Mark Haley

Frantz, I'm finding your infra red images fascinating and hope you upload a few more for us to look at. You're bringing a fresh approach to photos everybody's been analysing for years. Make sure you add a photo of yourself as per forum rules so you can keep on contributing.

I remember some time back somebody posted an animated gif here where Lovelady's face morphed over the guy whose face has been hidden. I think the suggestion was that Lovelady had actually been standing on a lower step and his head had been moved onto the top figure. *Edited to include gif* May I ask, is the man's face hidden in all copies of that photo ? MH

I am Mark Haley. My Mum was a brilliant teacher, a genius. My Dad, also a teacher, became a Headmaster in 1968 because the Governors of the village school felt the villagers would not accept his wife as head teacher... I have one o-level. In 1994 I was invited to deputise for a music teacher at George Farmer School, Holbeach, Lincs who was on 3 months maternity leave. During that time I also gave French lessons, Art, History, Maths and Sport. All the year 11's taking Music GSCE passed. On my final day I was given a standing ovation by the pupils during assembly. It's amazing what you can achieve when you don't set any homework ! In 1998/99 I taught guitar at Wisbech Grammar School, Cambs. One day a week. The pupils had a 100% pass rate in the Royal Schools Of Music exams. Before my admittedly brief teaching career I had been a relatively successful musician (pianist with the Kinks) and for the last 10 years fly over to Europe most weekends to perform at huge nostalgia festivals with 70s chart toppers the Rubettes. I am usually back in time for Match Of The Day 2. I think Neil Armstrong walked on the moon and I enjoy watching the youtube clip of Buzz Aldrin thumping that guy who said he didn't. I support West Ham and have great admiration for teachers. Good luck to you all.

...to sack a manager Posh appear to have parted company with Darren Ferguson today. This after back to back promotions with signings mainly from the non-league, a decent 4 game run in the League Cup which included wins against Ipswich & Newcastle, crowds double what they were when he took over, an injury time winner at QPR ruled out by an incorrect offside decision... and several narrow defeats by the odd goal. Admittedly they fell into last place at the weekend in front of a 40,000 crowd at sportsdirect@stjamespark.com stadium ( a sign of how far the Posh had come and how far Newcastle have fallen) yet it was only last week they were out of the bottom 3. Surely he deserved a bit of time ? Gareth Southgate: Correct me if I'm wrong but he was fired following a win, with Middlesborough in 4th place, one point behind the leaders, and most of his best players sold during the summer...? Feel free to add to the list as the season develops.

RE: John Dugan Nov 3 2009, 06:15 AM "but to think that The Umbrella Man had ANYTHING to do with the shooting is realllllly stretching it. There is already a perfect explanation as to why TUM was there and what he was doing. To think that he could take a shot, and hit his target with some kind of device with any sort of accuracy is not physically possible, imho." John, here is the relevant testimony Louis Witt (TUM) gave to the HSCA: "I think I went sort of maybe halfway up the grassy area (on the north side of Elm Street), somewhere in that vicinity. I am pretty sure I sat down....(When the motorcade approached) I think I got up and started fiddling with that umbrella trying to get it open, and at the same time I was walking forward, walking toward the street....Whereas other people I understand saw the President shot and his movements; I did not see this because of this thing (the umbrella) in front of me....My view of the car during that length of time was blocked by the umbrella's being open." HSCA Vol. IV, p. 432f That description doesn't tie in with the photographs here. The umbrella is clearly above his head, he is standing still. Whoever is holding that umbrella had a perfect view. In fact have a good look at all the available photos and film. Good luck finding anything that ties in with Witt's testimony. There's nothing in Witt's story that suggests he was even there and frankly I'm amazed that the HSCA didn't pick up on it. They were too busy laughing at the Umbrella malfunctioning when it was opened during his testimony. By the way, I 100% agree with you. In my opinion TUM didn't shoot any darts, bullets... whatever from his Umbrella. However, we're a long way from having "a perfect explanation" as to what TUM was doing there. Back to the thread. The main reason the 6th floor shooter didn't take the obvious shot in my opinion is, he would have been immediately spotted. He waited until just about everyone was looking away from the Book Depository at JFK givng him time to get at least 2 shots off before being spotted.

I wonder who scored the first West Ham goal actually filmed in its entirety ? We see the ball hit the back of the net against Bournemouth but it doesn't seem to match up with the previous footage. My guess would be the winning goal in the 1940 War Cup Final by Sam Small ..?

