As Swindon Town begin their preparations for the new season with a collection of local games, we look back at the more exciting tours they have been on in years gone by.

There was a time, unlike now with squads being assembled at the last minute, when it was not if but where Swindon’s pre-season tour would be. Until the 60s, pre-season had just been a case of turning up on the appointed day and spending a couple of weeks running up and down the terraces, followed by a Probables v Possibles match on the Saturday before the season began.

The change began when Bert Head persuaded the Swindon directors to invest £300 taking the team for a week under canvas at Weymouth. His idea was that not only would it help get the team fit, but it would build a sense of togetherness. It certainly seems to have worked as not only did the team win promotion at the end of the season, but friendships were built which have lasted to this day. The Club Minute Book reveals that the trip went £50 over budget, but £20 of this was recouped from two £10 fines. There is no indication as to what the fines were for, Don Rogers suspects it was for punctuality. Apparently, while the players were free to go out on the town in the evening, there was a strict 10.30 pm curfew, and Bert would be waiting for the players’ return, stopwatch in hand.

A halfway house between this and a foreign tour came when Bobby Smith was manager. The team did not cross the channel for a pre-season tour but........

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