Editing Martin Peters (section)

==Early years==
Peters was born in Egham Road, off Beckton Road in [[Plaistow, Newham|Plaistow]], Essex, on Monday 8 November 1943 during the [[Second World War]]. His father, William Peters, was a [[Thames]] [[Lighterman]]. Shortly after Peters' birth, he was [[Evacuations of civilians in Britain during World War II|evacuated]] with his mother to [[Shropshire]] to avoid the bombing of London by the [[Luftwaffe]].{{sfn|Peters|2006|pp=10–12}} When he was seven his family moved to [[Dagenham]], where he attended the local Fanshawe School.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2019/12/21/martin-peters-footballer-described-10-years-ahead-time-became/ |title=Martin Peters, footballer described as '10 years ahead of his time' who became one of the heroes of England's 1966 World Cup victory – obituary |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=21 December 2019 |access-date=23 December 2019 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In schoolboy football, he played mostly as a [[centre-half]] but often as a [[Full back (association football)|full-back]].{{sfn|Peters|2006|p=14}} He came to the attention of [[Fulham F.C.|Fulham]], [[Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal]], [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham Hotspur]] and [[Chelsea F.C.|Chelsea]]. Peters did not support any club as a schoolboy and favoured joining Chelsea as his friend [[Terry Venables]], whom he had met playing for Dagenham Schoolboys, had signed for Chelsea.{{sfn|Peters|2006|p=17}} After playing for [[English Schools' Football Association|England schoolboys]] he was [[Scout (association football)|scouted]] by [[Wally St Pier]] for [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]].{{sfn|Peters|2006|p=17}} In the summer of 1959 he was signed as a 15-year-old apprentice by West Ham.<ref>{{cite news |author=Kevin Mitchell |title=An all-time great unchallenged by fame and glory |newspaper=The Observer, Sport|page=10 |date=22 December 2019}}</ref>