The excitement of Watford FC’s promotion to the Premier League is gathering pace, I know, for many of the team’s fans. And between now and the start of the season in just over a month’s time, the team will play a number of pre-season friendlies against teams including three in Germany.

Now that may be exciting enough. But back in 1983, the Hornets embarked on a  pre-season tour was in a different league entirely. For that year, the club went to China and took part in a short tour which, in the words of director Muir Stratford, proved to be the trip of a lifetime.

The Watford Observer reported the tour extensively in the papers of June 1983. Here’s what happened.

It was on June 1, 1983, in front of a crowd of 80,000 and with the temperature in the mid-90s that Watford opened their tour with a 3-1 win against the host national side.

The hero of the hour was 19-year-old debutant Ian Richardson who less than six months previously had been playing in front of a handful of people while on loan to Fourth Division Blackpool.

“In his first senior game, and being watched by an estimated television audience of 400 million, Richardson scored twice in the magnificent Peking Workers’ Stadium to silence the packed arena, which was full of bike-riding Chinese,” the report states.

Apparently Richardson, who had been top goalscorer in the reserves the previous season, only got the chance to play because Luther Blissett, John Barnes, Gerry Armstrong and Kenny Jackett were all on international duty.

Anyway, club secretary Eddie Plumley enthused over the match. “It was steaming hot and the players worked very hard,” he’s quoted as saying. “China played well and without a couple of brilliant saves from Sherwood it might have been a different story.”

The report continues: “The massive 80,000 appreciative crowd was the largest a Watford side have ever played in front of.”

Those international players I mentioned were due to arrive in time for the second match of the tour, in Shanghai on Sunday [June 5] in the Jiangwan Stadium, against a Shanghai XI.

And so it proved, with 40,000 watching Shanghai striker Xi Zhkanh head the home side in front before Steve Terry and Nigel Callaghan scored one each to lead the Hornets into the third match with a 100 per cent record.

“Watford return from their victorious tour of China today [Friday, June 10] to be greeted with news of record season ticket sales,” the Watford Observer reported that day.

“The Hornets thrashed the China National team 5-1 on Tuesday to complete their marvellously successful 13-day pilgrimage with a 100 per cent record.

“And ticket manager Roger Fleming’s announcement on sales will be a further boost to manager Graham Taylor and the 30-man Watford party.”

The paper reported “delighted Fleming” as saying: “We have already sold more season tickets than ever before.”

But back to that final match. “The Hornets, who have made such a big impression – both on and off the field – in China, left their brand of attacking football indelibly stamped on the minds of the Chinese followers.

“In the magnificent Peking Workers’ stadium, scene of their 3-1 triumph in the opening match last Wednesday, Watford again endeared themselves to the 70,000 enthusiastic spectators and the millions of television watchers.”

Anyway, the Hornets were 2-0 up after only 17 minutes and despite substituting their goalkeeper, the “bewildered” Chinese went in at half time trailing 4-0, a thundering left-foot shot from Kenny Jackett and other goals from Barnes and Blissett (2).

A penalty made it 4-1, but a fifth Watford goal, again from Barnes, completed the rout.

Manager Graham Taylor was quoted in a national newspaper as saying: “When we beat them last week, they played impressively and well enough to have won. But they bored 70,000 people silly tonight.

“If they feel this is what they have to learn in order to be a top footballing country then I’m afraid they are sadly mistaken,” he said.

And there ends Watford’s triumphant pre-season tour of China – except for some quotes from Muir Stratford’s tour diary, also published in the Watford Observer. It makes for a fascinating read, but there isn’t room to publish it all again verbatim, so here are a few of the highlights:

Wednesday, June 1: This was the day of our opening match in the evening at the impressive Workers Stadium. While the players trained, the officials visited the China National Children’s Centre to honour Children’s Day in China. Our arrival here, as honoured visitors, was greeted by a band in colourful costume.

We were shown many of the activities at this centre of experiment and research for the promotion of afterschool education of children. Although in an early stage of development, several halls are now open, but the over-riding memory will always be the efforts of Elton John, Geoff Smith and Eddie Plumley playing table tennis with their newly found friends.

The match produced a 3-1 win before 80,000 people and an estimated TV audience of 400 million – the mind boggles! Perhaps, however, the over-riding memory is of 70,000 people arriving on bicycles to watch a football match – how would the town of Watford cope with that?

Throughout the whole of our time in China, we were treated, as a party, with outstanding kindness and consideration – we were certainly VIPs. China boasts few, if any, privately-owned cars. All cars are company-owned as are the numerous vans/lorries seen in Peking and other major cities. All high-ranking Chinese officials go around in luxury Red Flag limousines, two of which were permanently allocated to our party, for the use of Jack Perry and Sir Stanley Rous. In addition, a minibus was provided for the other officials and a coach for the players.

Saturday, June 4: Shanghai. A quick visit to the Friendship Store. Friendship Stores are for visitors to do their main shopping in the major Chinese cities and are not open to local Chinese inhabitants. During the course of our stay in China, considerable shopping was done by members of the party, the favoured and very reasonable items being silks, rugs, suitcases, handbags, blouses, T-shirts, cashmere sweaters, jade, jewellery, antiques and so on.

The river cruise on the Huangpu river proved one of the outstanding events of the tour, being a 3½-hour round trip covering 60 kilometres right down to the point where the Huangpu meets up with the mighty Yangtze River. The boat involved is the largest twin-hulled boat in China and is very well equipped. Elton John did an impromptu scene for Australian TV with a crowd of his American fans and a good time was had by all on another very warm afternoon.

Shanghai, a more cosmopolitan city than Peking, and with an estimated population of 11½ million people, is very much the business centre of China and an interesting place to visit. Among those supporting Watford tomorrow are several members of the Royal Ballet, a number of prominent British businessmen and a number of British students at Shanghai University for a year, as part of their course in Chinese studies at Leeds University.

Monday, June 6: The morning sees our departure from Shanghai to Peking aboard an Ilyushin 62 of China Airways, with Elton spreading alarm and despondency about the plane’s safety record.

Dinner has been arranged by the Chinese FA at a speciality Peking Duck restaurant and it proves to be a very pleasant, relaxed evening with a little singing of well-known songs (mainly Irish) amd a fine rendering by GT [Graham Taylor] of Vera Lynn’s best-known works! The evening concludes with the presentation of a Cloisonne-ware vase to each member of our party by the Chinese FA – a much appreciated gesture.

Tuesday, June 7: Early in the morning, by special arrangement, the officials pay a visit of homage, led by Sir Stanley Rous and Elton John, to the Memorial Hall of Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, and file past his embalmed body. The Memorial Hall, completed in 1977, stands in Tiananmen Square, the great square on two sides of which stand the Great Hall of the People and the Forbidden City.

Following the match, a private farewell party is held in a private room in the hotel. This is an excellent evening with each player recounting his own personal highlight of the tour. Elton does his bit by playing a few songs on the piano.

Mr Stratford concludes his report: “My overall impression has been of a truly fantastic tour, excellent performances on the football field, superb hospitality and friendship and an overwhelming desire of the Chinese to improve their status in the football world.

“One will always remember the mass of people everywhere, the reducing number of Mao-type uniforms, the smiles on everybody’s faces and the happy atmosphere that seems to prevail.

“While it is true that we did not see a lot of rural China, there was no resistance to the taking of photographs and everything was available for viewing.”