Old Wandsworthians Memorial Trust

Hall of Remembrance

Micky Brown

June 4th 1932 -July 7th 2007

As many are aware Micky Brown passed away peacefully with his family around him on Saturday July 7th after finally losing his battle with cancer which he fought with courage and dignity.

Mick was born in a private hospital in Bolingbrook Grove, Battersea Rise and spent his early days living in the area around Queens Town Road where he attended Tennyson Street School. After leaving school he went on to train as a print compositor at L. J. Page off the Merton Road and in his early 30s he started up a printing empire which at one point employed over 100 people. His son Andrew and Andy Archer (both Old Dubs) learnt their trades in his company.

As most of you know, Mick played for the Old Dubs back in the 50's as a flanker and loved his rugby and the club. He was extremely proud of the fact that all three of his sons Chris, Steven and Andrew played for many years for the old boys and Andrew is still pulling on the shirt. Even when the boys were not playing, Mick would religiously come and watch every Saturday as long as I can remember, standing on the sidelines, sheepskin on and fag going whatever the weather.

He came on many tours and drink ups, and there's hardly an Old Dub that does not have a funny story to tell about him. I remember when we were on tour in Bridport in 1993 and Mickey was the only person to have his suitcase nicked. The local Police sent out an alert to look out for an opportunist probably wearing "a dodgy pair of speedy ducks". One story that will always stick with me was when touring in Portugal, the hotel had a pool and the manager warned us that it was far too cold to swim in (red rag to a bull for the Dubs) we all jumped in and then straight out. Micky, wondering what all the fuss was over, strolls up and takes a perfect swallow dive straight in. On surfacing Mick had turned completely blue with cold and we had to pull him out sharpish, we all fell about laughing at the sight of him, teeth chattering, knees knocking, Mick was not far short of 70 years old then, such character.

There was also another side of Mick which lots of us knew and that was his generosity and kindness. Back in the early seventies Wandsworth School's Rugby teams which included his son Chris were going on a tour organized by the late Jim Lindsey. Unfortunately some of the money for the tour was stolen and the tour was off. Mick was having none of it and paid for all of it out of his own money, such was the man. Whenever you were out with him or down the Dubs he would always insist on buying the first round.

Many of us also played for the Old Blues rugby netball club which Mick ran for decades on Clapham Common and at one time or another you would have received the obligatory tap on the backside with the words "go and get changed" which meant you were in because he had run out of options. The many short summer seasons gained him many friends throughout rugby, including the great Bob Hiller being just one of them.

We will all miss his funny stories and some of his great one liners, like "Squeaky doors never fall off" and "dead parrots never fall out of cages" we had no idea what they meant, but they always made us laugh. There is often a saying that is some times over used, they don't make them like they used to. But in this case I think we would agree, there was only one Micky Brown. Mick, where ever you are, it was a joy and a privilege knowing you.

Martin Walpole

Dave Smith

1941–2007

Together with the Wandsworthians Rugby Football Club, we were saddened to hear that club member Dave Smith passed away suddenly on the 20th July 2007, following a heart attack at the age of 66. He leaves behind sons and fellow Dubs Martin and Peter, their mother Kath and two grandchildren, Georgia and Harry.

Born in Ewhurst, Surrey, he moved to Wandsworth as a boy and went on to attend Wandsworth Boys School, making him a genuine club Old Boy. He was a stalwart Dubs supporter over many years, both in his own right and through sons Martin and Peter in later years. We will never forget the help he gave to the successful under 16 and under 19 sides trained by John Totham and Gerry Johnston.

His funeral took place on the 6th August 2007 at a small, well-attended service at St Mary Magdalen's Church, in the village of Stowell in Somerset where he had lived for the past 17 years. Dave is pictured in May of this year when the whole family went on holiday together, enjoying the quiet and peacefulness of the English countryside.

Allen Carr

2nd September 1934 – 29th November 2006

Anti-smoking guru Allen Carr died at his home in Spain from lung cancer. Several articles covering Allens life are available on the internet including:

Article in the Independant

Allen Carr Obituary

Memorial on Jim Carpenters Site

Roger Haywood

2nd May 1949 – 6th November 2006

Roger was buried on Tuesday 21st November 2006 at 12.00 noon at the Surrey and Sussex Crematorium, Worth, Crawley. A Service of Remembrance was later held at Fletching Church.

Numerous Old Wandsworthians spanning several decades were present to say goodbye to a dear friend.

John Maxwell

21st September 1938 – 2nd November 2006

John's funeral was held at Randalls Park Crematorium on November 13th 2006 and the service was attended by numerous friends and family. A short tribute from Dick Moody is available below:

John Maxwell Obituary

John Chafen

John Chafen passed away on Friday 12th August 2005 aged 71. An obituary written by Pete Eastwood is available below:

John Chafen Obituary

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