Sutton Cricket Club remember and celebrate members who have recently passed.
March 2024
KEITH BOOTH
Keith had a remarkable career as scorer for Surrey during his 23 seasons with the county, and formed a strong partnership with his wife Jennifer, who helped him score international matches at the Kia Oval. Richard Spiller describes how Keith made a significant contribution to the club and the sport: please click here.
Neil Le Bihan
We regret to announce the passing of Neil Le Bihan, a former colt player at our club.
Neil died last month at 47 years old, after battling a long-term illness. His death was sudden and shocking for many. He had strong ties with several former Sutton CC colts who played with him at the club.
Neil was an outstanding sportsman and cricketer. He went to Sutton Grammar School and played cricket for Sutton CC Colts from 1989 to 1992 under the guidance of Eaton Swaby.
Neil was a gifted athlete who excelled at any sport he tried. He was a brilliant footballer and a versatile cricketer who made the game look easy. The colts team he played in was one of the best in club history. He later pursued his football dream and played professionally for Spurs (youth team captain), Peterborough, Dover, and Crawley. A great team mate who will be missed.
We offer our heartfelt sympathy to Neil’s family and friends in this difficult time.
R.I.P. Neil.
Sutton CC Committee.
November 2023
JOHN FORDHAM
John enjoyed an epic career that spanned more than 50 years, all of it at Stephenson Harwood. Please click here to read his firm’s wonderful tribute.
Sutton Cricket Club’s notice, penned by the club’s President, Ian Philippe, is presented below:
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It is with the greatest of regrets that I tell you that John Fordham, a much respected player, administrator, friend and a Vice President died very peacefully last Thursday 27 July. John had had a long illness, and had only recently been discharged from hospital after 8 months so that his last days could be back in the community. John had borne his illness stoically, courageously with great determination and fight, being always positive despite set back after set back. He was still full of hope right to the end that he would manage to get down to the Cricket Club before the end of the season. John joined Sutton Cricket Club in 1973 when he moved to the area after his marriage to Sarah. He was quickly integrated into the 1st XI and regularly neared the top of the batting averages. He occasionally bowled leg breaks, sometimes with surprising success. He continued to play for Sutton until he was 70 and was one of only a handful of players to have continued playing going down through each of the Saturday and Sunday sides. John was also an active Sunday cricketer, especially as the years went by. He captained the Sunday 1st XI in 1985 and 1986 and the Sunday 2nd XI from 2009 to 2013. He became an umpire in 2009 and stood as an umpire in a number of 3rd and 4th games during his later years when not playing – the last time he stood was at the single wicket competition at Sutton last year. John served as chairman of the Club for 5 years from 1990 to 1994. Very importantly he has been the legal linchpin of Sutton (Sports) Company Limited – the Company which owns the main ground on behalf of the Club – for over 25 years. Over the last 5 years his help has been invaluable in arranging the terms of the lease on the mast and more recently negotiating the terms of new lease for Fitness for Less – the health club – to the satisfaction of the Club. This is now waiting for final approval for signature now that all the legal issues have been agreed. John was of one of the UK foremost Commercial Litigators. He worked for renowned City Law firm Stephenson Harwood for 50 years and was Head of Commercial litigation for 25 years working all over the world often on very high profile and confidential cases. All this made his lifelong commitment to the Club all the more remarkable. John has been a wonderful supportive and valued member of the Club and one who has worked very hard for a club which he loved. All levels and members of the Club will miss him. We gives thanks for knowing John. To Sarah, his children Rebecca and Ben and their families, we send our deepest sympathies. The funeral is likely to be at Dulwich College, where John was at school, in late August. Details of funeral arrangements can be obtained from Sarah at sarah@discoverlondon.org.uk Ian Philippe [President of Sutton Cricket Club] ## President Ian Philippe presided over a solemn ceremony at the clubhouse on Saturday, 5th August, at 3.15pm, to honour the memory of John ‘Flash’ Fordham, a Sutton CC legend who passed away a few days before. The members observed a moment of silence to pay tribute to John’s remarkable achievements and dedication during his 50-year membership. He was a beloved and respected figure in the club and beyond. His loss is deeply felt by all who knew him. Rest in peace, John Fordham.
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Chris Kempadoo
It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Chris Kempadoo, a former player and coach at Sutton CC. Chris was a valued member of our club for many years, and he mentored countless young cricketers who looked up to him as a role model. His contribution to the club and the sport will not be forgotten. His funeral service was held on Wednesday, 21st June 2023, at the London Road Cemetery, Mitcham, where many of his former ‘colts’ paid their respects and shared their memories of him.
