An eight-year-old boy is sitting in the wooden west stand of Privett Park looking down at the 11 players adorned in the iconic royal blue and gold quartered shirts.

Over 60 years later that same person would still be going to Privett Park, the only difference being he sits opposite the now partly wooden west stand, supporting players wearing the now yellow with blue sleeved jersey of Gosport Borough FC. He wonders why they now play in these colours, when the original Royal Blue and Gold looked so much better!

Peter Mullice will always have in the back of his mind that during those years he had turned out 241 times for Boro’ over two spells and scored 163 first team goals. He was part of the team that won the Hampshire League for the first time in 1977 in which he reverted to a defensive role as sweeper.

Mullice’s world had always been football orientated, as a child his father and grandfather would take him to football matches at Fratton Park. His first exposure to football was in the mid 50’s standing on the old north terrace towards the Fratton End, with 40,000 fans watching the team which included some of the players who had recently won the First Division Championship. His hero was Pompey legend Peter Harris who played on the right wing.

“He was a player who excited the crowd with his speed, crossing and goal scoring ability. My memories of Fratton Park with 40,000 to 45,000 people are quite clear. As he reached his mid-seventies my grandfather preferred to attend reserve games to which we would go. Such matches were capable of attracting crowds of 10,000 people,” said Mullice.

From these times his addiction to football grew and Mullice would go down to Victory Field in Wych Lane, Bridgemary to watch the Portsmouth A and B sides play. Today nothing remains of the pitch surrounded by hedges and which was entered via a five- bar gate. There was a tea hut in one corner of the field and a double-decker bus in the opposite corner which was used as the changing rooms.

“Portsmouth used that field to train both the A and B teams and also play matches. You could see some really good professional players there, players who were perhaps coming towards the end of their careers and players coming back from injury.

“Some of the Pompey greats played there and it is a shame that not more is known about that part of the club’s history. The field is now part of a 60 year old housing estate.”

Mullice attended Holbrook Junior School, where he always dreamed of playing for the football team.

“In the main corridor was a wall with photographs of previous football teams and I would say ‘yeah, I want to be in one of those pictures’. I was fortunate enough to get selected in my third year along with Roger Buckland, and we won the cup and league in the 1955/56 season.

“At that time schools’ football was very, very strong in Gosport and the competition between schools was fierce, so winning leagues and cups were important.”

In 1963, Mullice got his first taste of Youth League football with Paragon FC, a club run initially for ex-Gosport Grammar School pupils and which went on to be a force in local football. As a 17-year-old he played in the youth team which won the league and cup double in the Gosport and Fareham Youth League.

During the three years when he left the area to train as a PE Teacher Mullice would play occasional games for Paragon during vacation times. Returning to Gosport in 1967 to start a teaching career he re-signed for Paragon who had joined the Portsmouth League.

“Paragon played in the Portsmouth League as its top division was considered to be a better standard than the Gosport League. We won promotion to the Portsmouth Premier Division, and as I had scored a fair number of goals other clubs took an interest in me. Players who regularly score goals have the advantage of being noticed more easily.”

Mullice was finally playing at Privett Park, standing opposite the blue and gold jersey he had longed to wear. However, the image he had pictured at eight-years-old hadn’t gone to plan, instead of playing for Gosport Borough, he was playing against them.

The then Waterlooville manager, Arthur Winzar, signed Mullice in 1968. In his debut and only ever match for the club, he scored two goals in a 4-2 victory against Gosport at Privett Park.

“Arthur Winzar, the Waterlooville manager, came in for me towards the end of the 1967/68 season and I signed for them. I played only one game for the club and interestingly enough, it was against the Boro’ at Privett Park.

“Waterlooville ended up winning 4-2, and I managed to scramble a couple of goals. Another Gosport lad Alan Webb, signed the same time as me and he scored the other two goals.”

Mullice’s performance was enough to impress Gosport who went on to sign him. The temptation to play for the club he always wanted to play for was hard to ignore.

“I always wanted to play for Gosport. I’d first gone to Privett Park at the age of eight and appreciated that there was something special about the atmosphere of the place which exists to this day.

“It is a great place to play football and I appreciated that every time I ran out to play. The Royal Blue and Gold strip stood out to me as a kid and as a player I was proud to wear it.”

At the age of 22 the dream of playing for Gosport was now Mullice’s reality. He was now standing side-by-side with players that he had only ever read about. The matches and atmosphere were all meeting his expectations, and playing on local parks in Bridgemary seemed a distant but important memory.

All of this could have easily overwhelmed some players, however Mullice worked-hard and the experienced players around him, such as Tony Milne, the Brickwood brothers (Tony and Graham) and Mick Slaymaker were able to help develop his confidence.

“It didn’t always happen, but I never lost confidence in my ability to score goals.” This confidence and quality allowed Mullice to quickly establish himself as the club’s top goal-scorer. In his first season the 22-year-old scored 64 goals including 5 consecutive hat-tricks spread over the 1968 Christmas period.

“I came into a team with the reputation of a goal scorer and for me to establish myself in the team it was important that I fulfilled that role. I was very fortunate to play in a very useful side and with some very good footballers.

“I was suddenly playing with players that I had only read about in the ‘Football Mail’ and Sunday papers. Playing in your own stadium and playing under floodlights, although they were a bit iffy, had an atmosphere that I wasn’t getting in local parks football, so it was definitely a step up”.

As a result of his goalscoring exploits Mullice gained County recognition and went on to have a trial for the England Amateur Team. This was a game played at the then Chesterfield Ground where the Southern Counties were playing against the Northern Counties.

“We lost 3-1 and although I scored a tap in, it was about the only thing I did that day and that was the end of that.”

