As you are all probably aware, on Saturday the club honoured the recent passing of one of TWH’s outstanding contributors both on and off the road/track&field – Bob Lawrence.
Over ninety current and former members paid tribute to our longstanding coach, statistician, records keeper, quizmaster and talented all-round athlete who passed away on 17th December 2023.
In keeping with Bob’s wishes his close family and friends scattered his ashes along a section of the Forest Way near Groombridge surrounded by the entire throng. To mark the occasion a minute’s applause was observed before all present were invited to run or walk further along the former railway line for about an hour before gathering back at the Junction Inn.
Bob was known for shunning photographs of himself but with the help of his son Richard and close friends Chris Elvy and Tony Lavender a selection of images was carefully re-created in print and digital forms by Andy Howey for all to see. These ranged from early childhood, school, teenage years and his decades of competing for Tunbridge Wells Runners and the Harriers. The many facets of Bob’s character and widely varying interests were revealed by this amazing display.
The sideroom and bar at the pub soon became overwhelmed by the sheer number of folk wishing to pay their respects so moving outside into the sunshine we were treated to a moving and fascinating portrayal of Bob’s life from Tony Lavender whose friendship with the man goes back to the early days of the club over 40years ago.
To complete the afternoon’s celebration of Bob’s remarkable contribution it was felt fitting that a ‘Quiz of Bob’ be devised to challenge everyone’s knowledge of the man himself. The results of the sixteen teams are now in (see attached pdf) and they clearly indicate that Bob was never one for blowing his own trumpet, keeping his many talents a well-guarded secret.
The winners by just half a point with 7 out of 10 is the Team ‘Kim Stanley’ (previous winners of Bob’s legendary TWH Glub Quiz). The Wooden Spooners with a woeful score of less than 2 will be advised privately to avoid embarrassment. It is understandable that some other teams may wish to know their score and Cheeky is happy to reveal to those interested at club on Wednesday.
Cheers to Bob, his legacy and new trophies will live on.