Mark, there are "facts or reason either way" I gave some in my post which you dont seem to have read properly, I shall repeat them. " A member of an assassins team would never act so conspicuously, why would he have to? A simple raising of the arm, waving a hat or lifting a placard welcoming the president would have done the job just as well and gone completely unnoticed." Can you or anybody else counter that argument with a sensible argument? I'm really not interested in peoples belief or gut feelings. Thank you. Denis, we seem to have had a different interpretation of 'Facts Or Reason' in this instance. To clarify, my response was really specific to the testimony of the man name checked in the title of this thread. Louis Steven Witt. It is his testimony to the HSCA that are the only official 'facts or reason'. They accepted them (despite photographic and film evidence to the contrary). My position is this. I don't believe Witt was Umbrella Man. His description of Umbrella Man's actions (in my opinion) don't match the photographic and film record. If Witt wasn't Umbrella Man, then no 'Facts Or Reason' as I was referring to them exist, because whoever was 'Umbrella Man', to the best of my knowledge, walked away from the scene and was never interviewed by the authorities. Your interpretation of 'Facts Or Reason'... well, "a member of an assassins team would never act so conspicuously" seems a very sound reason to me. Is it a fact though ? Having never been part of an assassins team I wouldn't know but I would hesitate to call it a fact. It's more, dare I say it, a belief. I can't really comment on your other 'reasons' as Umbrella Man didn't 'wave a hat' or 'lift a placard' so aren't really reasons. The only 'arm he raised' was the one holding the umbrella. A couple of other posters here have given 'reasons' for Umbrella Man's behaviour which sound plausible to me. Neither of them are 'facts' but I don't believe they should be simply dismissed without debate.

Thanks for posting the gif Chris. Very helpful On first viewing I thought the Umbrella was twirling but, having increased the size and taken a good long repeated look at the visible frames, it seems to go down at the very start of the clip, then up. Focusing on one point on the rim of the Umbrella reveals it barely twirls at all.

Discussing somebody holding an umbrella above his head, standing a few feet away from the President Of The USA as he gets shot is hardly meaningless, especially when the HSCA apparently ignores obviously flawed evidence given by a man purporting to be him. Why did they disregard it? While I personally don't believe Witt was part of a conspiracy, you're referring to Umbrella Man. In my opinion 2 entirely different men. It's hard to have any "facts or reason" when the original character was allowed to simply walk away un-challenged never to be heard of again. With Witt's testimony easily blown out of the water, surely believing Umberella Man might have been part of a conspiracy is as valid as believing he isn't. There's no 'facts or reason' either way...just a man standing within a few feet of a doomed President jigging an umbrella about above his head.

I half agree with you Christopher... I don't believe Witt was the Umbrella man. I'll fully agree with you if you can explain why the CIA coached him into saying completely the wrong story. Umbrella man is clearly standing still with the Umbrella open Yet he told the HSCA "I think I got up and started fiddling with that umbrella trying to get it open, and at the same time I was walking forward, walking toward the street". He has a clear view of the President. yet he told the HSCA he didn't see "because of this thing (the umbrella) in front of me....My view of the car during that length of time was blocked by the umbrella's being open". Why would the CIA coach someone to tell completely the wrong story ?

I agree. He had over a decade to get his story straight and got it completely wrong. As I pointed out earlier in this thread, Witt testified to the HSCA that he was walking toward the motorcade trying to get his umbrella open and didn't see the shooting. Well, the photographic evidence available doesn't back up his story. Precisely the opposite. It reveals a man standing still with an umbrella open, well above his eyeline, an un-obstructed view just before the President was shot. Umbrella Man had a perfect view. I don't know what the man was doing with an umbrella but there's every reason to believe it isn't Witt. Which begs the question. Why did he come forward ? If he was part of a conspiracy surely he would have been given a cover story that matched up with photos seen here in this thread ? Perhaps he was just seeking publicity. It's plausible that the 'anonymous phone caller' who named Witt as Umbrella Man was none other than Witt himself.

A couple of goals for the U21's against Macedonia the other night. All very encouraging.

Here is relevant testimony Witt gave to the HSCA: "I think I went sort of maybe halfway up the grassy area (on the north side of Elm Street), somewhere in that vicinity. I am pretty sure I sat down....(When the motorcade approached) I think I got up and started fiddling with that umbrella trying to get it open, and at the same time I was walking forward, walking toward the street....Whereas other people I understand saw the President shot and his movements; I did not see this because of this thing (the umbrella) in front of me....My view of the car during that length of time was blocked by the umbrella's being open." HSCA Vol. IV, p. 432f That description doesn't tie in with the photograph here. The umbrella is clearly above his head, he is standing still. Whoever is holding that umbrella had a perfect view.

