 Obituary - Bob Rowlands |
Bob, who died on 23 Sep 2024, aged 82, was one of the major Surrey and national players of the past 50 years, with a huge array of county, national and international honours.
The Times published a tribute to Bob by Andrew Robson.
Shirley Pritchard writes: "I will remember Bob as one of the kindest and most amazing opponents I ever had. He appeared to know where all the cards were after two rounds of play. He also never stopped talking about why he’d made a particular bid or play, and how the opponents could have played something else. I remember watching him play in the Tollemache for Surrey in the 90’s, and spending the whole time in awe of his card play."
Peter Lee partnered Bob for many years, achieving many successes. You can find Peter's full tribute here, with a slightly shortened version included below:
I was saddened to hear of the death on 23rd September of my long-term bridge partner Bob Rowlands. He was in a care home in Eastbourne, having been discharged from St Mary’s hospital following a broken hip suffered in late May, when he suddenly collapsed and died.
He was born in Swansea on June 1st 1942 – so was 82 at the time of his death – but moved to Lewes in 1954 when his parents separated, and attended Lewes County Grammar School. He taught himself bridge using “Bridge for Beginners” by Victor Mollo and Nico Gardener. Initially, he played rubber bridge and then, in 1962, made his first venture into duplicate, winning the London Teams of 4, including a quarter-final win by over 100 IMPs against a team including Boris Schapiro. He retired from his job in 1989, to concentrate on bridge teaching.
Bob showed his skill aged 21 years on his hand:
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Dummy
♠ A 3
♥ K J 5
♦ K 9 3
♣ K J 10 8 5
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Contract 3NT
Lead ♠4
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Bob
♠ K 10 5
♥ Q 10 7
♦ J 10 6 5
♣ A Q 2
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After a weak 1NT on his left and 3NT on his right, partner led the ♠4, and dummy played low. Bob quickly played ♠10, and, on winning ♣Q at trick 2, exited with ♠K, beating the contract with partner having five spades to the Jack. Had he won ♠K at trick one the defence would only have taken one trick in spades, but on Bob’s defence they took three. This was a very good effort for an inexperienced 21-year-old, Bob calculating that his partner was marked with one point at most.
In 1966 Bob played in the European trials with Brian Cowley and made the team with Harrison-Gray/Tony Priday and Louis Tarlo/Claude Rodrigue. They finished a close fourth, 3 VPs behind the winners, France. Bob would also have qualified in 1969, but one of his team led out of turn against 3NT, the resulting penalty meaning that his opponents won the trials and his team was second, whereas a normal lead would have resulted in his team winning the trials and representing Great Britain in the European Championships.
Bob also played in five Camrose matches, winning all of them, the last in February 1977. He retired from playing internationally aged 34.
His domestic successes included the following wins:
Gold Cup (2003), Crockfords Cup (1975, 1976), Spring Fours (1975, 1987), Pachabo (1967, 1968, 1987), Hubert Phillips (1980, 1982), Lederer (1970), Life Masters Pairs (1968), Grandmasters Pairs (1983, 1998), National Pairs (1976, 2003, 2007, 2012, 2014), Corwen (1986, 1999, 2011), Tollemache (2001), Brighton Pairs (1967) and Portland Pairs (1971) as well as numerous successes at County level – for Essex initially, and for Surrey in the last 40 or so years.
In 1966 he won the Sunday Telegraph Salver, for the most Master Points won in the year.
He was the youngest player to become a grandmaster when he achieved it, though I understand that his record was later broken. Though he played very little in the last 10 years due to a bad back, he is still in the top 10 of all time EBU Master points winners.
In recognition of his successes in international and national bridge events, and his support of junior bridge, Bob was awarded the EBU's Diamond Award in 2016. Earlier, in 2010 he was given the John Armstrong Award, an award for those who play bridge in the best spirit.
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| Obituary - Jeffrey Allerton |
We are very sad to report that Jeffrey Allerton died on 1 Sep 2024, after a long and debilitating illness. One of the country's top players, Jeffrey was a former junior world champion and represented England many times, most recently at the Bermuda Bowl in 2019.
Within Surrey, he was a regular winner of our major teams and pairs events.
