IT WAS Harraby School’s facilities that helped turn one of Carlisle’s best footballers into a European superstar.

That is the view of one man who played with the late great Peter Thompson - who was capped 16 times by the England national team - and died suddenly last weekend, aged 76.

Born and raised in Harraby, Thompson played for Carlisle schoolboys before he was snapped up by Preston North End in 1960, at the age of just 18.

“He was a lovely lad,” remembers Bob Taylor of Grosvenor Place in Stanwix, who played with Thompson between 1957 and 1958.

“He would come to training after us and leave after us, because he would be able to walk home.

“He was a totally quiet, shy lad. He wouldn’t bring in his England cap, not because he didn’t want to but because he was too shy.”

A moment that followed soon after is one that stands out for Bob.

“We went into the dressing room after a training session and there it was [the England cap] on the peg.

“It was a nice touch.”

Many years later Bob bumped into the former England winger in Carlisle city centre.

“The last I saw of him was walking through Carlisle.

“I don’t like bothering people when they are famous, but I saw him recognise me.

“He said ‘I can’t remember your name, but I know you were the goalkeeper’.”

Bob continued: “It was magnificent to play with him, you can’t explain it.

“You think you are quite good, but to see Peter Thompson you see we were miles apart.

“He was magnificent.”

As well as being a ‘tricky’ winger, he was also a strong player.

“When Peter was at school at Harraby there was a new gymnasium, that is where he built his physique under the guidance of Mr Johnstone (the coach of the Carlisle schoolboys team).

“He would train in the gym morning, afternoon, and night.

“We would try and follow him on his circuits, but we couldn’t get anywhere near him.”

Bob also played with another Carlisle great Ivor Broadis, in July 1958 at Brunton Park.

“I had the privilege of playing on the same team as him in a couple of matches.

“There was a reserve defence with me in goal, the first team forward line, including Ivor, against the first team defence and reserve forwards.”

Both Ivor and Peter were of the highest calibre, says Bob.

“He [Peter] had absolutely everything, strength, the ability to run with the ball, and the ability to cross the ball.

“I have never seen anybody like him and I have been a football man all my life.”

Bob Taylor was part of the Carlisle United youth set-up for a number of months, but his dreams came crashing down before his eyes.

“Andy Beattie was the manager at the time, I was only 15 and I had a stinker in a friendly. Andy called me in and he said ‘son, you are not going to make it’.

“It was a friendly game at Brunton Park and that was it, that was the end. It is just one of those things.”

Bob said that he was sad to learn of the death of Peter Thompson.