Sons of Albion:The Inside Story of the Section 5 Squad Incorporating the Clubhouse and Smethwick Mob 30+ Years of West Brom's Hooligan Firms by Big Jon Freethy

Author:Big Jon Freethy [Freethy, Big Jon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781426983238
Publisher: Trafford
Published: 2009-10-05T22:00:00+00:00

PART FIVE

Chapter Eleven

NEW FACES

Big Jon has been following the Albion since he was a young lad and although on the fringes of the firm from the mid-Eighties, didn’t get fully involved for another decade. However, he played a large part in organising and liaising with the sometimes divided groups that existed within the West Brom mob, which wasn’t without its problems as he explains.

Jon: I was born in Birmingham in December 1967. My father was from the Handsworth Wood area of Birmingham and my mother from Ward End. I have two sisters and I am the only lad although I do also have step-brothers. I grew up in the King Norton area of Birmingham in what was a turbulent household because basically my father was violent towards my mother and anyone else that cared to cross his path. He was basically a bully. After he left, our household life was bliss, our life became normal and our mother was our heroine, she did a grand job of bringing us up and we never went without anything. Years on, she now lives abroad with a very comfortable lifestyle with a very good man so all’s well that ends well. I visit her on a regular basis and she is a very big part of my life.

I went to school in the local area and eventually left school with five O’ Levels. During my youth, I attended many West Brom games with my father. He relayed stories of trouble at games in his younger days so my introduction to football violence was verbal. At quite an early age, I became fairly streetwise and understood what was going on around me in my local area and at football games. In 1983 I went to the West Brom v Millwall League Cup game at the Hawthorns. I was 15 and that night opened my eyes to serious crowd disorder. The thing was, it did not frighten me it gave me a buzz and watching West Brom and Millwall thugs knocking lumps out of each other was more entertaining than the game - which we won 5-1. After the game, my father and I had to walk through the Millwall hordes in Halfords Lane. It was a sight to be seen. They were throwing anything they could get their hands on at the Old Bill and any other people they saw. Walking through this lot was a scary experience I admit. I could not get my breath at how lawless they were and were intent on serious violence. When we were some distance away, I looked back up the road to witness the sight of the Old Bill in the middle and West Brom lads on the other side launching missiles at the Millwall lot. This made me proud and was the very beginnings of my extreme loyalty towards the club I love.

I left school at 16 and went straight into work on a building site. It was tough work but the money was good and I was also in the process of joining the Army.

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