Bradford (Park Avenue) fan Dennis marks 80 years of support

Reflecting on his lifelong love for the team, 90-year-old Dennis Choppen revealed how family tragedy and the war are tied to his own history with Avenue.

“It seems a bit strange that I should be a Bradford (Park Avenue) supporter,” he said.

“My mother lived in Bradford but she got very friendly with a young chap that had come up from Essex. He was a motorcyclist type person and he’d inherited a little garage in Saffron Walden that came through the family. 

“Bradford then was known as being quite an industrial town so he came up to learn a bit about engineering and car maintenance.”

90-year-old Dennis Choppen with his honorary signed shirts (Image: UGC)

During his father’s time in Bradford, he met Dennis’ mother and the pair returned down south to start a family.

They lived in Saffron Walden and raised five children.

When Dennis’ mother fell pregnant with her sixth child - Dennis - she planned a trip back to Bradford to catch up with her mum.

She caught the train whilst Dennis’ father decided to follow on his motorcycle.

But, after completing most of his journey, he died in a crash with a lorry near Wakefield.

The tragedy struck just two months before Dennis was born.

“She had to go back to her five children,” Dennis said.

“But after a month or so she said, I must go back to my mother.”

The family lived on Woodhead Road, but World War Two was already impacting the nation's lives.

“I was seven years old, the war had started,” he recalled.

“Bombs started falling in Bradford. It caused a panic.”

Dennis was evacuated to live with a family in Doncaster until 1942. 

Just before Dennis' 10th birthday, his mother granted his wish of attending a match at Bradford (Park Avenue)’s original ground. 

It was September 1943, and Avenue were playing. Len Shackleton scored a hat trick and Avenue won. 

Kindly supplied by reader Gerry Hird, this was the famous old Avenue ground

“I was the spoilt brat of the family as I’d gone through all this hassle,” Dennis said.

“I’d been playing football in the street and saw there’s a football team up the road.

“She said, I can’t let you go on your own. I pestered her a bit, she said, oh I’ll take you, which was quite unusual for a lady to go to a football match - as we found out.

“There was just a sea of middle aged or elderly men with cloth caps on. A few gentlemen, when they saw my mother with me, they said, let them go to the front. 

“From that point on I was really stuck with it completely. 

“We were there by the corner flag.”

Describing what it was like to watch a match in the stadium, he said: “It was still wartime. A lot of the population were at war in the army but those that avoided that, it wasn’t a big crowd. It was about three or four thousand. That started off me watching them right from that very moment.”

L-R: Former owner of Bradford (Park Avenue), Bob Blackburn, with 90-year-old Dennis Choppen and his son Gary (Image: UGC)

Still an avid fan after 80 years, Dennis was honoured at Horsfall Stadium, the new home of Bradford (Park Avenue), earlier this month.

The former owner of the club, Bob Blackburn, presented Dennis with a framed pair of Avenue shirts. Both were signed by the England 1966 World Cup winning legends, Sir Geoff Hurst and Jack Charlton.

Dennis still gets to most games with his son, Gary Choppen, and buys a season ticket every year. 

Dennis has seen Avenue play at what he believes was its height - but remains hopeful that the next generation of grassroots players will breathe new life into the team.

From the T&A archive: How the T&A broke the news that Park Avenue had been kicked out of the Football League over 50 years ago

He believes Avenue’s greatest attacking duo was Shackleton and Jackie Gibbons.

And the most memorable game of his life so far remains the Manchester United cup tie, where they drew 1-1 in 1949.

His uncle took him to the game at Maine Road - Manchester City’s ground - as Old Trafford had been bombed during the second world war.

“I’ve seen the life of Park Avenue at its best as far as I’m concerned,” Dennis, who now lives in Leeds, said.

“My heart is still there but unfortunately it doesn’t win matches.”

Describing what Avenue means to him, Dennis said: “I had a good job as far as work was concerned but that’s only five days a week, and having something to enjoy yourself with or get involved with, it’s there and it stays with you forever.”