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General Community / Wimbledon 2023: The ball boys from Barnardo's
« เมื่อ: 7/07/23, 03:13:01 »
Norton, who opted for printing, described it as a "melting pot" of children from all walks of life, with plenty of fights and bad language, but an overwhelmingly happy environment.
He was put into care at the age of three when his mother - who was 14 when she fell pregnant - "could not cope with the level of abuse she was getting" from her family and others because she had a mixed race baby. His father was a black American GI who went back to the United States after World War Two.
The boys were known by numbers; Norton was 217. The only chance he and his classmates had to see the outside world - beyond twice yearly trips back to see their parents - was a shopping or cinema trip to nearby Hertford for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon.
They all knew of the school's links to Wimbledon and many were keen to be selected as ball boys, so threw themselves into the training.
"Barnardo's had a very strict regime of keeping boys healthy and fit. They had their own swimming pool, cricket pitch and tennis courts," Hill, 76, says.
"Obviously, the fitter you were, the more you got selected for things like Wimbledon.
"The training for Wimbledon was quite intense. You had to be at the top of your game, especially if you were a bit fussy about what court you were on."
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He was put into care at the age of three when his mother - who was 14 when she fell pregnant - "could not cope with the level of abuse she was getting" from her family and others because she had a mixed race baby. His father was a black American GI who went back to the United States after World War Two.
The boys were known by numbers; Norton was 217. The only chance he and his classmates had to see the outside world - beyond twice yearly trips back to see their parents - was a shopping or cinema trip to nearby Hertford for a few hours on a Saturday afternoon.
They all knew of the school's links to Wimbledon and many were keen to be selected as ball boys, so threw themselves into the training.
"Barnardo's had a very strict regime of keeping boys healthy and fit. They had their own swimming pool, cricket pitch and tennis courts," Hill, 76, says.
"Obviously, the fitter you were, the more you got selected for things like Wimbledon.
"The training for Wimbledon was quite intense. You had to be at the top of your game, especially if you were a bit fussy about what court you were on."
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