John Brown was a well known figure in Lancing and Shoreham so it is fitting that the two teams play a match in his name this Saturday. Club Secretary John Rea said this of John;
‘I was privileged and lucky enough to have known John for over 30 years since I joined the Lancing Football Club fraternity back in 1992 when John was then Chairman. His association with Club goes way back over 50 plus years from when he arrived at the Club as a player. He since held positions of Secretary, Patron as well as being the Chairman for 30 years.
John had a great sense of humour and would often recall the old days when he first took over as Secretary and keep us amused with his stories of yesteryear. John was also an astute businessman who of course he had his own very successful estate agency in Shoreham that saw him working all hours. As Chairman he oversaw the sale of the ground to the Sussex County FA in 1981 and his negotiating skills were put to good use in getting the best possible deal for the Club. John was also part of the negotiating team that saw the Club through the difficult period when Culver Road was redeveloped back in 2007.
As you all probably know John never went anywhere without one of his beloved dogs and they accompanied him to home and away matches. On more than one occasion one of these four legged friends strayed onto the playing pitch much to the amusement of most spectators. There was one occasion I can recall over at Wealden (now AFC Uckfield). (For those of you who don’t know their ground down one side is surrounded by woods and thick undergrowth and a high fence to stop errant footballs disappearing into the wooded area.) On one occasion a ball went over the top of the perimeter fence and John, always eager to fetch back match balls went through the gate to recover the ball only for his dog to escape into the undergrowth and we must have spent the next 30 minutes searching and calling for the dog who eventually decided to come back!
Other amusing episodes with John included retrieving loose footballs from the steam that runs parallel to Arundel’s pitch and John was always there to help out and we nurtured visions of him falling into the water but it never happened. Over at Seaford one muddy afternoon John positioned himself behind the Seaford goal and one of their players decided to air kick the mud off his muddy boots and John took the full force the ejected mud from the said boots much to his own amusement it has to be said. Over at the Oval one Saturday we were watching Lancing take on Eastbourne United and by half time had assumed John was not going to come and watch when he finally turned up after having been over to Eastbourne Town’s ground and getting lost in the process! Great memories of a great man. He also convinced us that he played in goal for Crawley and regaled us with stories of his one appearance and his opening gambit was always “Did I ever mention the time I kept goal for Crawley….”.
John stood down as Chairman in July 2008 following the completion of the ground redevelopment and was always a regular at both home and away games but with his busy work schedule on a Saturday morning I very much doubt John actually ever saw a kick off time home or away. It was a shame when the County FA banned all dogs from entering Culver Road and despite seeking dispensation for his dog it was refused and John stopped attending but still kept in touch.
John was great Club man and without his input and generosity there may well not have been a Club to watch today and the Club is very much indebted to him and he will always be remembered by us. That we now have a preseason friendly with neighbours Shoreham in his memory is a great tribute to this perfect gentleman.’
Kick off is at 3pm on Saturday at The Edgar and Wood Stadium, Middle Road, Shoreham and with former Lancer, Michael Death, back at the helm it is sure to be a tough challenge for Jamie’s team. Shoreham have won both of their pre-season games so far without conceding a goal so we will have to be at our best to bring the trophy back to Culver Road.
