Thanks to Phil Warry of Guernsey for sending in this classic photo of Jersey hosting the European surfing championships in 1967 .Thousands of people packed St Ouens Bay to watch the event with a Guernsey team attending the Europeans with Bob Warry (Blade surfboards) placing 2nd right up to the semi finals alongside the likes of Rod Sumpter who went on to win.Phil and Bob have had a go at naming the faces :
Left to Right
Barry Johnson (Gsy), French Team (?), Richard Browning (Gsy) French Team (?), Jean Pierre Lartigue (? fra), Arnaud de Rosnay (?), French Team (?), Bob Warry (Gsy wearing No1 vest), Roger Mansfield (UK), Chris Jones (UK), Unknown, Rod Sumpter, Unknown, Steve Harewood (Jsy. Freedom Surfboard's), Unknown, Barry Jenkins (Jsy ?), Unknown
It would be good to fill in the blank names.
Some great old boards too.Under the G of Gold is Bob Warry holding a Bilbo. Under the F of Leaf is a confident looking Chris Jones holding a multi logo'd Bilbo team board. Other stand out boards are the Bickers with the three stripes ( held by Sumpter ?) which Brian Schofield is holding when it was brand new in the photo below; and an Australian Wallace longboard which must have been rare on these shores back then.
On the subject of Wallace I had an email from Mark, who's not a surfer but he moved into his new house in Yorkshire and discovered this board left in the attic ! I wish that happened to me more often. It has lots of storage scuffs and scratches but looks surfed little and was around Newquay in 1973 and probably earlier, a similar age to the Wallace in the Euros photo. It was made in around 1966 at the Wallace factory at Brookvale, Sydney; Wallace was a major manufacturer, making boards from 1955 to 1974. He was one of the Brookvale five - makers with national sales and reputation in Australia in the years '62 to '72. Boards like this came over to the UK two ways - either a travelling UK surfer brought it back, or more likely an Aussie came over with it and made a profit by selling it here or got skint and had to part with it.
The fin is very similar to Bilbo fins of '66/'67.
July 1966 Sydney surf industry representatives donate surfboards to Australian servicemen in South Vietnam - think Apocalyse now ! Bill Wallace is holding one of his boards.
Barry Bennett at front right.Girl i work with Mid north NSW said she had an old board under her house her hubby surfed in 60s,she wants me to tidy up but after removing wax and washing its a mint 5-6 wallace egg,dont want to give it back,PS;It still amazes me how most of these old surfboard blokes are still kickn after years of soakin in Sydneys hidiously polluted water back then and not to mention all the chemicals and poor masks they used as well!
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