Obituary - John Cleary, HCC Club President

John Cleary, the esteemed President of Highgate Cricket Club, has sadly died at the age of 81. He was the longest serving member of the club having joined in the late 1960s. John was a stalwart member of the 3rd XI in the days where we fielded three teams, a useful off-spinner and very enthusiastic batter, skippering the team and opening the innings for many years with his friend Mike Jobling (Jobbers).

He was a keen and very useful committee member, Club Chair briefly, Club Secretary for a good while, Cricket Secretary for many years, SCT Trustee for 20 years and also involved with the 1987 League.

After his retirement from the game, John umpired the 2nd XI league side for a decade. He always attended club dinners to hand out trophies, and enjoyed the camaraderie that the young players brought to these events.

Cricket was a major part of his life, but he was a school teacher by profession, and happily married to his wife who sadly passed away four years ago.

JC (as he was affectionately known) was always keen to help the club, and was the perfect person to represent the club as Honorary President.

Simon Battersby