Jeffrey also served for many years on the Surrey committee, a gentle but hugely influential force who contributed what always proved to be wise, down-to-earth counsel.
The Daily Telegraph published a tribute to Jeffrey by Tom Townsend (reprinted here by permission):
Jeffrey Allerton, who has died of a brain tumour aged 54, was a bridge player who won the 1994 European Junior Championships at Papendal in the Netherlands and the 1995 World Junior Championships in Bali.
Of that all-conquering junior team, which included his partner Tom Townsend, along with Danny Davies, Philip Souter and the twins Jason Hackett and Justin Hackett, Allerton was the only one who carried on playing bridge competitively without becoming a professional. Believing it better to have a "proper" job, he forged a successful career as an accountant, becoming a lynchpin of the Surrey firm Roger Sutton.
His other major international appearances were partnering Chris Jagger for England in the 2018 European Championships in Ostend and, as the team qualified to do so from that, in the 2019 Bermuda Bowl in Wuhan. In addition Allerton played in an English team in the Camrose in six different years and in the Junior Camrose for three consecutive years.
He preferred playing a strong one no-trump opening, but when he partnered Jagger he played a weak no-trump to keep his partner happy. This meant that, in the trial for selection to the England team and in the actual championships, he and his partner were playing a different system to the rest of the field, which created swings, some good and some less so.
His domestic successes at the bridge table included the Gold Cup in 2003 and 2011 as well as the Spring Foursomes in 2015 and 2022. The last of these wins was especially notable because prior to playing in the 2022 Spring Foursomes he had just completed a course of radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Jeffrey Charles Allerton was born in Manchester on April 6 1970, the first day of the new tax year – a fitting date for a future accountant. He was the youngest of three children to David, who later commuted between the UK and Switzerland as Professor of Modern English Linguistics at the University of Basel, and Rosemary, a teacher and later university lecturer in education.
Having been introduced to bridge by his sister, he set up a bridge club at his school, Altrincham Grammar, which he then represented with some success.
From Altrincham he went up to Jesus College, Cambridge, to read mathematics, where he met his future wife Frances Hinden, a fellow student of mathematics, and now group treasurer for Shell.
In their early days as a couple, while Frances was undertaking postgraduate studies at Cambridge, he sometimes crossed London specially to carry her suitcase from Victoria station to King’s Cross.
After graduating Allerton worked for a local accountancy firm in Surrey, Roger Sutton, which in due course became Harmer Slater, and was recently taken over by Shaw Gibson. He trained as a chartered accountant and as a tax adviser, paying for his own tuition and passing all of his exams first time.
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| Obituary - Mike Scoltock |
Mike Scoltock, one of Surrey's most successful players over many years, died on 21 Mar 2024. Click here for a tribute to Mike, published in the Daily Telegraph.
We also include below a personal tribute from a regular partner, Peter Lee.
A Personal Tribute Peter Lee, April 2024
I was very saddened to learn of Mike Scoltock’s premature death at age 64. I knew him as a friend and team mate in the Tollemache and in Surrey team events for many years. I first partnered him in 2013, and played very regularly with him in the past seven or eight years. I found him very bright and kind, and an extremely strong and thoughtful player. He was aware of his impending death some time before it occurred, but took it with great fortitude, trying to fit in as much bridge as possible before the inevitable, and never complaining.
He was married to Mary for 35 years and had two children, now aged 33 and 35. He read Psychology at Hull University and only a few years ago got an MSc in Taxation at Oxford University, and worked as a tax partner. He played rugby union in his younger days, and more lately acted as a referee. Indeed I remember him explaining details of the laws to me, while we watched a game on Friday night at a hotel in the Midlands prior to playing in a national bridge final.
His national successes in the last 3 years included playing in teams winning Crockfords, the Garden Cities and the National Teams League, and winning the Corwen with Jeffrey Allerton. He was also a member of Surrey’s only Tollemache winning team, playing with Paul Fegarty, in 2002. Further details of his successes can be found on the Mayfield Bridge Club website.
Below, I show a hand he played recently in a Surrey League match, which illustrates the strength of his card reading.
