A true gentleman, liked by all who knew him, Jack did a huge amount of work in the building of the new club on its present location and yet, being the modest man he was, very few members will know about it.

Below is a summary of that work, as recalled by David Rochester, given in the hope that his contribution is not forgotten.

“Jack saved the club thousands of pounds from the overall costs of building on the new site by taking on the professional management of the project as a volunteer. He prepared every tender document and analysed it for those of us in the small sub group dealing with the new club development; he costed the whole thing (a joke, that he didn't deny, was that he costed everything down to the last nail). When we were audited by Sport England soon after completion, the auditor said it was the first scheme he had seen that came in on budget, and as a consequence we were cited as an example of good practise; this also helped ensure that when we bid for further funds to build courts 7 to 9, we were shortlisted very soon in the process. 

Although Jacks mild manner indicated an apparently soft touch, he did in fact strike hard bargains with contractors and this made sure we had contingency money available to meet the completely unexpected demands made by the council before they would issue the Lease at the very end of the project, just as we were ready to open.

I know he had the respect of the main contractor and I also know that doing this work for the club cut into the hours he was able to spend running his business as a quantity surveyor. He prepared all the financial returns and kept the whole project on schedule and because he was 'an insider', he was able to make sure the club got what it needed. As you would expect on such a contract there were many ups and downs, and times when it looked as though it was running into the sands, but Jack was very calm and helped us through.

He must have put thousands of hours into both projects and if anyone wants to see what this physically means, just look at the top shelf in the stores and in the cabinet--some of it is bid material of mine---but most is Jack’s and includes every detail and aspect of the construction: courts, lighting, pavilion, everything. This meticulous record has already saved the club thousands when the council tried to claim the water supply from Swalwell Bridge was our responsibility, and there was a major burst; Jacks records proved otherwise.”

The club would not be where it is today were it not for his efforts.  

He will be sorely missed. 

Funeral arrangements will follow shortly.