R.I.P ‘Kemps’.
Sutton CC Committee.
June 2023.
Anne Jobbins
Dear members
It with sadness that I write to advise you all of the passing yesterday after a long illness of our former scorer for more than ten years Anne Jobbins.
Anne started scoring initially for the 2nd XI in the early 2000’s progressing to the 1st XI where she was ever present until she moved away from the area four years ago.
Anne was an excellent scorer and much loved member of the Sutton Cricket Club family who will be very much missed .
RIP Anne.
Neil Clark, Chair.
December 2022
FRANCES McQUILLAN
It is with great sadness that I write to advise members of the passing of longtime Sutton CC supporter Frances McQuillan, aged 90 years.
Frances supported the 1st XI home and away through good times and bad, fair weather, and foul, for 30 years and will be greatly missed by all at the club, especially on match days.
The club extends its deepest condolences to Rita, Bobby, Jack, and the wider family.
RIP Frances
Neil Clark
Chair for and on behalf of the Committee
November 2022
Colin Blake
It is with great sadness that after a period of illness the Blake family announce the death of Colin Blake on the 10th November.
Born and bred in Sutton, he loved watching his grandsons Josh and Sam, playing for Sutton CC; and was very proud to see them both represent the 1st X1.
RIP Colin.
Sutton CC Committee
November 2022
Joe Lunn
“So sad but so positive”: The tragic tale of Joe Lunn, Sutton’s kind-hearted young cricketer:- FOREVER 19
LV= INSURANCE PRIDE OF CRICKET AWARDS 2021: Joe’s incredible fundraising efforts in the months between being told he was unlikely to live beyond 2019 and his untimely passing are recognised with the posthumous award of the Fundraising Hero title. In his short life, Joe Lunn made a tremendous impact.
An effervescent, confident, kind-spirited young man, the Sutton Cricket Club wicketkeeper-batsman, who died in March on his 19th birthday, was adored by the community he left behind.
And his incredible fundraising efforts in the months between being told he was unlikely to live beyond the end of 2019 and his untimely passing this spring are recognised today with the posthumous award of the LV= Insurance Fundraising Hero title for 2021.
Joe was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a rare and incurable cancer which affects around one in a million people, in April 2019 after initially being admitted to hospital with suspected appendicitis.
“You’d never know he was going through it, apart from when he’d boast about the scar he had from his chest to his belly button,” his friend and Sutton teammate Sam Schofield said.
“There was never any complaining, he was still full of beans, full of life. Obviously, he would have had his low moments, but it was testament to his strength that he would never let you know what was going on, it was only ever positive with him.
“I still can’t get my head around it. I would probably struggle to be as strong as he was.”
Joe took on a solo, 100-mile bike ride in his back garden in August 2020 – a makeshift solution when his initial plans to compete in the Prudential Ride Surrey-London 100 were scuppered by Covid restrictions.
“He borrowed a static bike and did it in his garden, surrounded by his loved ones,” Schofield said.
“He set himself a target of eight hours to complete it and did it in six-something, so the character he showed to get on with it was again incredible.
“It was Joe being Joe… what’s really hard? Okay I’ll do that then. Of course, he was going to be successful.
“He never backed down from anything and was always one you’d want on your side. He was always up for a bit of a battle and that was definitely how he took on his illness.”
Joe raised more than £16,000 on that ride, while in excess of £35,000 has since been raised in his name.
Five of his Sutton teammates are due to take on the London Marathon for his chosen charity, Rays Of Sunshine in October, and Schofield says the community will keep his memory alive by continuing Joe’s fundraising work for as long as they can.
“It’s only going to go up and up, we’re going to do stuff every year for him.”
Defying the initial prognosis that he was unlikely to live beyond 2019, Joe went on to play cricket in the summer of 2020, and created a special moment for the people of Sutton CC.
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the house,” Schofield said. “We managed to get a Sunday fixture in late August, and he got his first and only hundred for the club. It was such an amazing moment.
“The opposition knew about his story, and it was one of the best moments all of us had had on a cricket pitch.”
As summer turned to autumn and autumn turned to winter last year, however, Joe’s condition got worse.
“When he played his last game at the club and the season closed, we got the feeling we weren’t getting much good news coming out of it,” said Schofield.
“Those last few months it was all about him and the family.
“It summed him up that he managed to hold on until his 19th birthday. Whether he meant it… it wouldn’t surprise me.
“It’s still hard to think about him not being around.
“We always think about him and talk about him.”
