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Arthur Wait was my father. I should like to correct the comment that his company made a profit out of the construction of the Arthur Wait Stand. This is not so. In those days the clubs were all privately financed and so I believe that largely his own money was used to finance the stand. He retired from his building company at the age of 60 and decided to build the stand himself - as site agent - in the closed season. He imported much of his labour from ex-staff around the south coast where most of his building operations had been in place. Not allowing anyone to leave the job for more time than was necessary, for instance travelling to and from work, he purchased beds and all associated items to allow all the working staff to eat and sleep at Selhurst Park. During that period he lost 3stone in weight, but adored every minute. The stand was completed and ready for the start of the following season. As a family we were all immensely proud of this great achievement. And as a footnote I should like to add that AJ never took any financial rewards in any way from Crystal Palace indeed it is mooted but never proved that his personal investment in the club during the 50s, 60s and early 70s was in excess of £3m. So please - let's get the record straight. MM
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That is hugely insightful Maureen, and a wonderful story and one to be proud of.
I will certainly enjoy sitting in Arthur's stand that bit more for the next few seasons.
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@_voldo_ |
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'It would be boring if they won every time right?' If we can winter this one out, we can summer anywhere |
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At last now we have owners who I feel have the same attitude to Palace and the future looks great. The first Palace season ticket I ever had was for the AJ Wait enclosure for that fantastic 1969/70 season, I think it was a massive £11.00!
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John Joseph (Johnny) "Budgie" Byrne (13 May 1939 – 27 October 1999) the finest footballer to wear the claret and Blue of the "Glaziers" [Malcolm Allison, Flamboyant manager with the fedora hat 1927 - 2010 The Eagles "Godfather" RIP |
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If we move to a new stadium I would still like there to be an Arthur Wait "area" stand or bar area for him to be remembered.
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thanks maureen, the comments you are responding to are the closest ive ever heard or read of critism of your father by anyone at palace in 25 years of going.i love the stand he built and used to stand in the enclosure in the late 80's and now at the back of block v when i can.the last 2 games ive been in the whitehorse and its been interesting to see it from a different perspective and personally i still think it looks good and am proud of it
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As mentioned in my earlier post I was one of the Palace fans who turned up during the day(s) leading up to the Man Utd game to help clear Selhurst Park of all the building materials etc. Greeted by a shirt-sleeved dusty chairman on the Friday and asked to drive a dumper truck (first and only time!) and shift some rubble. |
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Superb post Maureen. Have some rep
The fact that to this day the Arthur Wait Stand is still the only stand at Selhurst named after an individual speaks volumes about the signficance of the man and the high regard he was and is still held in. His name must be known across the whole country as visiting fans from Plymouth to Newcastle have all used the stand over the decades since it was built.
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"Crystal Palace is cult viewing, like a late night TV show that only a few people know about, like a precious record that was never number one but makes everybody who knows it want to dance and sing… and sometimes cry." Tony, 3-7-2001 "Well, as I said before, we are only 6 points behind 4th from bottom with the prize of an additional £65 million (minimum) if we stay up. So, we'd be bonkers if that wasn't the top priority. Nobody's giving up on staying in this league." CPFC2010, 5-11-2013 |
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Always be the New Stand to me
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CPFC/CPLFC, One Club, One Love |
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Oh that's great to know, My Birthday is 28th Nov IRL and the only 2 season tickets I've held at CPFC so far were in the Arthur Wait so I'm gonna try be there for whichever game it's celebrated at from now on then, yay
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Living in a CPFC 2010 made Dream ! Proud of the lads that saved us in 2010/11 and of the Lads who brought us up 2012/13 and then kept us in the PL in 2013/14, at last ! Honestly never thought I'd see a CPFC win at Old Trafford in my Lifetime, I will always remember Manchester United 1-2 Crystal Palace on 30/11/11, not to mention Dazzas Goal :D :/: At last, a win in the League at OT 25/8/19 :D Last edited by eaglebhoy; 17-05-2011 at 06:06 PM. |
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What a great story Maureen. Also well done to AW for all his time and efforts and money that he put into his Crystal Palace. I would like to know if any of the 92 club chairman could manage to build a stand. I would be very surprized if there was one that could manage it. That makes AW Top Man
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#53
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If it wasn't for him we'd probably still be a similar sized club to Gillingham
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"If you can find money to kill people, you can find money to help people" - Tony Benn 1925-2014 |
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Sorry that you had to put this right Maureen but nice that you were made aware of it. As a youngster I remember the Arthur as a brand new stand and the 'posh' standing area. Hopefully the name will be incorporated as part of the new stand so the memory will go on for many, many years. Thanks to your family.
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At least I score............. Just because you are not paranoid does not mean they are not out to get you......... |
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So that's 2 orders of humble pie for Jack Regan and Born to be Sad.
Apologies are in order guys..... Maureen - thank you for sharing that with us. Your father was a great man for Palace.
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Hell is empty and all the devils are here |
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He was Palace through and through and it's great that his name lives on as one of the stands. Like others I hope - if the club does move - that there is an Arthur Wait stand in the nnew ground. Top man |
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I went to see my dad on site after leaving art college one day to see how the stand was progressing and Arthur Wait was there having a cup of tea with the lads. I was lucky enough to have a chat with him and after a few minutes with him could understand why everyone wanted to get the stand finished on time for him. A genuinely nice man and a true Palace fan; all Palace fans, past, present and future owe a great debt to your dad. I first started watching Palace with my mum and dad when we were in Division Three South and we were truly awful. Arthur Wait took us up through all the divisions to the very top and we were still there when he virtually gave the club to Ray Bloye. I will never forget him. |
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This article from November 1972: A bit sad really, as it signalled the end of AJ Wait's Chairmanship of Palace - intereresting to read that he was involved in building the London Planetarium - it was quite a fascinating place back in the day.
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