Sad News

By Admin ccl

RIP Ted and Mike

There has been some extremely bad news this week.
One of our Vice-Presidents, Ted Smith sadly died on 9 April just before his 84th birthday, although not from Covid 19. Ted had been unable to involve himself with the league in recent seasons as he became a full time carer for his wife Jan who had developed dementia. She is now in a nursing home.

Ted came to the CCL when we merged with the Surrey Premier League (by then re-titled the Surrey Senior League) in 2003. He had been the Secretary of Vandyke FC, and later, Colliers Wood United and was also on the League’s Management Committee. As such, he accepted an invitation to become a Vice-President with the CCL and was very active, especially involving ground inspections where he was an enthusiastic member of the Ground Inspections Sub-Committee and very good at it, although he was always primarily concerned with the well being of clubs. He was a hugely likeable football man.

We had actually been trying to contact him in recent weeks as he had not been responding to any messages. His funeral is on 1 May but in the current situation only close family members will be able to attend.

To compound a bad week, we have also been informed of the death from the virus of Mike Appleby, who had been the FA’s Non-Leagues Manager for several years, before retiring and becoming the General Secretary of the Spartan South Midlands League. He was hospitalised several weeks ago, and had been in a coma. Just before he died, there had been a glimpse of hope as he had started to come out of the coma for the first time but that hope was extinguished as he lost his fight for life on 21 April.

We send our deepest sympathies to both Ted’s and Mike’s families and friends.

RIP Ted and Mike

Where next?

Farnham Town Seek New Manager Applications required by the end of June

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