Oh well, it seems West Ham changed their 2nd kit to 'all White' because of the power cuts in the early 1970's. Mid-week games were played under reduced floodlighting and a referee felt our famous Bobby Moore 'Light Blue with Claret hoops (first worn in a pre-season tournament in Austria 1959) would be difficult to distinguish against the Ipswich shirt (much earlier than the 1975 Cup Semi-Final). However the decision to wear all white in the 1980 Cup Final was entirely down to the white kit being perceived as lucky. Further to the 1911 game, it appears at that time home teams may have been required to change when there was a colour clash. Mark

I was travelling back from Heathrow Sunday. As ever I had the footy on the radio. While West Ham wasn't the main commentary game, the brief reports coming out of Upton Park were all very positive. One up, controlling the game. Very encouraging. Then, just before half time it emerged that Fulham were down to 10 men. "Great" I thought, "if I put my foot down I'll be back home in time to watch a stream of the second half". How I wished I hadn't bothered. The picture came through just in time to see the equaliser hit the back of the net. What transpired after that took me back to the previous low of all lows...the 2-5 home defeat to Barnsley in the League Cup back in the 80's. I thought we were an absolute shambles (against 10 men) and scarcely deserved the rather fortuitous equaliser in stoppage time. My only hope is that snatching a draw may prove to be some kind of turning point in preventing a poor run developing in to a cause for serious concern. The highlights on Match Of The Day 2 later that evening didn't even come close to accurately portraying the abject 2nd half performance It's hard to imagine any other team making such a dog's breakfast out of a seemingly dominant position. Mind you, over the years I seem to have said 'only West Ham' a helluva lot Oh well, at least West Ham (and Liverpool) can 'concentrate on the Cup' now. Mark PS: I have a feeling this story will lighten the mood for West Ham (and Liverpool) supporters. Barry Mason was at one of the gigs this weekend and told me this story... Way back in the 60's "Delilah" was # 1 in the charts. He was at Paddington Railway Station and had to pop into the loo while waiting for his train. There was already another man in there who happened to be whistling "Delilah". Barry was very pleased about that (all will be revealed in a moment) and as they were both washing their hands he said "excuse me but I couldn't help noticing you were whistling the tune to Delilah" The man looked at him suspiciously and said "Yeah...what's it to you ?" Barry said "well, I wrote it !." "No you didn't," came the reply "Les Reed wrote Delilah." Barry said "well, yes he did...but I wrote the lyrics" At this, the man dried his hands and said, "Yeah, well I wasn't whistling the fackin' lyrics !"

25 Feb 1911 FA Cup 3rd Round West Ham v Manchester Utd 2-1. 27,000 Very brief footage that suggests West Ham were playing at home in White shirts: The poster of the footage has incorrectly dated it as 1912. However the clip apparently matches a photo in a recent ex-Hammer magazine article. I think it's possible that West Ham were required to change their shirts on the day because of a clash of colours. I don't know if Man Utd had played West Ham ( still a Southern League team) before and may not have been aware of a potential clash between red & claret. Just over 69 years later, West Ham won the toss to choose colours for the FA Cup Final against Arsenal. We chose to wear White shirts which had proved 'lucky' in the semi-finals against Everton (and also against Arsenal & Ipswich in the succesful 1975 campaign). I suppose it's unlikely but maybe the 'lucky White shirt' tradition went back even further...all the way to February 1911 ?

Diamanti must be in with a chance of playing. I'd like to see Hines given an opportunity as he seems to be scoring for fun at the moment. Managers seem reluctant to bring young players on too quickly so he may have to wait a while yet. Perhaps 20 minuts or so towards the end ?

Isn't it a shame Mike that part of the match day experience requires figuring out how to get into the stadium safely and getting home unscathed. Wherever you are in the world.

Cor, you've gone and done it now John Let's hope your Grand-son has one or 2 trophies to celebrate along the journey. To answer your question I think the FA will stop short of throwing us out of the competition. There's bound to be some kind of fine and maybe a 'Castilla' game behind closed doors (if we get a home tie in the next round).

I'm delighted we have the chance to look through the photos and reports of the 1965 Cup Winners Cup campaign. The only thing I've ever seen is video of the final. That was a wonderful game, arguably West Ham's pinnacle. All the other games have been mere statistics...numbers on a page. Until now.. Nice one.

Admittedly it's very early days but Liverpool doesn't seem a happy ship and already they've lost as many league games as they did in the whole of last season. Chelsea and Arsenal are both looking good. Man Utd's 5-0 win at Wigan doesn't look quite as impressive now that Blackpool have also beaten them 4-1. Spurs & Man City will be breathing hot in their heels. My best friend is a Liverpool supporter. I've had plenty of stick off him over the years. This season might just give me an opportunity to get my own back. Early days...