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Peter
ª K 10 8 7
© K 10 3
¨ 10 9 7
§ K 5 2
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ª Q 6 5 3 2
© A 2
¨ Q 5
§ Q 9 8 4
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Contract
4© by S
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ª A J 9 4
© J 7 5
¨ J 6 4 2
§ 10 6
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Mike
ª -
© Q 9 8 6 4
¨ A K 8 3
§ A J 7 3
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In an uncontested auction at Game All, Mike opened 1©, I raised to 2© (showing 7-10 with 3 hearts or a weak 4 card raise), Mike made a game try with 3§ and I bid 4©.
After a spade lead covered all round, Mike ruffed, played a heart to ♥K and finessed to the now blank ♥A. After a spade continuation again covered all round, Mike ruffed, played the ♦AK and low to dummy's ♦10, and East exited with his heart, Mike winning and West discarding a spade.
At trick 9, this was the position:
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Peter
ª K 10
© -
¨ -
§ K 5 2
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ª Q 6
© -
¨ -
§ Q 9 8
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Trick 9
Four more tricks needed from five
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ª A 4
© -
¨ 6
§ 10 6
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Mike
ª -
© -
¨ 8
§ A J 7 3
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Mike cashed his winning diamond and West had to discard another spade to keep the blank ♠Q and ♣Qxx. Mike then discarded a club from dummy, cashed ♣A and ♣K, and at trick 12 played ♠K to pin the now blank ♠Q and make trick 13 with ♠10, East having been forced to play the ♠9 and ♠J earlier.
Well played indeed.
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| With Sadness - In Year 2023 |
Frances Trebble died on 16 Feb 2023. She was a loyal member of the SCBA committee for many years, including being Competitions Secretary and, in 2006-7, President. After standing down from SCBA, she remained a committed and untiring supporter of bridge at Farnham BC.
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| With Sadness - In Year 2019 |
| 2019 |
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Tim Cook
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It was, with great sadness, that we learnt from Mayfield Bridge Club of the sudden death of Tim Cook on Thursday 21st February 2019. He and his wife, Ann, had recently returned from the cruise of a lifetime aboard the QE2 to Perth followed by an extended stay with family. Ann reported that Tim had experienced some recent heart problems, first diagnosed at the beginning of 2014, when he went down with pneumonia. He had also collapsed on Rye golf course in May 2017. A relatively recent change in medication appeared to alleviate the situation and offer encouragement. On Thursday afternoon, however, he suffered a cardiac arrest at home and although stabilised by the emergency service and rushed to St George’s, he suffered a further arrest on arrival. Sadly, despite the best efforts of the staff there, he passed away shortly afterwards.
Adrian Patrick – Mayfield Bridge Club Chairman writes;
Tim was very strong bridge player – one to be respected and feared! He was a loyal and valued member of the Mayfield for many years and served on the Committee since 2013. He was a Tower of Strength and he played a major role in reviewing Disciplinary Procedures and producing the new Club Constitution in 2015. Tim embraced the New Technology and was responsible for producing our Duplimated hands in recent years. He edited the Mayfield Newsletter including the last issue on returning from Australia with his own anecdotes from the trip – playing bridge with lesser mortals. Tim was the “go-to” person to discuss difficult hands; whether in the bidding or the play. Tim also served the Surrey County Bridge Association well over a number of years, becoming its President in 1998.
Dave Norman, Club Captain, adds:
Tim and I first played together in late 2014 and soon found that we shared both a good understanding of one another's styles as well as a dry sense of humour. After a handful of games we were playing to a decent standard, largely because Tim impressed on me the need to play solid pairs bridge before looking aggressively for "tops".
He reintroduced me to national competitions when we played in the Brighton Swiss Pairs in 2015, staying in the top 30 throughout, and ending 20th out of nearly 300; if I hadn't butchered a hand in the last match, we'd have been 9th! His poor health unfortunately restricted further opportunities. In our four years playing at Mayfield we won the Liz Phillips Cup, the Teams Cup, the Open Swiss Pairs, and (for Mayfield) the Wanborough Cup.
We always respected each other's view, and never fell out over any differences - only learning by them. It was a privilege to have played bridge with Tim and to have counted him as a friend.
