Blast from the past

[blankmeister]

Came across this while trying to find out what Ray Mumford is up to these days.
It takes me back to my early days on the Thames at Teddington and Kingston.
Just love the gear and clothes. Ah......those were the days

OUT TAKES / CUTS FROM CP 681 - KING FISHER, ACTOR DOG, PUB DOG, STRAY DOG and STRING PAINTER - British Pathe

 

[Poshpaul (Angling Trust and PaSC)]

Last I heard..on this forum..is that Ray Mumford is poorly and in a rest home. I'm sure others will informs us if this is different.

I have related before how Ray is solely responsble for me being saddled with "Poshpaul" for the last 27 years!! I remember watching him as a lad on a number occasions when he fished the opens on the Medway. One of a great crowd of characters on the Southern match circuit..Jimmy Randall, Dennis Salmon, Tony Karby, Ian Copeland, Pat Richardson, Andy Love, John and George Mccarthy, ****ie Carr,"Big" John Larraman all spring to mind immediately - oh and a young Bob Nudd!

 

[Jeff Woodhouse]

Sadly, Ray was admitted to a home a few years ago, he was suffering from dementia.

He used to come to our annual Rose Bowl match on the Thames, often brought along some of his hand made floats to sell. Crackers they were too.

Not heard about him since. I was thinking about him just a few days ago, funnily enough.

 

[blankmeister]

Very sorry to hear that Ray is poorly, he was angling's hero when I was fishing the Thames back in the 50's.
There's something about the style apparent in the video, (like going to the match on the train!) that is so typical of the era.
Nostalgia rules

 

[Mark Wintle]

As I understood it poor old Ray was badly beaten up a few years ago by robbers hence the problems.

I enjoyed the footage.

Ray came and fished some matches in Dorset in 1981, winning the first one with a prodigious 920 roach in 5 hours. I've never heard of a biggest count of roach in match though obvious better scores of bleak or rudd. Last time I met Ray was on a Thames match circa 1993 when he'd just had a near miss in his van on the motorway. After I'd got to know him through running the matches he was always friendly.

 

[Philip]

Quite sad to hear. I always had a quick read if he was in print as he was never afraid to say something a bit controversial. I seem to recall he caused a bit of stir by trying to engage an animal rights group in an attempt to fight the abolishment of the close season a few years back!…something like that anyway..