I've always enjoyed travelling down to Upton Park in East London for the football. Somehow it makes me feel close to my Dad when I'm in East Ham. He lived there the first half of his life, took a teaching job in the school right next to the ground so he could watch games from the roof, met my Mum there and took myself and brother to many games. Because of my profession I rarely get a chance to see my team play at weekends. Historically, games between 'us' and Millwall have always been a major headache for the authorities. I knew, even when I was ordering the ticket online, that it would be wiser not to go. Have to admit my instinct was telling me to turn the car around several times on the drive down. Probably would've been a good idea. From past experience (I've been going off and on for 43 years now) I knew avoiding the Upton Park tube would be wise so I parked up off East Ham High St and walked up from there. That turned out to be a smart move as all the trouble outside the ground was up at the tube station. I wonder what the inhabitants of East Ham make of it all now. I don't know whether they are Pakistani, Indian, Sri Lankan... but I did enjoy watching all the games of cricket going on in the park as I headed over to the ground. Every 2 weeks or so football fans descend on the area for a relatively brief period of time then leave the locals to ther own devices. Only this particular occasion, predictably, events were far from routine. I queued up for 20 minutes at the box office to collect my ticket and can honestly say I saw absolutely nothing untoward happen. Not surprising really, it was all going off further up the road. The atmosphere in the ground was 'poisonous' the whole game, several pitch 'invasions', almost continuous battling between police/stewards and supporters down at the corner flags. I was a reasonable distance from all the trouble in the Upper West Stand. Even so, it was disappointing (though not surprising) to see the anger etched in faces around me. I guess people get caught up in it all. A sort of mass hysteria ? The response to pitch invasions was acceptable. Most people were booing and chanting "off, off, off"... but the reaction to fans battling with police and stewards by the corner flags seemed different. At times people were more interested in watching them than the actual game ? The introduction of Hines and his link up play with Stanislas turned things our way in the second half. It's great to see players coming through from the Academy making an impact and I'm glad we went on to win, but, for the first time in many many years, getting home in one piece seemed more important. Past experience taught me to stick to the main Barking Road and the street lights after the game. Once I reached East Ham High Street, I felt I was OK.. So... no more West Ham:Millwall games for me. I'll still catch the occasional midweek night game 'under the lights' but, next time, I'll pay more attention to my 'instinct'... Mark

Wow John, you're optimistic. I think we'll be battling for 10th... along with Fulham, Balckburn & Sunderland.

The first game my Dad took me to at Upton Park was against Chelsea at the start of the 1966/67 season. I was only 5 and have practically no re-collection of it, though I have seen the 'Match Of The Day' highlights since and our World Cup winning trio received a deserved ovation as they ran onto the pitch applauded by players from both teams. Surely this was to be 'our year'... I only mention it because West Ham lost the game 1-2. A sign of things to come. We didn't win the league that season. Didn't even come close. 16th ! I think the best we managed with Moore, Hurst & Peters in the same side was 8th. While I'm not going to entirely blame the goalkeeper position, it now seems to be accepted that Sir Ron was given the opportunity to sign Gordon Banks at the end of that season. He decided against it for an old fashioned reason. Principle. He had already made an agreement to sign Bobby Ferguson from Kilmarnock and decided to go through with it. I admire Greenwood for that. You have to wonder what West Ham would have achieved with a World Cup Winning quartet running through the spine of the team. Having said that, I always liked watching Ferguson in goal. He was fearless, made spectacular saves... but just wasn't tall enough to be the top class keeper that Gordon Banks clearly was. Tonight I saw a bit of the Sky Sports show 'Time Of Our Lives' while waiting for the cricket highlights to come on. Alex Stepney was discussing the circumstances that resulted in him signing for Man Utd. Stepney said that Millwall had agreed to sell him to West Ham in May 1966 only for the deal to fall though. All became clear when he revealed he ended up signing for Chelsea instead on the understanding that Peter Bonetti was going to West Ham (A-ha, so that's why the Stepney deal fell through). The Chairman at Chelsea died and his replacement told Docherty he wanted Bonetti in the Chelsea team, not at West Ham. Either way, in the course of the year West Ham missed out on Gordon Banks (the best keeper in the world) Alex Stepney (European Cup Winner, League Championship winner and FA Cup Winner with Man Utd) and Peter Bonnetti (FA Cup Winner and Cup Winners Cup Winner with Chelsea). I'm not convinced that Bonetti would have been the final piece in the jigsaw but I wonder what West Ham fans would be re-collecting now if we'd had either Banks or Stepney in goal. Perhaps nothing... perhaps everything. What if...maybe... might've been... In reality, West Ham came up short in numerous other area and... the cricket highlights are about to start.

No one is 100% sure exactly why Shankly retired. Bob Paisley did say in an interview that Shankly may have mistakenly believed he wouldn't get his pension if he didn't retire...but he wasn't certain of it.