 |
 |
| Sept 1999 - Founder
members Paul (the short fat one) and Rich (the grinning fool)
in Sarajevo. |
April 2001 - Just some
of the expanded Netley Abbey in an underground bar in Poland |
The Netley Abbey Tartan Army (NATA) was first spoken about
in a drunken moment by Rich (The Ladies Man) and Paul (The
Fat Man) sometime between France '98 and Prague in 1999, although
it's hard to pinpoint when and where.
After arguing over the name (Hampshire Tartan Army, Southampton
Tartan Army, South Coast Tartan Army) it was agreed to settle
on the name of the village where Paul, Rich and The Wee Man
had all spent their teenage years (and where Rich and The
Wee Man still live).
It was never intended to expand massively, such are the constraints
of basing our Tartan Army in a small Hampshire village, nonetheless
NATA has taken on cult appeal in attracting new members and
has had a presence at the vast majority of Scotland games
over the past few seasons. The core membership now stretches
from Wareham, Dorset (50 miles to the West), to Worthing,
West Sussex (50 miles to the East), in addition to the various
branches of NATA (Clarkston, Inverness, Garioch and Washington
DC).
Back to top of page
|
|
Netley Abbey is a small coastal village on the eastern boundary
of Southampton (click
here for a map of the region). It takes its name from
an old abbey, and was the site of a famous First World War
hospital (Royal Victoria Hospital - now a country park).
It boasts several pubs, a railway station on the Southampton-Portsmouth
line and even a hotel, however the tourist trade hasn't really
overwhelmed Netley just yet. However the recent launch of
the Rough-ish Guide to Netley Abbey,
published on this very website may well change this. Check
out the guide for a look at what Netley Abbey can offer the
tourist, including sights and a comprehensive Netley Pub Guide.
You can also take a look at two sets of photos in the Photo
Gallery: Set 1 (10 sepia tone photos
taken in 1994) and Set 2 (17
colour photos taken in 2001).
Back to top of page
|
 |
 |
Worthing FC (Sponsor board
at Woodside Road) |
 Clydebank
FC (Sponsor board at Glenhead Park) |
NATA has been proud to sponsor advertising boards at two successful
and well-supported non-league clubs during the 2003-04 season.
Worthing FC, home-town
of Paul and Helen, finished second in Ryman Division One South
this season, and have now been promoted to the Isthmian Premier
Division for 2004-05. Paul and Helen paid for this sponsor
board themselves, and both are Vice President Members of the
Club.
Clydebank FC, re-founded
in time to compete in the Abercorn Central League Division
Two this season, and won it at their first attempt. This board
(well, more of a banner!) was funded by Paul and Helen, with
a substantial contribution from Ally & Susan, Tam Coyle,
Chris Norton and various other Notts Scots.
Back to top of page
|
|
Well, sorry to disappoint, but there's not really much to
join. NATA started off as a bit of a joke, but basically we're
just a group of pals who like to meet up around Scotland matches
for a bevvy and a banter. As you can see from the Travel Page,
we rarely arrive in the country together, and we are spread
far and wide (see the Meet the Boys
page for more details).
The more pro-active NATA members are also members of organised
Tartan Army Clubs. Ally & Sue are members of NOSTA, based
in and around Aberdeen, whilst Paul & Helen are both paid-up
members of Loony Alba (with Chris and Rich as occasional hangers-on)
- Lunnain Albannaich, or London Scottish to us non-Gaelic
speakers.
Due to the geographical location of Netley Abbey, we have
agreed to "affiliate" to Loony Alba, and anyone
wishing to join a Tartan Army Club based in England, we recommend
that you have a look at www.loonyalba.com
Back to top of page
|
|
|
|
Copyright notice:
All photographs on this site are the property of individual members of
the Netley Abbey Tartan Army unless otherwise stated. The copyright of
these images remains with the individual possessing the photographic negatives,
and permission should ideally be sought before copying them. We are keen
to prevent anyone from making financial gain from our copyrighted images,
or bringing the reputation of the Netley Abbey Tartan Army into disrepute
(as we are more than capable of doing this ourselves).
If anyone does wish to use these images and
would like express written consent to do so, please e-mail Paul Allison
using via the contact page.
© Netley Abbey Tartan Army, 2001-2008
(and beyond...)
|
