Pandemic permitting, Rovers will celebrate 25 years of playing at the Memorial Stadium next year; 31st August 1996 was the date of the first ever game to be played at a ground which we then shared with the rugby club and much has happened since that historical move back to Bristol.
After ten years in exile at Bath City’s Twerton Park, the homecoming was delayed by a couple of weeks and the first game of the 1996/97 season was played at Twerton, while a League Cup tie against Luton Town took place at Kenilworth Road and we also played a league game against Preston North End at their Deepdale home.
And so the scene was set for a homecoming, though without the help of supporters the game against Stockport County on the last day of August wouldn’t have taken place.
With three days to go Bristol City Council’s Trading Standards Officers refused to grant a safety certificate for the Memorial Ground.
The club issued a plea to supporters to help get the venue ready for Saturday’s game and asked them to turn up at 8.00am the next morning armed with brushes, spades and wheelbarrows for a big clean up.
Jobs needed to be done included removing rubble from around the ground, painting gangways, providing more exit signs and improving the fire alarm system.
Many of the so called 250 strong ‘Broom Army’, among them John Cursiter the ‘Bard’ of Horfield, worked until midnight on Thursday and were back at 8.00am on Friday to make sure that everything was ready for another safety inspection at 11.00am.
This time, the necessary Safety Certificate was issued, much to the delight of those who had helped get the Mem ready for the historic return to Bristol.
Vice Chairman Geoff Dunford had been one of those getting his hands dirty and he was delighted with the response from the club’s fans, saying; ‘We were always confident that the inspection would be a formality, but the magnificent help we have received from Rovers supporters has undoubtedly helped a great deal.
‘It is what we have come to expect from our fans in the last 10 years. That is why the management and players at the club work so hard for them.’
I wonder how many of the ‘Broom Army’ are still attending games at the Mem, and what their memories are of the big clean up. It would be good to hear from anyone who remembers those times as we look ahead to celebrating 25 years back in Bristol!
PS: The last day of August 2021 falls on a Tuesday so there’s a chance we might have a home game that evening and can celebrate the Silver Jubilee of being back in Bristol in style.
Keith Brookman