Absent friends
Scarborough Cricket Club have set up this section to pay tribute to former members, players, and supporters of the club. This is a lasting memory to loved ones and friends who have supported and given so much to a very grateful club.
This has been started in 2020, but we would really welcome brief biographies from relatives of those who passed prior to this year. If you’d like to contribute, please email us at mail@scarboroughcricketclub.co.uk
We’ve names this section ‘absent friends’, and see it as a way to pay our respects to those who were friends to this great club.
John Midgley (Dec 2019). The club were sorry to learn that former Club Secretary John Midgely passed away on 31 December 2019. John was a club official from 1961 until 1975 starting as Assistant Club Secretary and later becoming Club Secretary.
John was a very popular man who left the club in 1975 to take up a role in the South of England. At the 1976 Annual General Meeting the club were delighted to elect John an Honorary Life Member.
Michael Sharman (Feb 2020). We were sorry to receive news that long-standing Life Member Michael Sharman passed away on 18 February. Michael was a regular visitor to North Marine Road and had been a member since 1967. Everyone at Scarborough Cricket Club would like to pass on their sincere condolences to Margaret and the family.
Chris Welford (July 2020). Chris was a regular at North Marine Road to both county and club matches. He had been a Life Member for some time, and was well regarded by all those who knew him.
John Parkinson (April 2020). John Parkinson had been a life member of SCC for many years. I (daughter Katie) have many happy memories of meeting him for picnic teas at North Marine Road towards the end of the day’s play in the late 60s/early 70s.
Eileen Tune (May 2020). Eileen passed away in May. She was a member of SCC for over 20 years, I believe (son Chris). It was only the reduction of her mobility in 2018 that prevented her extending her membership. Her last day at North Marine Road was on the 25th June 2018 versus Surrey on a warm glorious day. Mum had some wonderful days the club, in all sorts of weather and enjoyed some great cricket and made some great friends. If you could mention her passing in any obituaries or newsletters then that way, people can be informed.
Bill Pincher (September 2019). William Leslie Pincher and first came to North Marine Road in 1971 at the same time as Phil Hart. He was known as either Pinch or Bill or Billy. Hard hitting batsman and right arm fast medium – deceptively fast off an innocuous and shortish run up.
He played in the first final at Lord’s in 1972, and was the bowler when Colin Oxtoby caught and stumped the batsman off the same ball and each umpire had a finger raised!!! Following a spell with Saltburn Cricket Club he returned to North Marine Road as groundsman and played in the in the last Final at Lord’s in 1982 when he scored 61 in a low scoring game including a huge six into the seats!
Bill was married to Sue and they had two girls Sarah and Vicky. For a period of time he lived in the groundsman’s flat which was situated above the former shop where the Jack Knowles building now stands at the main entrance into the ground.
Club Board member and former team-mate Nick Tubbs said ’’I remember a powerful and destructive batsman who could change a game in a few overs and often did. I think Harty would tell you that Pinch hit the biggest six he ever saw at Halifax CC; I recall the huge hit at Lord’s in 1982 and also a hundred vs Doncaster Town in no time at all when up until his explosive innings SCC were progressing sedately and at risk of not setting a challenging score. As a bowler he was deceptively sharp off a short run and very good at the death when it was tight’’.
Madame Eleanor Mankowska (July 2020). Eleanor Mankowska passed away on her 101st birthday. She had been a Life member of Scarborough Cricket Club since 1944. Her father, Alderman Francis Whittaker, was club President on four separate occasions with her brother Sir Meredith Whittaker also being President when he held the post in 1978.
Stephen Gambrill (2020). Stephen became a member of Scarborough Cricket Club in 1992.
RD Gaunt (2020). Mr Gaunt had been a valued life member of the club.
MW Harrison (2020). Mr Harrison joined Scarborough Cricket Club in 1990.
Mrs V Sadler (2020). Mrs Sadler had been a life member of the club since 1992
Michael Bayes (2020). Michael became a Senior member of Scarborough Cricket Club in 1975
Gordon Bower (August 2020) – Gordon became a lifetime member in the late 1980’s when he moved to the area and was a regular visitor to the ground where he met many friends year after year. He always said there was no better place to watch cricket than the wonderful ‘Scarbados”!
JM Dunham (August 2020). Mr Dunham had been a Life Member at North Marine Road for some time.
