It is with great sorrow that Portsmouth Football Club announce the
passing of Tommy Rowe, the last surviving member of Pompey's 1939 FA
Cup Final winning team, who died aged 92 on Tuesday this week. He
suffered a fall and broke his hip a month ago before slipping away
peacefully in a nursing home in Dorchester, Dorset.
Tommy signed for Pompey in 1934 from Poole Town and made his way up
through the reserves to play 89 first team games for the Blues,
including all the cup rounds which saw the team progress to eventually
play Wolves at Wembley in April 1939. His tall 6 foot 1 inch figure
made him the tallest player on the pitch as he held Pompey's back line
well and allowed the forwards to score the goals in the 4-1 victory.
When war broke out months later, Tommy joined Portsmouth City Police
Force to help the war effort but at 26 he joined the Royal Air Force
where he trained to become a Bomber Pilot. In his 40th raid, he was
shot-down over Frankfurt where he parachuted out and became a Prisoner
of War until the war ended. He was awarded the DFC (Distinguished
Flying Cross) for his tremendous work.
Tommy returned to football to play for his local side Dorchester Town.
--- i had the great pleasure of meeting Tommy 5 years ago when he ventured up to the Artillery Arms in Portsmouth for a surprise presentation before going to Fratton Park for a game. He was an absolute gentleman, still as sharp as a button, telling stories about his time at Pompey and the FA Cup final and some of the mishaps that happened to it after the game and during the war years that had everyone captivated - there were some running repairs that had to be made
i'll be raising a glass his way tonight
