WIN a copy of 'The Making Of Modern Pompey & The Men Who Made It'

Thanks to Colin Farmery and author Mick Comben from the Pompey History Society, Express FM are giving away a copy of 'The Making of Modern Pompey & The Men Who Made It', a new book published by PHS Publishing and released last week.

ONE lucky winner will be drawn at random, LIVE on The Football Hour this Friday, the 6th of December between 6-7pm.

For more than a century the story of how Portsmouth Football Club was founded has been regarded as a known quantity. Six local business people - inspired by the success of a prominent amateur team in the town, Royal Artillery (Portsmouth), not to mention the exploits of Southampton FC - met on April 5th, 1898, and formed a consortium to set up a professional club. A little over 12 months later, a ground had been built on land near Fratton railway station and the team kicked off in the Southern League. Little more information beyond that top-level narrative was known. Until now.

"This book is long overdue in more ways than one, Its roots can be traced to the 2008 second edition of my book '17 Miles From Paradise', which told the story of the Pompey-Saints rivalry.

"I've known Mick (Comben) for more than 20 years and he and I also share quite a complicated, but real, extended family relationship. A Pompey fan all his life, in 2020 he was newly retired and had just moved back to Portsmouth. With my encouragement, he decided to get involved with the Pompey History Society, which I was chairing at that time. His lockdown/retirement project had been to research the origins of football in Portsmouth." ~ Colin Farmery, Pompey History Society and Editor of the book.

Mick Comben, author of 'The Making Of Modern Pompey & The Men Who Made It' told Express FM: "We didn't know how they got together, why, how did they meet and how on Earth did these guys end up creating a football club that, in only their third year of existence, won the Premier League available for them to play in. You imagine doing that now?

"It;s taken me just about 4 years and I have to say, the team at the Pompey History Centre on the top floor at the Central Library in Guildhall Square have just been wonderful."

The book is 156 pages in length and comes as in paperback form, featuring key information on the six men who helped form the Portsmouth Football Club love and support today. Years of research and fact-finding had gone into making this publication a reality, with thanks to editor-in-chief Mark Waldron from the Portsmouth News, the Portsmouth Central Library and the British Newspaper Archive, amongst many more who helped Mick dig as far back into Pompey's history as possible.

Have you ever wondered exactly why Portsmouth Football Club started out by playing in salmon pink shirts, as opposed to the royal blue we see today? This book answers that and you could this week get your hands on a free prize copy!

In order to be in with a chance of winning, you will need to select the correct answer below, however there is a twist - The question was asked LIVE on the latest episode of The Football Hour on Monday, the 2nd of December.

Terms and Conditions Apply:

• Entrants must be 18 or over and live within a PO postcode
• Texts are charged at your standard network rate and you must have the bill payers permission before submitting your entry.
• Competition closes on Friday 6th December at exactly 6:30pm.
• Entries after the competition closing time won't count but may still be charged.
• Winners are selected at random and will be contacted via telephone or email.
• If successful, your name will be drawn live on Express FM between 6:30 and 7 on Friday 6th December.
• If we cannot get hold of a winner, another entrant may be selected at random.
• Some prizes may require you to be able to collect them from the Express FM offices at Eldon Building, Winston Churchill Avenue, Portsmouth, PO1 2DJ.

More From Express

Feature on Portsmouth's Community Billboard

Read about our new partnership with The News

Listen to Express FM live from the Portsmouth On Ice launch

Find your new favourite Express FM show