Philip Barker: Britain greeted entry into EEC with pomp, ceremony and a unique football match

Philip Barker: Britain greeted entry into EEC with pomp, ceremony and a unique football match

In 1973, the combined bands of the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards played the European anthem, Wembley switched on new and improved floodlights and Bobby Charlton made his final appearance at the famous old stadium in a special football match to celebrate Great Britain’s entry into the "Common Market" known more formally as the European Economic Community (EEC). There was even an Irish backstop, goalkeeper Pat Jennings.