Roger Morton adds:
I first met Tim when I re-joined Mayfield BC towards the end of the 1990’s. We soon formed a fairly regular Club partnership. We had some modest success, winning the Norman Cup (our Club Pairs Championship) in 2005 and 2008. To echo our Club Captain’s comments above, Tim was a strong partner e.g. he won our 2014/2015 Mayfield Cup for the best member performance over the whole year. Probably his most notable result, however, was winning the 1998 Surrey County Teams Championship (the Lady Rose Cup) with Mike Ellis, Bob McMurray & Ian Fraser. Tim had also featured in two winning ‘Wanborough Cup’ County Club Teams Championships representing Mayfield in 2011 and 2016.
Tim and I had many things in common. When we were a lot younger, we had both started our Club bridge in the Midlands at the Stafford BC. We both played Golf and we entered the Surrey County Bridge/Golf tournament at Hindhead a couple of times. As a young man, Tim had joined my own club on Epsom Downs, but latterly, he had moved to Tyrrells Wood and then to Rye before ill health forced retirement from the game. Tim’s golf standard, hovering just above a single figure handicap, was a lot better than mine! Coincidentally, our families had crossed paths many years ago. Tim started his career with Coutts Bank having first been interviewed by my future father in law, Dick Robertson who was a senior Coutts executive at the time and later, President of Ashtead Cricket Club. Allegedly, they just discussed sports over a cup of coffee. Tim got the job!
Tim joined me on the panel of Bridge Lecturers for Fred Olsen Cruises in 2003. This involved hosting the bridge activity on one or two cruises per year. I have fond memories of one assignment when we were together on the same ship with our wives Ann & Jean, this time sailing to the Canaries on ‘The Black Prince’. We were supposed to be helping Olsen to recruit more bridge players to their Cruise holidays!
Ann recalls one notable afternoon on this cruise, the same day that England won the Rugby World Cup Final. “We were crossing the Bay of Biscay in a gale and Tim took the Bridge lesson. He was hanging on to the flip chart with one hand and a nearby railing in the other with his assistant (me) supplying regular updates of the score.” It’s a tale that he often used to tell.
I will miss Tim both as a Bridge player and a friend. My thoughts are with Ann and the Family at this sad time.
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John Frosztega
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Mayfield Club reports the sad news that John Frosztega died on 18th Jan 2019.
Peter Lee Reports; “John played for the Sussex county team for years. I don't know his full list of bridge successes but a major one was winning the Gold Cup in 2003 in my team. My team started as a team of six (me with Bob Rowlands - a Mayfield member for many years, Sean O'Neill and Tony Lunn - also members, and Frances Hinden and Jeffrey Allerton - not members). Tony unfortunately died part way through, and John Frosztega was called in as a substitute to play with Sean. Sean and John did well, particularly in the final when Bob was not well and only played a limited number of boards. He was married, to Margaret, and worked as a government statistician though had long since retired. He played a number of times at the Mayfield, with Roger Morton and Sean O’Neill.”
Gerry Stanford (on the Sussex County website) writes;
“I first played with and against John at the Horsham Bridge Club in the early 80's. Over many years, John was able to play at the highest level. Among his earliest successes was reaching the final of the EBU Spring Fours as the undefeated team along with his preferred partner of many years, Ian Lancaster. Also, on several occasions, John and Ian reached the final weekend of the Gold Cup.
John represented SCCBA for many years as part of our Tollemache team and latterly helped a Surrey team to win the Gold Cup.
John moved to Harrogate in 2018 to be nearer family.”
Roger Morton adds; “John was a formidable player. He taught me a lot! He joined Mayfield BC some twenty years ago. He and I had built a fairly serious partnership. We played in various Club events and we won the 2003 Norman Cup (Club Pairs Championship). We later entered the EBU Camrose Senior Team Trials in 2012 at Solihull. (We did not do ourselves justice, however, as John and a team mate were both ill over the weekend!)”
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| With Sadness - In Year 2018 |
| 2018 |
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George Gardiner
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Sadly George Gardiner died on Thursday evening 17th May in Kingston Hospital after surgery for a bowel tumour. He was a gentleman with a ready sense of humour, and he was a really good and committed bridge player. He was a Surrey committee member for over 5 years from 2011 to 2015. George was a helpful and friendly member of the committee always urging committee decisions to be made with the ordinary club member in mind.
