The Sport and Recreation Alliance remembers Ken Gill

The Sport and Recreation Alliance was sad to learn of the passing of Honorary Member, Ken Gill, last week.

Before becoming involved in the CCPR as the Alliance was then known, Ken had a distinguished service career in the Far East throughout World War 2 leading Ghurka soldiers in the islands of the Pacific.

Ken first joined the CCPR in 1959 as a Senior Representative in Yorkshire and served in that role until 1972, after which he moved to Edinburgh to become Head of Sports Development at The Scottish Sports Council. He remained in that role until his retirement.

However, that wasn’t to be the end of Ken’s longstanding and sterling work to promote sport and physical recreation.

Ken was prominent in the early development of the sports leader awards that led to the creation of the British Sports Trust (BST), the CCPR’s charitable arm whose remit was to administer them. In 2003 the BST split from the CCPR and later became Sports Leaders UK, a charity in its own right. With the assistance of Tony Chapman and Wally Keay, Ken developed the original Community Sports Leaders Awards and visited all the relevant training facilities in the North of England.

He was instrumental in writing several of the CCPR’s earlier publications throughout the 1990’s as well as being part of the Colson Fellowship Management Committee from May 1993 until March 1999 when the Colson Fund was transferred to the British Sports Trust.

Ken was also integral to many of the internal restructures that the CCPR made during the 90’s, including making the recommendation that the CCPR appoint a Committee Secretary to ensure cohesion across the six Divisions and committees.

In 2004, Ken was recognised for his services to sport and recreation, and to the CCPR by receiving an Emeritus Award. The contributions that he made during his life to sport and the organisation are rightfully and respectfully remembered.

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