RIP Joe – FOREVER 19
Ken Ohlson Obituary
The Times newspaper published an excellent obituary for our previous president, Ken Ohlson:
Kenneth Ohlson obituary
David ThomasJuly 24 2018, 12:01am,
Lloyd’s underwriter who won the Military Cross after leading 32 comrades to safety when they came under heavy fire in 1945.
Ohlson showed courage and initiative
Ken Ohlson’s mantra was: “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” Whether as an after-dinner speaker or in everyday conversation, he was an engaging raconteur, and a persistent practical joker, occasionally with unintended consequences.
His wife, responding to a telephone call from a travel agent informing her that their imminent two-week holiday in Italy had been cancelled, invoked the response: “Ha ha, very funny, darling!” The Thomas Cook representative had to call four times before the sad reality dawned that the call was genuine.
Ohlson was not to be deterred and continued this jocular regime throughout his life, which nonetheless featured several moments of great drama from which he was unable to extract little by way of amusement; none more so than as a 20-year-old gunner forward observation officer supporting 7th Battalion Seaforth Highlanders advancing on Kleve, southeast of Nijmegen, in the Netherlands on February 12, 1945.
Part of the 46th Highland Brigade, the Seaforths were mounted in Kangaroo armoured personnel carriers, while Ohlson and his fire-support team were travelling in a Churchill tank with communications on his regimental radio net. They were under orders to advance briskly from Kleve, but heavy rain had left the ground waterlogged.
The advance had scarcely begun under low cloud and mist, with visibility down to 500 yards, when the leading company came under fire and their forward observation officer was killed. Ohlson asked permission to go forward and replace him, but was told to support another Seaforth company and identify artillery targets, which would allow the advance to continue. While the German defence was resolute and the British infantry again encountered fierce opposition, forcing the second Seaforth company to withdraw, Ohlson brought his battery’s eight guns to bear on the enemy positions.
Seeing the extent of the German entrenchments, he called for all 24 of his regiment’s guns to concentrate their fire, which subdued the opposition. Noticing survivors of the leading platoons taking cover wherever they could, Ohlson called them aboard his tank and brought 32 men to safety. By his swift thinking in deteriorating conditions, he let the initiative be regained. He was awarded an immediate Military Cross for his courage and initiative.
Not that his war was over. He took part in the Rhine crossing on March 23-24, 1945 when the BBC reporter Wynford Vaughan-Thomas broadcast a commentary on the operation from the amphibious vehicle in which Ohlson’s unit were making the assault.
Kenneth Banks Ohlson was born in Streatham, south London, in 1924. The son of Frederick and Elsie Ohlson, he was educated at Eastbourne College. His father was apprehensive about the upper end of the labour market being flooded with ex-servicemen seeking jobs after the war and plucked him out of school early. He was sent on a wartime six-month university course at Newcastle and then began work with the Lloyd’s brokers Woods and Maslen. He rejoined the company on demobilisation.
In 1954 he married Jill Thain, elder daughter of Caryl Thain, the Surrey county cricketer. They had three sons: Richard, a Lloyd’s insurer; Christopher, a ship broker; and Jonny, a biotechnology entrepreneur; and a daughter, Hilary, an investment banker who survived the Battersea Park big dipper accident in 1972 in which five children died. Ohlson never lost his sense of thankfulness that she was not among the victims. His wife and children survive him.
He moved from Woods and Maslen to Crawford Beck & Amos in 1959, and then to F Bolton & Co two years later. He was an early exponent of the benefits of extending brokerage away from the City of London and opened an office in Poole, Dorset. He retired to Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey in 1986 to give all his attention to sport, and cricket in particular. He was appointed chairman of the South East Council for Sport and Recreation in 1986.
A life member of Marylebone Cricket Club and Surrey County Cricket Club, he was a skilled committee man. When chairman, he ensured that no meeting lasted more than an hour, bringing long-winded speakers briskly to a close in a manner that seldom drew rancour. He was captain of Sutton Cricket Club from 1962 until 1965 and president from 1982 to 2012.
Brought up by Presbyterian parents who allowed no alcohol in the house, Ohlson remained a man of strong Christian faith, but took care to make life in his own home as much fun as possible. He did not speak to his family about his wartime experiences until many years afterwards when he took them to northwest Europe to see the places where he had fought in 1944-45.
Kenneth Ohlson, OBE, MC, soldier and Lloyd’s underwriter, was born on February 27, 1924. He died of pneumonia on April 22, 2018, aged 94
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The link can be found: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/register/kenneth-ohlson-obituary-6hqdb3pld