Ken: Gday Brute

Scott: How are you Ken

Hi its Scott Towers-Hammond here at the present time I’m interviewing in an historic situation and that is the first Quiet Word With segment of the Chelsea Old Mates Website and we’ve selected the Elder Prop, Ken Vessey. Oh well to kick things off Ken when and where were you born ?

Ken: I was born in Sydney at the Crown St Women’s Hospital at Crown St Surry Hills on the 4th November 1943.

Scott: What’s your earliest memories as a child?

Ken: Earlier days growing up in Zamia St Redfern, 36 Zamia St Redfern to be exact, creating a lot of good friendships with kids I went to school with not only at primary but secondary schools and then playing football with them for Chelsea and having a very loving Mum and sister Fay.

Scott: Alright describe your sister to me

Ken: Unfortunately Fay she died a couple of years ago, she was a very good sister and a caring mother to her children 3 children, just a lovely woman, she never complained about anything, Fay was 4 years older than me and sadly she passed away and she is in all our memories, she was a good sister, she looked after me as a young kid.

Scott: oh that’s good, can you actually describe where you grew up in the neighbourhood that sort of thing

Ken: Yeah well initially early memories of my childhood we lived as I say in Zamia St Redfern where all the kids use to play in the street the cricket matches, the bonfires, the whole neighbourhood was a friendly mob where you could leave your front door open and there were no troubles with anyone coming in and robbing you and everyone looked after one another.
I went to Bourke St Primary School and subsequently to Paddington Junior Tech, we moved from Redfern for a short time up to East Bankstown and then back into the City to the Housing Commission flats up in Devonshire St Surry Hills, where I had the pleasure to know and live opposite Kate Leigh who had a home there and always used to give me some pocket money plus Kate had a nephew who was champion bloke named Billy Beahan and he used to let me work in his greengrocers come grocery shop which was in front of Kate’s home , so my teenager days were lived out and around Devonshire St Surry Hills and knocking around the guys I grew up with all my life from Redfern and Surry Hills.

Scott: And what did you actually want to be when you grew up?

Ken: Well actually I wanted to be a policeman. My grandfather was a policeman in England but unfortunately I wore glasses and back in those days you couldn’t be a policeman if you wore glasses so not being able to be a policeman I went for the Commonwealth Public Service exam, the Commonwealth Bank exam and got a job in the Commonwealth Public Service, that was the start of a real good time in my life.
I was told as a young kid of 16 years old to go down to Customs House at Circular Quay and that’s where I worked for 30 years in various locations for the Customs Department, so I turned into a Customs Officer and they were wonderful years of learning and I made a lot of good friendships through the Customs Dept.

Scott: Right just going back a little bit before that mate what sort of person were you as a teenager and what sort of fun did you have or what did kids your age do for fun those days?

Ken: Well I probably wasn’t as grumpy as I can be now, we got up to all sorts of things as a young kids did, I remember a rather sorrowful recollection which I told my little grandson Quinn the other day of how I painted our doctor’s car with a few other mates in Zamia St when he just happened to be visiting either my Mother or Father who were sick, the doctors use to make home visits, but growing up I think all kids back in those days were either a paper boy or worked in a shop, there were no McDonalds or Kentucky Fried Chicken in those days, so you scratched around and got your pocket money as a paper boy or if you were lucky and had a couple of nice uncles, as I did, they looked after you, gee I was a normal type kid who loved playing sport certainly loved playing Rugby League

Scott: What was your favourite music back then?

Ken: Probably rock n roll, I went down to Sydney Stadium and saw Bill Haley, Buddy Holly and all those overseas artists including Crash Craddock

Scott: Boom Boom Baby

Ken: Boom Boom Baby yeah yeah we use to chase the boom boom babies actually I think a couple of mates and myself each bought a Crash Craddock V neck jumper with the little chain across the chest, so yeah rock n roll music.

Scott: What was the most valuable thing to you that you owned during your teenage years and why do you class it as being valuable?

Ken: When you say teenagers up to what years?

Scott: Up to about 19

Ken: Well I never had a car until I was 21 or 22…I didn’t have any real material needs or things but I suppose my football boots which I bought from good old Harry Blandy for a cheap price were my most cherished things.

Scott: Well you mentioned your football boots, the Chelsea years, when did you first come in contact with Chelsea and probably another interesting thing would be who actually brought you along ?

