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AT the end of World War Two the "black-out" curtains at Hoyland King Street Junior School were taken down and put into storage.

But, four years later when the school formed its first football team since the ending of the war, the curtains came out of storage and put to good use.

They had done a good job during the war years, covering the school's 20ft high and five feet wide windows during darkness when the lights were switched on. Black-out curtains were a strict necessity during the war to stop any chink of light getting through if there was an air-raid.

Des Higgs, who was one of the team, explains: "School football matches were suspended during the war, but four years later a decision was made to start playing them again.

"Hoyland King Street hadn't any money to buy a new strip and we had a wonderful teacher named Miss Hewitt who came up with the brilliant idea of making the shirts and shorts out of the black-out curtains.

"She had the help of her colleagues to do the sewing. Then they trimmed the shirts and shorts with yellow braid. When they were finished they looked really good and the team was proud to wear them, even though we all knew what they had been made from."

Hoyland King Street Junior School was one of six teams which played in the local division of the Barnsley Schools League, the others being Jump, Market Street Hoyland, Hoyland Common, Birdwell and Tankersley. Each team played one another twice in one season.

"Hoyland King Street did well in their home matches and we won most of them, but we did not do as well in our away games. We really enjoyed playing, all the lads looked forward to the matches," said Des.

He was one of the two top scorers for the team the other pupil being Colin Adams. Each of them notched 11 goals.

Mr Higgs has submitted a photograph of the lads looking very smart in their "black-out" strip. They are named as back row, left to right: Malcolm Scott (linesman), Brian Hinton, Des Higgs, Brian Lingard, Alan Shaw, David Francis, Howard Moxon.

Seated: left to right: Michael Mumford, Colin Adams, Terry Rothin, Terry Brown, Donald Caswell. Standing at the back are, left, headmaster Mr Tingle and teacher/coach Charlie Scott.

"We played about 10 matches during the season. Our home matches were played on a refuse tip at Milton Forge.

"We put up goalposts, but at the end of one season we had to use two coats as goalposts because someone pinched them" Picture: Hoyland King Street Junior School football team of 1949 wearing their new strip made out of World War 2 black-out curtains.