Often, particularly mid week matches up north, there could be significantly less. The ranks would sometimes be swelled by several hundred regular supporters, so called scarfers (non violent). The West Ham mob consisted of between 300 to 400 individuals. It was more of an umbrella name given to the combined firms who all came together for the away games. The ICF got going around 1978 and carried through to the '90's. The main ones being the Mile End ('67 to around '74) and the TBF ('70's & '80's). 1967 - 1985) and before I realised the error of my ways and retired I was an active member of the West Ham mob, which was made up of several different firms from around the East End and parts of Essex. It might be helpful to some, particularly our American and Canadian cousins, to have a little background information on the West Ham following over the years. has been interesting reading the comments here. It is from here that Matt learns the truth about Pete and his friends- they are football hooligans, operating the GSE (Green Street Elite) 'firm.' Initially afraid of the violence, Matt soon ends up becoming as desensitized to it as his new found friends - but as events roll on, suspicion, shocking revelations and unsettled scores combine to a devastating climax where London's most fierce football rivals - Millwall and West Ham United - are set to go head to head. On the way back from a football match, Matt is viciously accosted by a gang of Birmingham City thugs, until Pete and his friends step in and save him. Initially, Pete is reluctant to get acquainted with Matt and allow him to tread around the capital city with him because he may be seen by others as an 'outsider', but after a heavy drinking session with him and his mates he quickly changes his opinion of him. He is quickly introduced to Steve's chirpy, cock-sure younger brother Pete. Eventually, "atlas" came to be used for any book of maps.Unjustly expelled from Harvard when a stash of cocaine is found in his possession, Matt moves to London to live with his sister and her husband Steve. This was the first time the term was applied to a collection of maps. Mercator showed King Atlas to demonstrate his importance to navigation. Celestial globes were very important in navigation, when sailors used stars to determine their position at sea. A celestial globe is a ball-shaped map of the stars and constellations. King Atlas invented the first celestial globe. Atlas referred to a portrait of King Atlas, a mythical African monarch.
In 1595, a collection of maps prepared by the Flemish mapmaker Gerardus Mercator was published with the word "atlas" in the title.
As European explorers mapped the " New World" (the Americas), they also updated atlases with their discoveries. They depended on atlases to guide them through unfamiliar territory. During this time, European and Asian countries were exploring the world through trade and colonization. Population statistics, the location of natural resources, cultural and religious information and political data are frequently found in an atlas.Īlthough people have been using maps for thousands of years, civilizations really didnt begin producing large atlases until the 1500s. Individual maps of major cities or other points of interest may also be included in a world atlas. There are also star atlases, which give the location and placement of stars, planets and other celestial objects.īesides showing maps of all the countries and continents, a world atlas may also provide facts about the countries. There are many kinds of specialized atlases, such as road atlases and historical atlases. Many atlases also contain facts and history about certain places. An atlas is a book or collection of maps.