My dad was the Club Secretary here but he then started receiving cancer treatment and the Secretary role was becoming too much for him. So initially I was helping my dad more than anything.

However, when he passed away in 2005 I decided to try and carry on his good work and quickly became more involved with the club.

On his day being his hero and his inspiration…

I can remember when I was at school and the teacher was asking all the kids who their hero was. Some said Muhammad Ali, a few girls said Madonna, one or two even said Nelson Mandela. Then he asked who my hero was and I replied, ‘My dad’. I must admit there were a couple of giggles.

Mind you, if I ever bump into Eddie Parr again, I’ll give him some right stick, he said Jimmy Saville!

On the day his dad received his MBE…

It was the proudest day of my life when he received his MBE. Growing up I can’t really remember my dad being at home that much. He was either at work which was Ollerton Colliery, doing something for the Parish Council or helping another charitable cause so he more than deserved his MBE. Everyone who attends the Queen’s Awards Ceremony are seated in alphabetical order. That meant my dad was sat next to former England Rugby Union international Jeremy Guscott, who was also receiving a MBE. When the Queen enters the hall, everybody stands up and sings the national anthem. Just before the singing started, my dad turned to Guscott and said “You should be very familiar with this song”. With that he turned to my dad, smiled and said “I’m better at drinking songs.” That was one of my dad’s best attributes. Whether you had 65 caps for England or a ‘Kiss Me Quick’ hat from Blackpool, he would make everyone feel comfortable and at ease.

On his dad’s working relationship with Adge Owen…

When he first joined the committee, our General Manager Adge Owen was first team manager. Every club needs an Adge Owen and over two decades of involvement, he continues to have the club’s best interests at heart. Although both men had their differences from time to time, they were good friends and my dad admired Adge’s love and passion for the club.

When my dad arrived back home from his very first committee meeting, my mum asked him how it went and he said most of the meeting was taken up with how they were going to find the funds to buy a couple of match balls and at the end, Adge said he would try to get someone to sponsor a couple. At the time the team was languishing near the bottom of the Notts Alliance Senior Division and my dad quickly realised that Adge was not only team manager but also played a big part in finding funds and the administration side of the club. Those two sides of the club were quickly taken over by my dad and that meant Adge could solely concentrate on footballing matters.

On the things his dad was involved in during his time at the club…

We managed to remain in the Supreme Division and during the summer, my dad embarked on a mission to raise funds which involved various events and applying for grants. His next step was to make the football ground look like a football ground. At the time it only had a rope around, so he got it replaced with the posts and rails you see today. He also believed that the players and coaching staff should travel to away games together so he successfully applied for a grant that would pay a coach company to do that role. Back in those days, and in that division, coach travel was rare. He was only involved with Ollerton for five years and I do wonder that if he hadn’t passed away when he did, how much more he would have developed the club.

The club was doing well on and off the pitch but then a dark cloud appeared with the tragic loss of two players, Pete Abram and Wayne Brewin. Along with Dave Frearson, the club had the brick stand built in the memory of both players and England international Des Walker performed the official opening. Sadly the club later lost another player, Craig Charlton, and his name was also added to the stand. Bill Shankly famously said football is “much more” important than life and death, I can assure it’s not.

My dad eventually helped the club gain planning permission for the floodlights but sadly, he never saw them shine. But one thing he did see shine was Ollerton Town Football Club because Colin Gibson MBE helped make it shine.

On his dad’s mentality and religious upbringing…

To end, if I may, I would just like to give you an insight into his mindset. The cancer was beginning to get hold of him and one day, along with my mum, he returned home from the hospital with the knowledge that he only had weeks to live. What he did next completely blew me away. He sat down at his desk and wrote out the minutes for the upcoming meeting because he wanted to make sure the committee knew where to take the club next.

Religion played a big part in his life, growing up in Newcastle. In those days, this wasn’t unusual. When he was only sixteen, he started to conduct sermons in various Methodist Churches. My Aunty told me that every time he was at a church, it was would be standing room only. That probably had something to do with the fact that he had a secret desire to be a stand up comedian and he used to drop the odd jokes in. I think that early Christian faith gave my dad that determination and mental strength. He really was an extraordinary man.