South London Press photographer Keith Gillard approaching 3,500 match milestone
BY YANN TEAR
yann@slpmedia.co.uk
Picture the moment. You are going to a football match. Possibly Highbury, we are not sure on that detail. You arrive early and decide to check out a programme seller’s stall displaying offerings from up and down the country. You see one from your favourite team, Everton. Then, to your astonishment you look at the cover and see it carries the very photo you yourself have taken.
That is what it was like for South London Press photographer Keith Gillard.
There it was. Shock and pride all at once. There was no byline to acknowledge his work, but he didn‘t really care. The feeling of fulfilment and satisfaction at seeing a picture he had taken adorning the cover of ‘his team’s’ programme meant everything.
And that is why that image from 2006 takes pride of place in his collection after covering nearly 3,500 games as a snapper.
“I went up to Everton for the South London Press to cover a Charlton game but you had to be stationed at one end for the whole game,” said Gillard. “I was lucky enough to get this shot of Tim Cahill scoring but thought it was highly unlikely it would ever be used by the paper as it was one of the home side attacking.
“I sent the picture off to Everton by way of thanks for letting me attend and thought nothing more of it. Then, a few weeks later, I was at a game, could have been Arsenal, and there it was. It was amazing.
“They’d photo-shopped the position of the ball but it was unmistakably my picture.
“It felt like such a privilege to have my picture on the cover for my team – who I used to go and see home and away. I bought several copies and eventually got one signed for me by Cahill.”
That moment probably sums up the passion that has driven Gillard towards his latest landmark of matches covered as a photographer.
The 61-year-old from Woolwich, who has been attending games with his camera for 42 years, expects to clock up his 3,500th game in late February.
“I make a note of the number of matches I go to, and it seems likely I’ll get there soon – then it’s on to 4,000,” Keith said.
“I’ve never done it professionally. I started by asking Welling United if I could come along and take a few pictures and sent them off to local papers in Bexleyheath and Welling and they published them, so I decided to keep going.
“I absolutely still get a buzz from doing it after all these years and the thrill of getting a decent picture is always there.
“I was not formally trained but studied photography in books and went to evening classes. I’ve never done it in a true professional sense, it’s more of a hobby that I love and if I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t do it. I’ve never done it for money. It’s the joy of being there that’s counted.”
The two other pictures show ones that gained Gillard awards. The first, a black and white image of Ray Burgess scoring for Welling United against Kettering Town found its way to an official non-league directory and led to an awards ceremony at the old FA HQ at Lancaster Gate.
The dramatic diving header image is of Danny Hollands scoring for Charlton against Preston North End in their League One title-winning season.
This won him the SWPP Ball Sport Photographer Of The Year in 2011.
He has been a facilities manager by trade, but the images testify to an obsession and love that transcends what he does for a living. They tell a very different story of the man.
Here’s to 3,500 and beyond Mr Gillard.
