“I was lucky enough to be standing behind the goal when Geoff Hurst scored England’s fourth, the ‘They think it’s all over’ goal.”

Those are the words of lifelong Cheltenham Town supporter Adrian Bailey who was at Wembley for English football’s greatest day, the day Sir Alf Ramsey’s men beat West Germany 4-2 to win the World Cup.

That day on Saturday 30^th July 1966 was special for the country as a whole, not just football fans, but for those lucky enough to be inside the ground it was even more special.

That’s certainly the belief of the now 80-year-old Bailey, a former Cheltenham Grammar School pupil, who, six decades later, has written “an eye-witness account of England’s World Cup victory”.

Entitled ‘1966 England’s Glory Match’, the 160-page book reflects on England’s campaign as a whole – Bailey had tickets for all six of England’s games – as well as providing a fascinating insight into what football was like in the 1960s.

Bailey, who served as a Labour MP for West Bromwich West for 19 years from 2000, also recounts some of his own experiences as a student living in the swinging 60s, his working-class aspirations and the popular culture of that era.

He talks to other football fans, too, with Cheltenham Town supporters John Cooper, Brian Cosgrove and David Wise, as well as David Drew, the former chairman of Forest Green Rovers, sharing their memories of that great day in 1966.

The book’s title holds personal significance for Bailey because it was his dad Ted, who took him to his first Cheltenham Town game in 1958, who was the inspiration behind it.

“My dad was an amateur artist, although he sold a few paintings as well” explained Bailey, who grew up in Cheltenham. “He loved doing landscapes.

“He used to go to Gloucester Docks to paint and when I was a toddler and a bit older I used to go with him. Prominent around there was the England’s Glory matches factory.

“I remembered seeing all the wood at the quay ready for the match factory and that’s when the title of the book came to me. It’s a title with a local connection and it’s original.”

It’s one that England’s champions of yesteryear would surely have approved.

Sir Geoff Hurst, the hat-trick hero that day, lives in Cheltenham and Bailey has been lucky enough to meet  the now 84-year-old former West Ham star, although not, as you might expect, in his hometown.

“It was at the House of Commons,” he explained. “It was prior to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, MPs were given the opportunity to have their photo taken with him and the World Cup trophy.”

Hurst is the only member of England’s World Cup-winning XI who is still alive today and Bailey said that influenced his decision to write a book now.

“Since the 2022 World Cup a lot of players from that era have died,” he said. “The generation of footballers that I grew up with were not immortal and if that was true of them it was also true of people like me.

“It made me feel slightly uncomfortable, I might not make it to the next World Cup.”

Bailey admits that he never thought that 60 years on England’s supporters would still be waiting for a second World Cup win.

Two semi-finals are the best this country has managed since 1966. Bailey thinks we’ve got a chance this time but then he says he thought that four years ago.

But if England do go all the way to the final on Sunday 19^th July he says he may try to get a ticket.

He hasn’t been to a World Cup since 1966 but said: “If I could afford it I would definitely be interested.

“I think that would be pretty unique, watching England in two World Cup finals 60 years apart. It would be the basis for another book!”

Bailey, who lives in Oldbury with his wife Jill, but has a flat in Cheltenham, has been promoting his book in bookshops, libraries and to voluntary groups in the West Midlands but is happy to talk to any such groups in Gloucestershire. He doesn’t charge a fee.

Anyone interested should email abctfc@gmail.com, call 07715 103217 or visit www.adrianbailey.uk

1966 The Glory Match is available at around £20 in hardback and £10 in softback.

The World Cup gets under way on Thursday 11^th June and England’s first game is against Croatia six days later.