Ken: Well 1956 was the first year of F Grade in South’s Junior League and a couple of mates where I lived around Zamia St and Baptist Sts said let’s go over and try out, one was Terry Murray who I am pleased to say is now an Old Mate of Chelsea, we’ve just got back into contact after a long absence of really seeing one another since about 1978.
Bobby Degan, Herbie Martin, Billy Harvey and Noel Brown were also in the side and a few other guys who lived around my area.
Also one of my uncles Jacky Vessey was a mate of Bernie Purcell and he said go over there for a game, so as a group of young kids we went over there and played for Chelsea in F Grade. Also in the team and another good mate, who I went to school with and he lived up in Surry Hills too,Brian Fuz who has sadly passed away but probably was one of the most prolific footballers we’ve even seen and could have gone a long way in the game except he lost interest in rugby league in his teenage years.
So we turned up there and went through the competition undefeated and were beaten in the grand final by Mascot 3 to nil and that’s about my recollections on how I went to Chelsea and who brought me to there, you know I met a lot of good guys and many of us are still mates today and sadly a few of them have passed away.

Scott: Did you play for anybody else as well?

Ken: Yes I did, when I finished high school and joined the Customs Dept I took a bit of good advice but at the time I didn’t think it was good advice because I hated school. I went to Cleveland St Evening College and got my Leaving Certificate as it was known in those years…

Scott: I went there….laughter

Ken: A lot of brainy people went there Scott including us 2…laughter…I was going there 4 nights a week and couldn’t train for Chelsea, and if you didn’t train you couldn’t play so after the first year at night school during which I didn’t play football as a promise to my Mum, I use to throw my football boots out of my bedroom window every Friday morning so I could go training on a Friday night with Moore Park who trained on Wednesdays and Fridays, so I played with Moore Park for 2 years and naturally received a hell of a thumping whenever we played Chelsea.
As soon I got my Leaving Certificate even though I enjoyed my football with Moore Park and met a lot of good mates including Bob McCarthy and Alan Hogden plus coached by the likes of Tony Rappa, I returned to Chelsea and took 2 mates Tommy Ford and Johnny Beardsley with me. I played from 1960 through to 1964 with Chelsea. The 3 of us didn’t really relish our games against Moore Park because they were pretty tough and they didn’t like you to leave their Club.

Scott: I can imagine, did you go on and play rep football at all?

Ken: No sadly I didn’t, if you ask me what one of my playing ambitions was after Presidents Cup in 1963 and 1964, I would have loved to have gone on and played grade for South’s but I didn’t achieve that and that’s one of my disappointments, not that I have many but apart from a bit of a highlight in playing President’s Cup under coach Clem Kennedy and with so many other good players, I never got to play grade football and that’s one of my big regrets particularly as I still love and support the Rabbitoh’s.

Scott: Did you keep in contact with many of your team mates at all?

Ken: Yes particularly with Johnny Beardsley, Tommy Ford, Colin Downing and David Martin, but over the years when you are at work, I travelled around a bit and did not necessarily always live in Sydney plus working overseas a few times, my contact was not as great as I would of liked but I always use to see Barry Atkinson and my team mates at the Chelsea reunions, but since retiring 4 years ago I’ve had greater contact with the likes of Warren Thompson, Freddy Hailwood, Larry Gaffney, Allan Webb, Terry Murray and Brian Finnigan to name a few and a lot of other guys through our Old Mates’ Days and Reunions.
That’s one of the good things that when you see one another it’s just like we met yesterday and you might be in a room with 60 blokes and there are so many good memories and stories from the past and present and guys my age and younger. So yes I have kept in contact with a few continually over the years but in the last 4 or 5 years I’m glad that contact has grown.

Scott: Is there one you haven’t seen in ages that you would love to really track down

Ken: Well just recently through Facebook, Terry Murray and I made the reconnection and that’s been really good, we see each other regularly and now he is a Chelsea Old Mate and it was just so unlucky that he made contact with me about 3 days after the last Chelsea Reunion and I think he fell out of his chair when I told him what the Reunion was and who was there, because he played a couple of years with Chelsea. So there is Terry and there is one friend of many years from the Customs Dept that I have lost contact with, but all my football mates and the guys I’ve grown up with I see now quite regularly and it’s a nice feeling.

Scott: When did you meet your spouse?

Ken: I met my spouse in 1964 on a blind date….

Scott: I was going to ask how you were attracted to each other, so the blind date would probably explain that.

Ken: I was in love at my first sighting of Judy. I don’t know what she saw in me and today is our 46th year anniversary, we got married on the 3rd February 1966. I was playing President’s Cup in 1963 with David Martin and we had to go to a South Sydney ball and naturally my main interest was football and I didn’t want do anything but knock around with Johnny Beardsley and Tommy Ford playing football and on a Friday and Saturday nights go to the pub, to the movies or play snooker.
Anyway David said his fiancé knew a nice girl who lived across the road from her so we went out on a blind date with the whole idea if Judy liked me and I liked her we would go to the ball and it went on from there and I was never a good dancer and I am still not and I don’t know how I got past the ball

Scott: Well you are not a back mate.

