The Wallsend Boys Club was formed 120 years ago to keep young apprentice ship builders out of trouble. Having helped generations of young Tynesiders - including some world renowned footballers - and overcome many adversities, the club is still going strong today (and it's not just for boys anymore). It was 14 November, 1904, when builders from the Swan Hunter's shipyard opened their new club for their boys.
"They got fed up with the police knocking on their door every Monday saying 'this one's been drunk, this one's smashed a bus shelter'," chairman Steve Dale says. "They opened up mainly to keep their apprentices off the streets and do something more creative with their time. "And I don't think anything has changed.
" He says the club is there to help young people burn off energy and "find their way", adding: "If they haven't got something to direct them positively, it's easy to do it negatively." Today, thanks to its 120 volunteers and the recent opening of its new Peter Olsen Community Hub, the club operates much as it always has. Working with children from as young as five, the club offers a wide range of activities including walking cricket and martial arts.
It is best known for its football though, with 93 of its youngsters going on to have professional careers. It's most notable alumni include Peter Beardsley, Michael Carrick and Alan Shearer, so how has it been so successful? President Peter Kirkley, 82, who started the club's first football team in 1969, says it's dow.
