Annus Horribilis

Thus far, it has not been a great season for Dulwich Hamlet Football Club. Successes on the field have been few and far between, giving supporters precious little to cheer about.

But it has been off the field where things have gone from bad to worse. Today we learned of the very sad loss of centurion Bill Kirby. Bill, another great friend of the Hamlet Historian, had been faithfully supporting Dulwich Hamlet since the 1930s, and even got to drink champagne from the FA Amateur Cup in 1937 as a seventeen year old.

We send our sincere condolences to Bill's family and friends.

You may remember that Bill (seen in the picture with London Mayor Sadiq Khan) recently celebrated his one hundredth birthday. Fate, however, had it that his 'big day' should coincide with the untimely death of Mishi Morath. That was another bitter blow for the club. Mishi is without doubt one of the most influential and inspirational people in the history of Dulwich Hamlet.

In September Ralph Morris one of our old players from the 1950s passed away just as plans were being made for him to visit Champion Hill as the matchday mascot.

Only last week Ralph Hopkins was laid to rest aged 86. Another lovely chap who spent many hours over decades volunteering his services for the club.

And we must not forget Farouk Menia, coach to the Dulwich Hamlet's Women's team was a victim to cancer in November, and supporter Ben Miller soon after.

It almost seems that every match the team plays at Champion Hill is preceded by a minute's silence or minute's applause. Let's trust that there will be no more notable deaths this season, and that the applause might rather be due to a pick up in the on-field fortunes of Dulwich Hamlet Football Club.