Former Middlesbrough star Alan Peacock shares memories at exhibition to raise dementia awareness
Video report by Kris Jepson.
A former England footballer has shared memorabilia from his career at an exhibition to raise awareness of dementia.
Former Middlesbrough and England player Alan Peacock is taking part in the Stockton exhibition following his own diagnosis with the disease.
The 85-year-old was diagnosed with dementia in 2021.
His memorabilia, which included a signed Middlesbrough and England shirts, programmes, and photographs has been on display in Stockton, in partnership with Middlesbrough FC Foundation.
He said: "I didn’t realise there was so much. The players that’s involved, you know, I can look back and think oh yes I remember this and remember that."
Peacock scored 125 goals in 218 appearances for Middlesbrough, but it was his six caps and three goals for England that he said he cherishes the most.
He said: "Oh that was another world, living in another world, you know, even when I was a schoolboy, you know, playing for England boys and that, you know, it was a big thing for me."
He regularly visits care homes in the North East to share his stories with residents during reminiscence therapy sessions. This is something he enjoys because it helps him remember parts of his life and footballing career too.
He added: "It’s unbelievable the amount of people that come to me and talk to me about football and myself and things like that, you know, and I’m having to think about it all.
"I enjoy going round. It’s nice to go around there and people coming in and it brings back memories for me."
Middlesbrough FC Foundation's Alan Geddes works closely with Alan and said when he visits the care homes you can see the "heads of the residents life up" as they enjoy the engagement with one of their old heroes.
He said: "They recognise him straight away. They remember him and he has conversations about Brian Clough, about Johnny Spuhler, about the other players that played around him at the time and it’s great because it evokes memories and allows Alan to reminisce as well."
Hosted by Joslin Rhodes financial advisor, Neil Parker, added: "Oh, it’s massive, I mean this nostalgia really helps people with dementia and Alan’s done a lot of great work when he goes around the care homes with his box of memories, helping people remember those times and it’s a real comfort to them, so it’s massively important for the people of Teesside."
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