Attendees at George's funeral were asked to dress "mostly dark but with a splash of colour to mark [his] combination of respecting 'what is right' and also his love of life".
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Judith Morris
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Mrs J.R.Morris died peacefully on March 29th at The Princess Alice Hospice, Esher, after a courageous battle with leukaemia. Judith was Surrey President 1986-87 and before that Competitions Secretary for many years.
She was a member of the Mayfield Club and later, until recently, Effingham Bridge Club.
For over twenty years she was secretary to the Surrey Business Houses Bridge League, helping build it to over sixty teams at its peak, before it was disbanded in the early nineties.
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John Timberlake
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Roger Morton of Mayfield Bridge Club writes .....
Mayfield Bridge Club is very sad to report the death of John Timberlake. He was taken into hospital in the early hours of Tuesday morning, 30th January 2018. He passed away the following Friday evening. John served the Mayfield Duplicate Bridge Club loyally as Chairman for 20 years, retiring in 2004. He steered the Club through its transition from ‘Proprietary’ to ‘Members Club’ status in 1984.
John was a very accomplished player, winning many Mayfield BC Cup competitions over the years, usually in partnership with his wife Sylvia. He reached the lifetime rank of Premier Life Master. Nationally, John won the 1992 Senior Swiss Teams Championship playing with Sylvia, Geoff Cronin, and Mike Cashman.
Reminiscing with John about ‘the old days’ a few years ago, he summarized his own bridge history in an email to me as follows; “I learnt bridge in 1939 when my parents (living in Garratts Lane Banstead) had a regular Sat night game in the blackout with me partnering a chap called Hal Smyth. It taught me the rudiments of bidding and card play. Other friends that my parents played with were Bert & Kath Coward, Dudley & Phil Freshwater, and Charles (who lived in Winkworth Road). Dicky Phillips played with Lundie Rees then and they were livid when pipped out of winning the County Pairs by my parents around 1948. When I got to Cambridge, after school and two years in the Army, I joined the University Bridge Club and was very fortunate to have two Camrose players in the same college (Trinity) - Peter Swinnerton-Dyer, a don, and Julian Beale (younger brother of Martin of Scicon fame). They taught me Vienna for disciplined bidding and later Acol, and I played against Oxford twice, being the President in my last year. After that it was work, marriage and 3 kids, and Iran until 1979. I'd taught Sylvia to play (and she was a natural) and she began duplicate in 1975 at the American Women's Club in Tehran with another wife and she won first time out. Returning after the Revolution, and back in Cheam, I joined the London Duplicate Club and met Alan Bailey and, also wanting a local club, I phoned Dicky who said ‘the Mayfield’. Other top names were Nicky Grenfell, John Rolls etc. In 1984, Kath gave up and I became Chairman of the new club - the rest is history.”
John also excelled at Tennis and Croquet. Tennis: He won the Surrey Junior Boys' doubles title in 1948, and played for Cambridge University in the early 1950s. He was a Wimbledon Centre Court umpire for 30 years. Croquet: He Played for England against Switzerland in 2008 and 2009 and he won the prestigious Hurlingham Wine Coolers (with Mike Hann) in 2010.
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| With Sadness - In Year 2017 |
| 2017 |
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Beryl Doughty passed away on 15th January. Beryl was a formidable player and friend and inspired many players as well as being a major player until her early 90s at Camberley and Yateley. Beryl's eulogy is within the Camberley BC Feb17 Newsletter.