He had further representative honours when he played for the FA Elevens against the Royal Navy and British Army at Fratton Park.

After two years Mullice was itching for a new challenge, with his passion and determination for the club not being shown by others, the Bridgemary-born striker decided to leave.

“The competition between Gosport and Fareham was always pretty fierce, and you could get 1,200 people watching these games which were normally the footballing talk of the town. In one cup game after a 2-2 draw at Bath Lane, I thought we had a great chance of winning the replay but we were stuffed 5-0!

“Afterwards absolutely nothing was said and it seemed to me that it didn’t really matter, but to me it did. I think at that time the club had lost its way a bit, it was somewhat complacent and lacking in ambition. I had just received an offer from Alton, and I thought I’ll go and give it a go. I also think I just wanted to experience another good club”.

Despite enjoying his two years at Alton, where he won the Hampshire Senior Cup and reached the first round of the FA Cup, the nagging voice in the back of Mullice’s head had always called him back to Gosport. In 1972, when Alton was moving to play in the London based Athenian League, it seemed to be a good moment to return. He knew his heart was always destined for Privett Park.

“Things were changing at Gosport. No disrespect to some of the other players from before who were getting on a bit, but now there was a younger and talented team. At Alton we had won the Hampshire Senior Cup, and got to the first proper round of the FA Cup, the only thing I hadn’t won at the time was the Hampshire league, and with Gosport I thought there might be a chance.”

Mullice was part of a team, which had talented young players, such as Tony Mahoney, Richie Coulbert, Gary Juryeff, Graham Wake and Neville Woodd who would go on to be future club legends. The club was moving forwards, with Gosport now dominant when it came to its rivalry with Fareham.

“I was at the cusp of an emerging team although there was some crossover, my time as a first team player was running out. I was born a little too early to play very much in what I consider the best team I ever saw at Gosport!”

As the years went on, Mullice's position in the squad changed, the inevitable loss of real pace due to injuries and age meant he became a sweeper instead of a striker. However, with talented players around him and though he would never mention it, his excellent footballing brain, Mullice adapted well to the position of sweeper.

“As a striker, if you lose that half-yard of pace you lose 15 goals, and I always thought that the basic requirement for a striker was to score a minimum of 30 goals a season, so it seemed an ideal solution to play in a defensive position of which I had previous experience.

“When you’ve got Tony Milne behind you, who was commanding in the air and always prepared to come out for the ball, and you’ve got Tony Mahoney in front of you attacking and usually winning the ball, then sweeping behind and organising the defence becomes a real pleasure. Playing as a sweeper the game is in front of you and being able to read the game, with a talented side around you, it’s a lovely position to play.”

In his last season before retiring in 1977, Mullice was able to tick off his final ambition in football, to win the Hampshire league title. It was the first league title for Gosport Borough in 31 seasons. Their previous league success had been in 1945 when they won the Portsmouth and District League Division One title. This was a side managed by former Southampton player and Boro’ manager Stan Cribb, and included players such as Jimmy Scoular and Peter Harris.

The pressure of former players and fans around the club, reminding Mullice and the rest of the side how long the wait had been for league success, didn’t phase him. Though they made a nervy start in their title winning match against Swaythling Athletic, they got across the line with a 1-0 victory, a testament to the character of the young Gosport Borough side.

“When I started playing there were people who had been associated with the club since its formation, and were still there after I had left.” said Mullice.

“We had a loyal supporter called Vic Bray who was paraplegic, shot during the war by an Italian sniper. He ended up at Stoke Mandeville Hospital and couldn’t walk without sticks. Legend has it that he would discharge himself from hospital and get himself Gosport to attend matches, he would then return to hospital after the match.

“In my time he would drive himself and his son Richard to home and away matches where his rallying call of ‘come on my lovelies’ would ring out accompanied by a raucous rattle. The Boro’ was an important part of his life, he was a real character and it is unlikely that Gosport ever had a more dedicated and committed supporter.

“Bill Adams was also a permanent presence and a very much respected secretary for 50 years since the club’s founding in 1944”.

After his retirement, Mullice’s association with the club didn’t stop, becoming head coach of Gosport Reserves for two seasons until it was disbanded when the club entered the Southern League. He then became assistant manager to Tony Brickwood and Peter Edgar.

“These were obvious steps for me to make as I was wanting to give something back to the club that had given me so much. Nothing ever replaces playing and to be part of a team in the dressing room. That joint experience of the pleasure of winning together and occasionally having to stomach a disappointing loss, is irreplaceable. In my experience there is nothing football wise that compares to being part of that collective.”

Though Mullice had formed relations with some of the players during his playing career, he relished the chance of being a coach and taking charge of training sessions, as shown previously in his playing career, never afraid to take on a new challenge.

Testing them to the limits of fitness, especially during pre-season, to find out who was willing to work hard for the team and who was not, Mullice put the team through their paces with endless running up and down the beaches of Stokes Bay and the earth banks surrounding Fort Gilkicker.

“I took to the role fairly easily and I’ve always thought that fitness was the be all and end all. There are plenty of talented players around, but if they’re not committed to getting themselves fully fit then I don’t care how good they are, they are never going to be as effective as they otherwise might be.

“Some didn’t appreciate my methods but there was only one team I ever saw beat us for fitness at Southern League level, that was Corby Town, a team of hyperactive Scottish steelworkers.”

As Mullice chuckled away to himself, those methods perfectly defined him as a player and a coach. Someone whose heart always bled the Royal Blue and Gold of Gosport. The passion and determination which defined an 8-year-old Mullice watching his first game at Privett Park, is the same passion he shows when he goes and watches Gosport Borough play now.