Over the last two years, Reds in the Community’s ‘Our Club, Our Ground, Our Past, Our Future’ campaign has been telling the story of Barnsley Football Club through the memories of its supporters and community.

In January 2019, we were proud to unveil the Heritage Project displays in the Oakwell East Stand concourse which detail the proud history of the Reds through the eyes of supporters and club legends.

The project has been supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) and South West Partnership NHS Foundation Trust while the displays were designed by Office of Craig.

As part of the ‘Our Club, Our Ground, Our Past, Our Future’ campaign, a group of volunteers have interviewed significant figures in the history of Barnsley FC.

While the displays are now complete, the history of the Reds is ongoing and therefore, Reds in the Community and the Heritage Project volunteers are going to continue to interview figures from the club’s history moving forward.

Former Reds midfielder Ian Banks recently contributed some of his Barnsley FC memories to the project.

Reflecting back on his time at Oakwell, Ian fondly remembers the 4-2 win over Rotherham in the 1981/82 season as one of the standout moments from his time with the club.

He said: “My hattrick against Rotherham was a bit special.

“We went 1-0 down and for the first goal, I headed the ball down, and Derek Parker nicked it back and volleyed it in to make it 1-1.

“Looking back at the game on YouTube, the fans behind that goal were piled in and they were going mad! It meant so much to them!

“As the game went on, we went 2-1 down and then late on, we got a penalty, then the overhead kick happened and right at the end I managed to break away and score again. Being a local lad it meant a lot.”

That same season, Ian was proudly selected as part of the PFA Team of the Year for Division Two, as voted for by his fellow professional players.

Speaking about that, he added: “I think I won Barley Water Young Player of the Year that season as well.

“I was only 19 at the time and it’s the ultimate when your peers vote you in. I can’t take all of the credit for it though because we had a such a great balanced side.

“We had everything. We had players who could defend, a midfield who stopped attacks and scored goals, a winger who created chances and two strikers up top who could score.”

Watch the video to hear more of Ian’s story.