Sadly, we must inform you of the recent and sudden passing of one of our Honorary Life Members and a former Chair of the Men's Hockey section, Tom Einstein. Tom was a part of our club On and Off the Pitch for over 60 years - a true gentleman - and someone through their good grace, humour and enthusiasm espoused the spirit of club hockey and what we call today #hockeyfamily. RIP Tom.

As a small boy, Tom, his brother and parents managed to leave mainland Europe and come to England just before WW2. Tom would eventually follow his father into the textile trading industry and joined our club in the mid 50s. In addition to Hockey, Tom also played Tennis (NOTE: at that time and until 1991, there were 3-4 grass lawn tennis courts, where the new green astro is today), and he established himself within the club as a fine mixed doubles player - Janet Wood remembers playing tennis with Tom in those early days and his tennis skills!

In the 1960’s he started to organise the Easter Hockey Tour to Llandudno. He was 4th XI Captain in 1970/71 and Hockey Secretary from 1972-76. Tom's exploits in Llandudno the stuff of club legend including organising an alternative festival party at the Hydro Hotel (including plenty of dancing...and no doubt drinking!) which clashed with the more formal Official Festival Dance. No one went to the later and Tom and partner in crime Nigel Wood were kicked out of the Festival ! Janet Wood also remember's Tom at an early Timperley visit to Weymouth festival walking down the Prom with the Wood families (and youngsters including Woody - in tow) and Tom being pulled over by the Police for carrying an offensive weapon..... his hockey stick!

A few years later, having taken up umpiring, he was asked to become Chair of Men's Hockey, a post he was to hold for five years until the Hockey centennial season of 1986. Writing in the centenary programme, Tom recalls joining the club in 1958 and the changes in the game during those 28 years. He mentions the obvious pleasures of long ‘pub to pub’ journeys back from away games in those pre breath-test days and of the start of league hockey, which brought with it the concept of improving one’s fitness and of, pre-match preparation !

By that time, Timperley had just installed an artificial turf pitch (the first club in the country, as opposed to a University or institution, to have such a facility on site), and Tom looked ahead to a future for the club game on this new surface hoping that despite these changes, Timperley’s established reputation for a social atmosphere could be maintained. We know now that Tom didn’t need to worry, as this aspect of our Club remains one of our core strengths, and always acknowledged by visiting teams today.

As Chair, Tom was central to the planning and roll-out of the centenary celebrations which enthused the whole club. There were a range of fixtures and events throughout the season culminating in June 1987 with a tour taking three teams (1st XI, Club & vets), to Eindhoven. Fred Croxton, one of Tom’s contemporaries recalls how, with a few hours to spare on the way home, they had a walk around Amsterdam and rather than some of the other more obvious attractions on display, Tom only had eyes for the interior shop decorations, which he thought were.. ‘wonderful’.

There was also the well-known story about the section committee. In the early pre-internet & pre-mobile phone era of the early 80s. Team captains and section would assemble on Monday evenings each week to discuss team selection for the following Saturday. On one such occasion Tom became annoyed that no-one appeared to know if a particular player was available or not, and so asked for the players phone number so that Tom could ring the person directly from the club payphone. After doing so, Tom re-joined the meeting confirming that there was no answer. The problem was that one of the committee had written down Tom’s own home phone number and he was ringing himself !!....

Andrew 'Fozzy' Foster also remembers his first ever senior game for THC in the Autumn of 1971 in the 4th XI on the grass - Tom was Captain and Fozzy remembers playing Full Back alongside Tom sporting his infamous brown leather gloves he played in.

After that centenary season, Tom decided to ‘retire from active service’ and he was elected an ‘Honorary Life Member’. He took that role just as seriously and continued to play a part of the club’s social life when he could. For a while, he was a regular first XI spectator and in recent years, with his partner, Elaine, he never missed the annual Life Members and Vice Presidents Dinner and was a regular wobbly walker at the quarterly old boys Hockey Lunch’s. We now know that he had been ill on and off, albeit not that seriously, for a little while and just into the new year, things worsened and he passed away about 10 days ago, aged 85.

Tom was from a time when personal protective equipment (PPE) on the Hockey pitch was a woolly cricket sweater and a pair of leather gloves, when artificial turf had never been thought of and when hockey goals were literally pieced together by members before and stored away after each match. Peter Christie, who followed Tom as Hockey Chair and who was a friend for over 50s years has described him quite simply… ‘a gentleman’.

Our thoughts are with Elaine and of those who knew Tom through his playing and laterly non playing days at the Club and enjoyed his fine company. Raise a glass to Tom.

Photo: Tom in Eindhoven on THC centenary Tour 1987. We'll be sharing some more Photos on the Timperley Hockey Facebook Page to remember Tom.