November 14 marks the anniversary of a day Charlton fans will want to forget.

On that date 45 years ago the Addicks went down to their heaviest ever league defeat, losing in the old Second Division 11-1 to Aston Villa, who eventually went on to claim the title.

In a match watched by 22,000 fans at Villa Park in the days before substitutions, Charlton used no fewer than three goalkeepers (two of them outfield players), one of whom had already picked up an injury in the game.

The chief architect of Charlton's downfall that day was five-goal hero Gerry Hitchens, who was transferred to Inter Milan for £60,000 the following season and went on to play for his country.

The result will stay long in the memory for devout Addick and Sidcup resident Colin Cameron, whose father Colin attended the game.

Colin Junior was watching Millwall at The Den that day in his capacity as sports reporter for a local news agency, but distinctly remembers the dejection he felt on hearing the news of his beloved team's humiliation.

The 68-year-old, who has not missed a home game for the past 20 years since the time he broke down on the Sidcup bypass on the way to the ground, said: "The most surprising aspect of the game is that Charlton drew level.

"I remember my dad telling me that when we equalised the away fans and there were plenty of them went beserk, because Villa were flying high in the league at the time, as were we.

"But they then conceded ten goals without reply, and there's not a great deal of consolation to be drawn when your team's just lost 11-1. It must've been a long journey home, and I remember feeling relieved I hadn't made the trip."

Colin's sentiments were echoed by the then manager Jimmy Trotter, who presumably wished he too had been spared the ignominy.

Immediately after the game, he commented: "The team were like a ship in a storm without a captain".

But it was not all doom and gloom that season, as Charlton won the return fixture 2-0 and went on to finish a creditable seventh place in the league, just four places below Liverpool.

Thus all is not lost for the current Charlton side, whose plight is perhaps put in perspective by the woes suffered by their counterparts in the 1959-60 side.

On this theme, Colin said: "Perhaps the older generation of Charlton fans don't take defeat quite so badly nowadays, because we've experienced both the highs and the lows.

"But the younger supporters have only tasted relative success, so they've perhaps been a little bit spoiled by it. To some extent Alan Curbishley has made a rod for his own back by raising expectations to such an extent.

"But as long as the fans are patient, I'm sure the team will see their way out of trouble. One thing's for sure, however bad things get, I don't think we'll be seeing a repeat of the 11-1 scoreline."

Colin Cameron's book, entitled "Home and Away with Charlton Athletic, 1920-2004", is available at the club shop, priced £19.99.