The Rattle

[jqzblade]

Loved reading the "Did United play the day you were born thread". Looking at the crowds reminded me of the rattles we used to have back in the day. I must have been about 12, maybe 13 and we used to go to Duchess Road school once a week for woodwork. Girls did sewing and stuff. One of the things I made was a Rattle. It was a beast of a weapon beautifully constructed with the best materials of the era and duly painted in red & white stripes and the players names carefully drawn in contrasting colours. Pace was easy but Kettleborough was a nightmare to fit on. Have a look at HodgysBrokenThumb avatar if you're too young to know what a rattle is?

Anyway this reminded me of the first and last time my rattle attended a game at Bramall Lane. Can't remember who was playing but me and dad were standing behind a barrier halfway up a packed Kop. When the teams emerged I gave the rattle a good old spin and cracked this old bloke stood in front of us on the top of his head. Never seen so much blood! Him and my dad had a set to and my prized rattle never used again!

I can't remember what happened to it. probably finished "on't fireback"



Do these old footages of Blades games bring back memories to anyone else?

 

[Kelso]

I loved my rattle, made it myself, , gloss painted it, and it shined like new. No idea what happened to it.

 

[Eskimo]

Mine didn't last long either. I got it one Christmas, scared my grandmother with it and got clouted. Spliced tomato soup on it and got clouted and then painted it with gloss paint, not letting it dry before applying the red on the white. It looked crap. Then I misspelled Harris's Untouchables I'd written on it and said fuck in front of someone. Another clip and t'fireback for't rattle.
Happy days

 

[Blend-it-like-Harris]

Still got mine...... circa 1958

 

[LenTednTony]

My dad got me one from ex army stores. It had a metal plate echo chamber type thing but dad made me take that off. Great rattle, bloody heavy. Glossed it res n white but never went to a game with it.

 

[HodgysBrokenThumb]

Had to reply to this! The object on the left came from my grandad, and his days as an ARP warden in WW2. They were to be used in case of gas attack. As he lived in Dronfield, I guess the risk was low. Me and my brother talked him into giving it to us, and it travelled around in the late 50s and early 60s. It is a big, heavy thing, and makes a lot of noise. Still works perfectly, but I doubt it will ever see the Lane again. I don't think we ever hit anyone with it, but it did upset people at the Lane End when we moved round there in the second half to see United kicking that way. It has survived at the back of a high cupboard, out of the view of Mrs HBT, who is small!

 

[Robby Blade]

Had to reply to this! The object on the left came from my grandad, and his days as an ARP warden in WW2. They were to be used in case of gas attack. As he lived in Dronfield, I guess the risk was low. Me and my brother talked him into giving it to us, and it travelled around in the late 50s and early 60s. It is a big, heavy thing, and makes a lot of noise. Still works perfectly, but I doubt it will ever see the Lane again. I don't think we ever hit anyone with it, but it did upset people at the Lane End when we moved round there in the second half to see United kicking that way. It has survived at the back of a high cupboard, out of the view of Mrs HBT, who is small!

Pity we couldn't get a proper atmosphere going back then and had to resort to the equivalent of today's clappers.

Mine came from Suggs as I was too useless to make one and my dad even more so☺