Derek Tharme was a stalwart of the Spurs A team from when he signed in 1956, to when he left the club at the end of the 1961/62 season. From Brighton, Tharme was playing for local side Whitehawk when he was scouted and recommended to Spurs by their chief-scout Ned Liddle. Derek was a full-back, who was capable of playing on either side, was a highly intelligent defender. He was also a strong full-back with good pace and reading of the game. Derek lived in digs with Mel Hopkins in Ponders End, when he’d first joined Spurs in 1956. He played with some great players in the Spurs A team and also the reserve side, who he played for on occasions also. And in those early days with the club, Derek played alongside Spurs legend Sonny Walters in the Spurs A team. Like many players from the same era, who were at Spurs, Derek Tharme had to do national service in the army. However, while he was in the army, he played matches for the Western Command, and Derek got the opportunity to play with some really fine players for the Western Command side.

In one particular game for the Western Command in the November of 1957, against The Irish League, Derek was a member of the Western Command side that travelled to Belfast, to play this game at Windsor Park. They got the ferry over from Liverpool, to Belfast to play the match against a fine Irish League side. This would have been a really good experience for Derek, and he still remembers the game at Windsor Park well. Playing for the Western Command on the day in the game against the Irish League, was former Blackburn Rovers player Dave Whelan, and also Bobby Charlton, a player who would not only become a legend of Manchester United, but also a real legend of English football as well. However, the game itself, wasn’t much of a contest on the day. The Irish League side won 6-0! With goals from Ballymena United player McCrea, Johnny Neilson (he played for Bangor) and Coleraine player Trainor. Most of the goals were scored by players who actually didn’t start the game. Bobby Charlton did go close to scoring a goal for the Western Command during the game, and although it would have been a difficult game for young Derek Tharme, the experience would have been a memorable one.

Such was the fine play from the Irish League side, they were actually quite unlucky not to win the game by more goals. Derek won several Eastern Counties League titles with the Spurs A team, and an East Anglian Cup, as well as playing in the Football Combination League with the reserve side. However, the games spent playing with the Western Command, still bring back very happy memories for the now retired Derek Tharme, who celebrates his 85th birthday in August. After leaving Spurs he would play for the likes of Southend United, Crawley Town and Hastings United (with Spurs legend Bobby Smith). Derek got the opportunity to return to Spurs for the first time since leaving in 1962, last year to watch a Premier League game between Spurs and Leeds United. He is a really top man, and Spurs still means a lot to him.