FORMER Boltonian millionaire Eddie Thornley presided over a reunion of the Bolton schoolboys soccer team - exactly 50 years after they last played together. The nostalgic get-together took place at the Grand Hotel in Blackpool where eight out of the original line-up of 12 attended, plus Eddie's close friend, the legendary Blackpool player Sir Stanley Matthews.

But this reunion was not the first.

Back in 1987, Eddie Thornley, who is now president of his own company in Canada, came into the Bolton Evening News offices in Churchgate to see if we could help him arrange a reunion of the 1946 Bolton schoolboys football team.

Eddie recalls: "A picture of the team and an appeal went in the paper in February and later that year a reunion was held - and 11 out of the original 12 turned up. One guy even flew in from Australia."

Since then the team has met every year in Blackpool.

Over the years the reunion has also been attended by many of Eddie's friends including another former Bolton Schoolboys player - Nat Lofthouse, the president of Bolton Wanderers.

The former team mates who attended this latest reunion included Derek Lythgoe who went on to play for Blackpool, Norwich and Bristol; Dougie Clarke who played football for Bury, Hull City and Torquay and Geoff Aldred who still lives in Bolton.

Other former players who made the get-together included Albert Smith from Horwich, goalkeeper Harold Radcliffe, Eric Shacklady from Adlington and John Peacock of Bolton.

Only one player has missed all the reunions - Bill Holder. Eddie said: "It would be brilliant if we could find Bill."

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