We regret to announce the death of long serving Leamington Football Club vice-president Terry Willoughby from natural causes at the age of 92.
Club histrorian, Paul Vanes, has submitted the following article in memory of Terry:
'Sport ran through the Willoughby men as Terry’s father Samuel helped Leamington Victoria to become the senior side in the Spa town after the demise of the Magpies in 1937. Samuel became chairman at one stage and Terry went along originally to watch, but later got roped in doing the statistics and match reporting. In his early days Terry was an all-round athlete lining the shelves at home with many trophies. By1951 the Vics were struggling to field a full team but in their glory days, several players like the Montgomery and Gardner brothers moved on the upcoming works team Lockheed-Leamington as did Samuel and Terry.
During the Second World War, a Scotsman named Ashley Cooper Kane, a whisky salesman from Edinburgh, became friendly with the Willoughbys’ and was invited to live with them, Ashley started work at Lockheed and to return the favour, took them back home to see Motherwell play and to this day Terry still collected the home programmes of the ‘Well.
After the war, Terry met and married Winnie who also became a Brakes supporter, they had a son Robert. When AP announced the sale of the football ground, Terry immediately started a campaign of writing to the local papers but all to no avail. During the hibernation, Winnie and Terry turned their wedding anniversaries into gala evenings with all the profits going to the club. Since moving to the New Windmill Ground, Terry regularly supplied the Programme Shop with books and programmes to help boost the club funds. Terry loved watching top class snooker on television and collected the magazines about that sport.
Terry started losing his balance and his doctors could find no reason for it then around 2015, he suffered a massive stroke that would have killed lesser men but Terry rallied round regaining most, if not all, of his faculties.
The funeral has already taken place in Leicester and it was a non-appearance one. On behalf of Leamington football Club and Brakes Trust, may we offer our sincere and heartfelt condolences to Bob on the sad loss of his smashing Dad who was a friend to us all.'
