On Green Pitches

The powerful story of a unique Sunday League club forged from a shared trauma and the extraordinary strength of the Grenfell community The Grenfell Tower fire claimed seventy-two lives. A working-class community, already marginalised to the status of enclave, would be changed forever. One week after the fire, survivor Paul Menacer wandered into a help centre on Walmer Road, struggling to cope with his grief and his loss. He met social worker Rupert Taylor, who asked him what had got him through the grief of losing both his parents within weeks of each other. Football got me through, Paul said. Days later, Grenfell Athletic Football Club was born. Two years later, former professional footballer David Kitson read an article about a group of men drawn together in aftermath of the Grenfell fire, bound together by football. The piece struck a chord and David offered his help. A coaching role led to conversations; the stories David heard were stories he knew should be shared with the world. On Green Pitches is the result of hundreds of hours of interviews and three years with Grenfell Athletic football club. The book chronicles the team’s journey to find joy and laughter and their struggle to find ways to deal with the past and to honour the memory of Grenfell.