After collecting a point at Charlton in March 1964, Swindon suffered 15 successive away defeats, the worst run for more than 60 years.

But the sequence came to an end on December 19, when Leyton Orient were beaten 3-0 at Brisbane Road with Dennis Brown – signed by Bert Head from Chelsea a month earlier – grabbing all three goals.

In October 1966 Dennis went one better, becoming only the third Town player in the club’s history to score four times in an away League game – a 4-1 victory at Bournemouth.

One of 11 children, Dennis joined Chelsea from Battle Athletic in his home town of Reading. He was given the nickname ‘Bullets’ by Dave Sexton, then assistant manager at Stamford Bridge. “I don’t know whether it was for my speed or the number of shots I took from outside the box,” Dennis said.

He scored on his League debut for Chelsea in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United, but he had made his first senior appearance a week earlier – when the Blues crashed out of the League Cup in a 0-3 defeat at Swindon.

Dennis hit eight goals in 24 appearances in his first season at Town, which unfortunately was not enough to keep them in the Second Division. In 1965/66 he and strike partner Keith East hit 41 goals between them, with Dennis claiming 17, but Swindon still only finished seventh. However, his tally was even better in the following campaign and his goal in a 3-3 F.A.Cup draw at West Ham at the end of January 1967 was his 18th.

Then, a week after the replay, Danny Williams sold him to Northampton in part exchange for winger Bobby Jones.

So, after netting 44 goals in just 106 games for Swindon, Dennis was back in the Second Division – but not for long. After just eight games he was involved in a serious car accident which resulted in him losing his right knee cap. He was out of the game for almost a year and consequently struggled to regain his scoring form.

But that changed in July 1969 when Dennis moved to Aldershot, where he again linked up with Jack Howarth, who had played in the same Chelsea reserve side. Jack had come to Swindon a month before Dennis, but only featured in two senior games for the club.

The new partnership got off to a flying start and produced a mammoth 47 goal haul in 1969/70. In a 7-2 F.A.Cup win at Margate, they each bagged a hat-trick.

The Kent club would be Dennis’ next port of call in June 1975, followed by spells at Barnet (where he played alongside Jimmy Greaves), Cheltenham and Wokingham. After quitting the full-time game, Dennis began working as a travelling sales representative and still works two or three days a week although he will be 68 in February.

“I had a hip replacement a few weeks ago, but I have made a full recovery and I’m running about again now,” he joked. by Paul Plowman