The Princess of Wales ( in white ) and the Manby Arms - played a match in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Pub raise money for Great Ormond Street Hospital after West Ham Park match

Luke Jacobs Sunday, May 20, 2012
8:00 AM

Two Stratford pubs did their bit for charity.

Regulars at The Princess of Wales and the Manby Arms battled it out in West Ham Park in the driving rain last week in aid of Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Their joint efforts raised almost £1,500 on the day - although the Manby Arms won 8-0.

Dave Cook, manager of the victorious pub, paid tribute to players and spectators alike.

He said: “We had people come from all over the place, from as far away as Grimsby and Norwich.

“We had a fantastic day even though people were wet through. Yes it was a big scoreline but the most impressive thing was the amount of money we raised for the hospital.”

“We thought (Great Ormond Street) was such a worthwhile cause to support because a lot of us have had young children.”

Organisers went round the 100-plus crowd with buckets before fans and players alike retired to the Mandy Arms afterwards for food, drink and entertainment.

Mr Cook revealed Strictly Come Dancing contestant and astrologer Russell Grant was due to join the after-match celebrations but had to cancel because he was in pantomime.

The two pubs will repeat the match this time next year. The Princess of Wales was in charge of arranging for the game to be played at West Ham Park this time around.

He added: “I saw a lot of £20 notes being collected. People were extremely generous, even though a lot of them are going through a hard time at the moment.”