special exhibition about Harwich and Parkeston’s Wembley visit.

The full story of Haugh’s life will feature in a special anniversary programme the club has produced, which will be on sale at their game against Parson Drove on Easter Monday.