Pompey legend Knight launches football history space at services care home
Pompey legend Alan Knight was guest of honour at the launch of a football corridor at Admiral Jellicoe House last month, which provides resident-centred care for former Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel at Milton.
The space had been created with help from the Pompey History Society, which provided programmes and memorabilia to decorate the walls and be available for residents to browse.
Mick Comben, Chair of the society said: “We were delighted to support this initiative. One of our charitable remits is to share the archive with the public, so when we were approached by staff at the house we were thrilled to be able to help.
“The space looks fantastic and brought back plenty of memories for me, let alone the residents. Knightsie was the perfect man to do the honours with the launch of the space.
“As a former player with 801 Pompey games behind him, he is a strong supporter of what we are trying to do as a society and, as ever, he was the perfect ambassador for the club.”
Ther society also worked with the club to source a couple of old seats from Fratton Park, which have been installed in the corridor and where residents can sit to browse.
Mick added: “It’s great the club could help with this and our thanks go especially to Glenn Brailey, who is head of maintenance at Fratton Park, for arranging this.”
Jodie Brombley, Deputy Home Manager at Admiral Jellicoe House said: “We’re incredibly proud of the new football corridor and grateful to Portsmouth FC and the Pompey History Society for their support.
"Many residents have lifelong ties to the club, and this project celebrates those memories. It’s a wonderful example of meaningful care —honouring personal histories and bringing genuine joy to our community.'”
The Pompey History Society is a charity registered in England & Wales (No 16986368) and is charged with preserving the archive of Portsmouth FC and sharing it with the public. It can be joined for £10 per annum. Visit https://pompeyhistory.org/join-phs-online for more details
Admiral Jellicoe House is one of two care homes run by The Royal Naval Benevolent Trust. The purpose-built care home in Portsmouth offers resident-centred care and dedicated dementia support to veterans of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and their dependants.