Bryan Berryman (September 2020) Bryan had been a Life Member of Scarborough Cricket Club for some years.
BW Found (January 2020) Mr Found had been a Life Member since 1997
KFC Merchant (April 2020) Mr Merchant had been a Life Member since 2006
Connie Rennard (August 2020) Connie had been a Life Member since 1979. One of her sons had also played for the Club and even took the club team to Lords.
Mrs L Sedgwick (August 2020) Mrs Sedgwick had been a Life Member since 1977
Brian Richardson (August 2020) Mr Richardson had been a Member of Scarborough Cricket Club for some time and loved the times he had down at the Ground.
Rev HE Hutchinson (2020)
Alan Bates ( November 2020) Dad was born in Thorne in 1927 , although my grandparents lived in Sheffield. He regularly spent time at his aunt’s in Thorne . He moved to Scarborough and attended Hinderwell school .
In 1938 for the King’s Jubilee he took part in a fitness exercise performance on the outfield at North Marine Road , where , unbeknown to him my mother was also singing with a school choir.
His first attendance at the Cricket Festival was in 1948 , when the Aussies played and he got to see the “ Don “ . From then on he was a regular attendee up until 2019 . He introduced me to cricket and took me to my first match in 1963 , to see the West Indies . I remember the sea fret and collecting autographs of the teams . He worked 42 years from the age of 14 , for H Pickup Ltd , and his boss was Geoff Dennis , former Scarborough captain . I lived in London in 1972 and played for Brentham CC third team , who were Scarborough’s first final opponents at Lords . On a chilly September day we watched the famous victory .
In the 1970’s dad was involved at Scalby cricket club , where he umpired and looked after the bar on occasions . I played there at the time and recall the summer of 1970 , when Sir Michael Parkinson played for Scalby 2nd XI .
After being made redundant, dad worked at Kinderland until retiring early in 1988 , due to asbestosis . In the past 7 years his Alzheimer’s saw a deterioration in his health, affecting his memory and spatial awareness. I took him to matches , sadly in 2019 he could only manage to stay until lunchtime, but did not know who was playing . He met a group of friends , including David Oglesby from York , every year and they always sat on the top row of the North Stand between the press box and the pavilion .
PF Dawson (December 2020)
Baron Shaw of Northstead (January 2021) Michael Shaw was born in Leeds, and educated at Sedbergh School. Standing first as a Conservative at the general election in May 1955, Shaw fought the safe Labour seat of Dewsbury, losing by over 7,000 votes. At the general election in October 1959, he stood as a ‘Liberal and Conservative’ and contested the Labour-held marginal constituency of Brighouse and Spenborough. He lost by only 47 votes to the sitting MP Lewis John Edwards, who died the following month.
At the resulting by-election in March 1960, Shaw won the seat for the National Liberals and Conservatives with a majority of 666 votes over Labour’s Colin Jackson. Jackson regained the seat from Shaw for Labour at the 1964 general election, however, by a majority of 922. Shaw returned to Parliament at the 1966 general election, when he was elected for the safe Conservative constituency of Scarborough and Whitby; he was a Conservative for the rest of his political career. He held that seat until it was abolished for the February 1974 general election, when he was re-elected for the new Scarborough constituency. He continued to represent Scarborough until he retired at the 1992 general election, making a total of 30 years as an MP. He also served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1974 until 1979, when MEPs were not directly elected, but were chosen by the House of Commons and House of Lords as delegates.
In the 1982 Birthday Honours Shaw received a Knighthood, having the accolade conferred by The Queen on 25 November 1982. Shaw was created a life peer on 30 September 1994 with the title Baron Shaw of Northstead. He retired from the House of Lords on 31 March 2015.[9] Shaw was interviewed in 2012 as part of The History of Parliament’s oral history project.
He has been a Life member at Scarborough Cricket Club since 1986 and was also an Honorary Vice President of the club.
Brian Middleton Harwood (January 2021) Brian had been a Life Member at North Marine Road since 1965.
Ian Woodhead (March 2021) – Ian had been a long serving Life Member at the club. He passed away on 7th March.
GWC Cuthbert (March 2021)
HRH The Duke Of Edinburgh (April 2021) – please see separate page
Mrs RM Fogt (April 2021)
Geoff Cawthorn (April 2021)
Wendy Crookes (August 2021)
Richard Sherwood (September 2021) – please see club statement
Thomas Ian Wiles (July 2021)