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Stratford upon Avon Boat Club celebrated the ninetieth birthday of local Stratford man Bill Collins with a surprise party at the Club with many former rowers and friends who had trained and competed with Bill over the years
Bill had taught for many years at Henley in Arden High School, now Henley in Arden School, is an expert in heraldry and also local history and lived in Loxley Road and Sanctus Drive with his wife Gwen and moved to Lincolnshire to be close to his large family, daughter Kate and son Giles and four great grandchildren, soon to be five great grandchildren!
Over his many years at Stratford Boat Club, Bill served as Captain, Honorary Secretary in the 80’s and was President in the early 90’s and
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coxed, competed and coached to a high standard at the Club for many years
One of Bill’s many legacies is a history of Stratford upon Avon Boat Club from its inception in 1874 through until 1974, a copy of which is lodged with the River and Rowing Museum at Henley on Thames. Bill was also
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instrumental in the organisation of the Ball Cup South, encouraging local schools’ entries
Said Paul Stanton, the Club’s current President, “We celebrate almost weekly the successes of today’s Club athletes: it is a useful lesson to remind ourselves that such success is built on the hard work not only of the current coaches and the athletes themselves but also the efforts of
those more senior Club members who paved the way to the Club’s early and continued dominance and gave us an example of sportsmanship and camaraderie. Their example is still very much alive today”
For media coverage, please see Stratford Observer online https://stratfordobserver.co.uk/news/making-a-splash-at-stratford-boat-club-for-bills-90th. Great pictures from Jon at mdbphotojournalist.co.uk