Ken: Well us forwards know the readers will understand that forwards don’t have to explain themselves mate, we’ll convince you that you have been brainwashed by Thommo and Colin Rex Downing….
So that’s how I met Judy and we went on from there and a couple of years after that we got engaged on my 21st birthday and then got married in 1966 having met midyear in 1964. It is the BEST thing ever to happen to me.

Scott: Any kids, grandkids?

Ken: Yes I have 2 daughters, Danielle is the eldest and Shannon is the youngest and have 3 grandsons Quinn is 7, Edward is 2 1/2 and Hugo is about 18 months and they have extremely good husbands Chris and Mat and it’s a really happy family unit. I am really enjoying being a grandfather. I have a mate of mine Bruce who I have always admired how he has such a good relationship with about 6 or 7 grandchildren and I have always hoped to emulate him and I think I am going a long way towards that, I really enjoy being a grandfather.

Scott: Now when you’re away from the kids what do you do for recreation?

Ken: Well I get on the computer too often as Judy tells me, I’m tied up with Men Of League on the Northern Sydney Committee of MOL where I do some work on the welfare side with a Customs mate and an ex South Sydney player Fred Jackson and I really enjoy that. I enjoy playing golf and have a game of golf at least once a week with a long standing friend and I love going to see South Sydney play.
I love travel and Judy and I have always loved travel and we do that as much as we can with a bit of planning and just love being around the grandkids and being involved in the family.

Scott: What’s the most important thing in your life now?

Ken: Having a healthy family, with the health of all my family especially of my wife Judy, our 2 daughters, 2 son in-laws and the 3 grandkids and being well within myself and trying to stay on the bright side of life.

Scott: Health is everything….

Ken: It certainly is….

Scott: Looking back on your life you’ve gone through a fair few things you’ve explained to me there is one thing we didn’t go through, you started at Customs House and was there anything else you did in your working life ?

Ken: Yes I started with Customs at the age of 16 and had some wonderful work experiences, I was fortunate to be sent to England for 3 years from 1980 as a Customs Rep at the High Commission, London and upon returning I really enjoyed my job in Customs, when an ex Customs colleague who had semi-retired and was working for the accounting firm Price Waterhouse as a Customs Consultant approached me in 1987 and said their looking for people and he could get me an interview.
So I went in for an interview thinking nothing lost /nothing gained to talk and I met a guy I really admire called Geoff Pahoff and it was probably one of the hardest decisions I ever made to resign from Customs, so I joined Customs at 16 and left at 44 and it was a difficult decision to make but I joined Price Waterhouse in 1987 and worked there for 19 1/2 years, so in my working life I only ever had 2 jobs.
Moving to Price Waterhouse obviously in private enterprise the money and rewards were a lot better, the demands far greater and in the early years it wasn’t easy because your work time had to be fully utilised but when I look back having retired from there in 2007 which included 5 1/2 years working in Shanghai for them it was probably one of the best decisions I have ever made except it was a very hard at the beginning however I have no regrets because I got the best from both experiences and I still have friends I see ex Customs and I still have friends I see ex Price Waterhouse.
So that was my working career and I was lucky as a kid at the age of 16 being told to go down to the Customs Dept there is a job for you and through working with a lot of excellent older guys, that had sons my age, and the advice they gave us, me and my mates, was the best kick start in the education of life one could acquire.

Scott: So when you look back on your life would you change anything?

Ken: No, no not a thing, when I look back, I have a wonderful wife Judy, I have a good family, we have been pretty well free of sickness, I have a few deep regrets as a kid in that my Mum and Dad split up when I was very young but overall NO there is not anything I would change.

Scott: What do you reckon is your greatest achievement in life and most proud of?

Ken: Beyond any doubt my family comes first, but I’m inwardly proud of the fact that I worked hard in the 2 jobs I had and I enjoyed some successes and my greatest achievement would be through those successes I was able to bring a lot of joy and happiness to my family and provide them with a lot of things.
When we lived in Shanghai the family would visit and saw us a lot and the achievement was that apart from my family that I am so proud of, I enjoyed success at work and through that success I was able to provide I think a lot to my family and that’s come to bear fruit today and we enjoy our life and we are a close knit family.
Scott: Is there anything else you want to say mate?

Ken: Not much else except I want you to put this on record that the 4 wise monkeys as we call ourselves, that’s Colin Downing, Warren Thompson, Alan Webb and myself really appreciate what you’ve done for us with this wonderful website and for these Quiet Word With interviews and I just hope and I would encourage all the guys who are Chelsea Old Mates and it’s not just Chelsea but any of our mates we use to play with or against in the past, to participate in these Quiet Word With interviews knowing that anything that doesn’t need to be recorded won’t be recorded but I encourage all of the guys who go to our functions to please try and get the time to complete an interview, let’s see your views and find out the inner being of you anyway. But I thank you for the opportunity Scott.

Scott: No problem at all

Ken: Alright mate and thanks for everything you’ve done for us Ok.

Scott: Not a worry mate