The Twelfth Man 2011

15 W.Keith Aaron Keith had been a member of the Society for many years and regularly attended, along with his friends who travelled from Wakefield, sharing car-driving duties. In fact, it was after retuning home from a meeting on Thursday in early October, when his last words to me were “I’ll drive next week”, but sadly he died during the night. I have chosen a team photo of Patons & Baldwins, with Keith at the end of front row as it includes two other Wombwell Cricket Lovers, Jack Tunniclife, next but one to Keith and Malcolm Cusworth, fourth from left in second row. Keith was born in Normanton and after his parents moved to Primrose Hill, he was educated at St Mary’s C of E Juniors, Cathedral Boys School and then Wakefield Technical College. On leaving, he worked for an Estate Agent, but when 18 he joined the forerunner of British Gas where he stayed 40 years, before he retired. He was married to Margaret, had a daughter Dawn and two grandsons of whom he was most proud. Keith joined Patons & Baldwins CC as a batsman in the 1950s, continuing when the Club ‘folded’, taken over by Wakefield MDC, but reformed as Wakefield Thornes, Keith first became Secretary, then Chairman of the Club, not just cricket but bowls and tennis, guiding the Club through a difficult financial period. Keith was instrumental in obtaining funding to pay for an ‘all weather pitch’, installed only a few years ago. He also organised two well attended reunions of former members. When he became involved with the Wombwell, he was delighted to act as chauffeur for his good friend, our late Chairman Frank Taylor. M.C. Martin Searby Well-known Yorkshire freelance cricket journalist, Martin Searby, who lived at Heckmondwike, died in June aged 72. Martin, who was educated at The Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School in London, became very much a part of the Yorkshire cricket scene when he moved to Scarborough in the 1970s. A gifted journalist who had done stints on national newspapers, Martin for a while covered Yorkshire county cricket for Radio Leeds, travelling to all matches home and away. He also wrote a popular column on Yorkshire cricket for the Sheffield Star sports edition as well as doing match reports at various times for several of the national newspapers, including The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail . In a colourful career, Martin made many close friends from the world of cricket and sports journalism and was particularly fond of his Yorkshire Press Box colleagues. He also struck up a deep friendship with David Green, the former Lancashire and Gloucestershire batsman, who went on to report cricket for The Daily Telegraph . Martin was a loyal member of the Cricket Writers’ Club and his enthusiasm for the sport knew no bounds. It was while living in Scarborough that he met his long- term partner, Hilary, who made sure that nobody who visited or was put up at the Searby household ever went away without being sumptuously fed and properly entertained. And the sandwiches which she packed for Martin were the envy of every Press Box in the country. David Warner Martin was a regular visitor to WCLS in the last decade as part of the ‘Press Gang’ evenings at the Society. His first visit was back in 1986 when he came to receive the Society’s ‘Cricket Writer of the Year Award’ for 1985. Trevor Bailey – 10 February 2011, aged 87 Back in 1992 Wombwell Cricket Lovers’ chose Trevor Bailey to receive the Society’s highest accolade – the Denzil Batchelor ‘Services to English Cricket’ award. A special tribute section to the Essex and England all- rounder was contained in the pages of the Twelfth Man Obi tuaries