The lure of this weekend's trip to Derby County lies very much in the prospect of an eventual day out in May at the Wembley FA Cup Final - the highlight of the season for supporters of the two clubs lucky enough to get that far.

North End travelled to the famous venue for two unsuccessful finals in 1954 and 1964, but their last visit to the old Twin Towers before the outbreak of World War II was a far more joyous occasion, with George Mutch's penalty handing Preston a 1-0 victory in the 1938 final.

Thousands of Prestonians travelled south for the big day, though sadly very few live to tell the tale to this day. One of the living PNE fans who witnessed the spectacle was Jack Davies, now 87, who ventured to London on a trip organised through his work colleagues.

His son, Darryl, recently recounted the day with his father, and has now provided us with this fascinating insight into life as a North Ender in the 1930s, and how his life progressed after the big day. Darryl explains:

"Jack Davies was 16 at the time of the FA Cup Final in 1938. He had left school and worked for a company in Preston called Merrigolds. They owned a sports shop, a garage and a removal firm. Jack worked in the garage where he served his time as a mechanic, and he attended Preston Technical College in the evenings where he studied engineering.

"The organiser of the Wembley trip was Jack Grey who worked for Merrigold as a painter. He painted cars and signs. He was friendly with Joe Hodgson who was the owner of Bon Chance coaches in Preston - this is where he got the tickets. The party consisted of Jack Grey, Bert Ratcliffe, Ronald Ratcliffe, Tommy Bent, Bob Grundy and Jack Davies. Bert Ratcliffe lived near the Pig and Whistle on the Blackpool Road, which could have been called Addison Road then if memory serves correctly!

"They travelled by Bon Chance coach to Wembley and the trip took eight hours. They made one stop on the way and drove straight to Wembley.

"Jack did not know whether the match was televised at the time. (The game turned out to be the first football match broadcast on British television and on its 70th anniversary it will be subject to a special feature in 'Four Four Two' magazine). There were no TVs in Preston in those days and he did not see any cameras or commentators. He did, though, see a helicopter for the first time (this may have been involved with TV).

"He remembers seeing the King (George VI) being presented to the players and remembers the game being a bit negative. He was stood behind the goal where George Mutch scored the penalty to win the cup for Preston.

"He did not see much of the Huddersfield supporters before, during or after the game, but he said there was no trouble. The thing that frightened him was when they came out of the ground. So many people all leaving at once, he thought he was going to be knocked over or get lost.

"Supporters at that time did not wear replica shirts. They wore scarves and rosettes. He did not see many rattles as there was very little room on the ground. There was little singing at the game only cheering. He remembers the community signing before the game.

"After the match itself the bus took them into London and dropped them off at Euston station where they went on the underground. He ate in Lyons Coventry Street Corner House where he had bacon and egg with fried bread. All the members of the party went drinking in the West End, but Jack was underage, so he went on his own sightseeing tour of London. He remembers visiting the Houses of Parliament and Buckingham Palace.

"They met back at Euston at about 11pm and drove back to Preston. Jack saw the game in the cinema later on Pathe News. He said coverage was quite good.

"War broke out the following year. Jack wasn't eighteen until September 21^st and on or around his birthday he volunteered to join the RAF. Because by this time he had some good qualifications he got a job in the RAF servicing the boats in the Air Sea Rescue rising to the rank of 1^st Engineer. He travelled all over the world during World War II. He made lots of friends.

"He told me an interesting story when he was stationed at Dover. He was stationed in barracks there and one night he decided to go for a drink with a friend. In the pub they met a couple of girls when the air raid sirens went. As the two boys were technicians they had a pass to go to any air raid shelter so they accompanied the two girls to the nearest one.

"After the raid they returned to the barracks only to find that they had been completely bombed. Lots of Jack's friends were killed. He didn't know whether to feel lucky or guilty that he had gone out that night."

Many thanks to Jack for the memories and to Darryl for transcribing them and sharing them with us. If you've got any insights into great PNE matches of the past, please feel free to get in touch via media@pne.com.