OLD teammates and school pals turned out to mourn a former Bedworth soccer starlet who went on to play in the top flight of English football. Peter Hinde joined Aston Villa after chalking up a string of schoolboy representative honours, including being a member of the England Under-15s squad. His professional career was cut short by injury but he went on to play non-league with Moor Green, Bedworth and Rugby. He later suffered heart problems and died last month in Nottingham Cardiac Centre, aged 68. Peter was born in Ansty and went to Nicholas Chamberlaine School where he was a member of the soccer team which went unbeaten for several seasons – earning him selection for the Coventry & District and Birmingham Schools’ sides. Among the mourners at his funeral in North Collingham, near Newark, was a teammate from those days, Bob Cole, the former Coventry Telegraph photographer. He said: “Peter was a very cultured right back, while I played in goal. We were part of a very good Coventry & District team, which also included Dietmar Bruck, who became one of Jimmy Hill’s Sky Blues heroes. “All our home games were staged at the Butts Stadium but we had an English Trophy tie away to Brierley Hill in front of a crowd of 3,000. “Another memorable game was when we played against London Schools under floodlights at Upton Park. “Coventry won 4-2 against a strong London side who included England’s future World Cup Final star Martin Peters.” After finishing at Villa, Peter worked for Peugeot at Ryton for some time. He then went on to become a health and safety officer with Siemens on the south coast. In his retirement he moved to live in Nottinghamshire where he continued to pursue his sporting hobbies, turning out for the local cricket and bowls teams. Bob added: “We kept in touch over the years and I had planned to visit him over Christmas, but it was not to be. His death came as a shock but nothing can replace the wonderful sporting memories we shared.” | 
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