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OL Golf lost one of its greatest supporters with Colin’s death on 30th June 2018. Colin was born on 28th August 1939 in Sussex and, after prep school, joined the Olds House of Arthur Cooper in May 1953. While Colin played 1st XI soccer and cricket and became an NCO in the Cadet Force, he was the first to acknowledge that he was not one of Lancing’s academics, taking several attempts to acquire his 5 ‘O’ levels, but his maths was well up to running the tobacconist shop from his study. It was also fair to say that Colin did not see eye to eye with his Housemaster and, while he fulfilled one of Arthur’s great wishes being able to kick a soccer ball with his left foot as well as his right, the remainder of the time was a bit of a struggle between them. Nick Evans (Sanderson’s 1953–1958) was in both the Soccer and Cricket XI alongside Colin and recalls that Colin always played with ‘his usual effort and commitment’. In 1957 Colin won the Heslop Bat for a ‘Man of the Match’ performance in Lancing’s local derby with Brighton, but Nick particularly remembers Colin as a powerful and resourceful defender in the soccer XI. On one memorable occasion Colin was taken aside by Ken Shearwood just before a match against Aldenham to ask him to pay particular attention to a very skilful and quick left winger by the name of Mohammedu. Only minutes into the game saw Mohammedu in the second row of the small concrete stand alongside the Aldenham pitch courtesy of Colin’s attention.
On leaving Lancing Colin had a gap year, involving travelling abroad, but, on his return, in 1958, he joined Lloyds of London for 6 years before a 3 year period learning to farm in Sussex and, during that time, in 1964, married Anne. Perhaps farming was not for him so, in 1967, he moved north to Newcastle to join Colmil Scaffolding. He purchased the company outright in 1975 and set about expansion with depots in Birmingham and Wakefield. The success of the Company enabled him to sell it in 1995 to his then Managing Director and headed for retirement largely on the golf course or shooting on, and managing, the family grouse moor. Colin was a very competent shot and he treasured the friendship of the shooting fraternity as well as being a more than competent Bridge player. Colin’s golf was largely shared between Northumberland and Bamburgh Castle Golf Clubs, having been Captain and Club Champion at both as well as Captain and President of the Quayside Golfing Society based in Newcastle. Colin was a great family man and adored his two daughters Sarah and Lucy and his grand-daughters Katherine and Joanna. He was also very proud that Anne became involved in golf in Northumberland and she was the first recipient of England Golf’s Lifetime Service Award in 2015. At a packed Thanksgiving Service at his beloved Bamburgh, the tribute to Colin was given by Desmond Duffy, President of England Golf.
In the 1950s, golf was scarcely on the Lancing agenda, but, away from Lancing, Colin was a more than useful golfer playing at West Hove and Brighton and Hove as a junior and it was no surprise that he was selected in 1958, directly after leaving Lancing, for the Lancing Halford Hewitt team in the prestigious Public Schools’ Golf Tournament. He partnered Desmond Flower in Lancing’s First Round defeat by Tonbridge but, for Colin, it was the start of a great Hewitt career extending to 81 matches over 47 years and many memorable moments. The two special stalwarts of Lancing golf at that time were Colonel Giles, always known as ‘Monkey’, and ‘Bunny’ Millard and Colin’s tenacity in match play was very much based on the advice from our ‘menagerie’. Colin was a vital member of the Lancing team which reached the Final of the Hewitt in 1991, under the captaincy of Andrew Baker (Teme 1960 – 65). Colin, playing with Nigel Munn (Fields 1979 – 1984), did not lose a match in the 5 rounds up to the Final and then lost only on the last green. Colin also played for 16 years in the Mellin Salver at West Hill and was in the Lancing winning team in 2000. He played more often than not with Peter Earl (Gibbs' 1959 – 1963) and they made a formidable pair. Sadly, in the last 10 years or so of his life, Colin developed a rare blood condition which required regular blood transfusions, which Colin called ‘oil changes’. They did not stop him however coming down to Surrey, to play in the Mellin, or Kent, to support the Lancing team in the Hewitt, having ensured that he had had an ‘oil change’ at the right time. Colin, known to Hewitt golfers as ‘Uncle’, was made OL Golf’s President and no one had OL Golf at heart more than he. He will be much missed.
Chris Martin (Olds 1954-1959)