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| It is witth sadness that we have learned that Peggy Griffin passed away on 2 November 2017: Peggy joined the Surrey Committee in 1994 and served the County for 21 years. During that time, Peggy took on many onerous tasks and fulfilled a wide variety of roles on behalf of the County, including Congress Secretary (for 10 years), Match Secretary (for 13 years), Shareholder and league organiser. Peggy was also the County’s Master Points Secretary for several years. In the days before computerisation and direct crediting, this was a particularly onerous job as at the end of the season master point cards had to be written for all the winners and league participants; in those days there were over 70 teams in Surrey’s County Knockout and Plate competition, not to mention the various leagues and numerous tournaments organised by the County. Peggy also served as President in 2000 and 2005, during which time she visited many clubs and was a great ambassador for the County. |
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| With Sadness - In Year 2016 |
| 2016 |
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Dr Robert Russell Allan, known as Russell passed away peacefully on 11th December, aged 86. Russell was a Grand Master and played at Farnham and RAE in Surrey. In 2000, Russell was part of the winning team in the Pachabo Cup. SCBA Doc
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Paul Shannon passed away Wednesday 11th May. He had been suffering from cancer for the past few months, but had been in remission as I understand it. He was at the County Pairs in April playing with his regular partner Nick Browne. Paul had been a great teacher and director especially at Camberley and Farnham - he also, you may remember helped Mac to run the University bridge at Guildford. Ref: "English Bridge" Aug 2016 SCBA Doc
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Beryl Absalom, who has died aged 85, was a highly talented player with great table presence. She won many county and national events and was a delight to partner.
She also won every prize – some more than once – at Selsdon Bridge Club. She will be sadly missed, both there and at Coulsdon where she also played. Ref: "English Bridge" Feb 2016 SCBA Doc
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Roy Smith passed away Friday 12th February, aged 83. Roy played in Surrey and nationally for the last 49 years, winning many county titles and representing the county.
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| It is with great sadness that we report that Tony Eastgate passed away on Tuesday 9 February, aged 87. Ref: "English Bridge" Apr 2016 SCBA Doc |
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| With Sadness - Other |
| Other |
| Mike Dunstan 2015 |
"English Bridge" SCBA Doc |
Oct-15 |
| Derek Aneas 2015 |
"English Bridge" SCBA Doc |
Jun-15 |
| Detta Bentley 2015 |
"English Bridge" SCBA Doc |
Jun-15 |
| Peter Bentley 2015 |
"English Bridge" SCBA Doc |
Apr-15 |
| Celia Talbot 2013 |
SCBA Newsletter SCBA Doc |
Dec-13 |
| Kath Coward 2012 / 13 |
"Surrey Bridge" SCBA Doc |
Spring 2010 |
| Penny MacLeod 2011 |
"English Bridge" SCBA Doc |
Jun-11 |
| Richard Currie 2009 |
"English Bridge" SCBA Doc |
Dec-09 |
| Stuart Sather 2009 |
"English Bridge" SCBA Doc |
Aug-09 |
| Muriel Thruston 2008 |
"Surrey Bridge" SCBA Doc |
Winter 2003 |
| Kit Platt 2007 |
"Surrey Bridge" SCBA Doc |
Spring 1999 |
| Dickie Phillips OBE 2007 |
"English Bridge" SCBA Doc |
Oct-07 |
| Don King 2007 |
“Surrey Bridge” SCBA Doc |
Summer 2007 |
| Rene Price 2006 |
“Surrey Bridge” SCBA Doc |
Winter 2006 |
| Phil Garner 2006 |
"English Bridge" SCBA Doc |
Apr-06 |
| Ken Craigie 2003 |
“Surrey Bridge” SCBA Doc |
Spring 2004 |
| Tony Lunn 2003 |
“Surrey Bridge” SCBA Doc |
Spring 2004 |
| Eileen Flower 2003 |
“Surrey Bridge” SCBA Doc |
Spring 2003 |
| NLJ “John” Davies 2002 |
“Surrey Bridge” SCBA Doc |
Spring 2003 |
| George Hart 2002 |
“Surrey Bridge” SCBA Doc |
Spring 2002 |
| Alexander J. Martin 2001 |
“Surrey Bridge” SCBA Doc |
Autumn 2001 |
| Naomi Sinclair 2000 |
“Surrey Bridge” SCBA Doc |
Autumn 2000 |
| Allan Packett 1998 |
“Surrey Bridge” SCBA Doc |
Autumn 1998 |
| Jim Byrne 1997 |
“Surrey Bridge” SCBA Doc |
Autumn 1997 |
| Jim Taylor 1997 |
“Surrey Bridge” SCBA Doc |
Summer 1997 |
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