Pools fan Mark Carroll couldn’t believe his eyes when he answered his front door to find midfield star Josh Hawkes personally delivering his match-worn shirt.
When we spotted that dedicated supporter Mark had bought Josh Hawkes’ match-worn poppy shirt we thought we would surprise him – by sending the young Pools star round to present it to him in person!
We made all of the Remembrance Day shirts worn by the players in our FA Cup tie at Gillingham available for sale in order to raise further funds for the British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.
And Mark – who is a familiar face on the terraces both home and away – snapped up Josh’s shirt and asked whether we could arrange for the young midfield star to sign it for him.
“We thought we could go one better than simply having Josh autograph it,” explained Chief Executive Mark Maguire.
“As a show of our respect for the amount of time, effort and money he’s put in to supporting the Club over such a long period we decided to turn up at his house with Josh to sign it for him personally.”
Mark has missed only two games since 2006 – away trips to Shrewsbury Town and Portsmouth in 2015 when he in the midst of planning his wedding, at which H’Angus the Monkey was a guest!
“The players see Mark in the stands all over the country so it was great to be able to meet him and present him with the shirt,” said Hawkes.
“It’s only a small gesture and it didn’t cost us anything but hopefully it lets him know how much all the lads appreciate the miles he does to back us at every game. It’s amazing really.”