SATURDAY 19 JULY 2025 – SAVE THE DATE
At Club legend Roger Dean’s funeral in January there was a fantastic turnout by current and former Exiles members. Amid all the reminiscing afterwards a clear desire emerged for a special Exiles reunion event later this year. The Management Committee has since agreed on a date for this event which will be in the evening on Saturday 19 July.
The Management Committee have also agreed on the creation of a new award in Roger’s memory. We decided that we already have sufficient annual playing awards as well as awards to recognise individual contributions behind the scenes. The new award in Roger’s memory will be different, being in recognition of exceptional work behind the scenes over an extended period, so there will not necessarily be awarded annually. We feel that this is particularly appropriate given Roger’s extraordinary work for the Club over so many years. The first award(s) will be made at the event on 19 July.
Roger was the instigator of Exiles first eleven “colours” which were designed to be the equivalent of the county cap. The award was a badge to be stitched on to club sweaters and a rather unsightly tie which demanded the use of sunglasses! We have decided to change the award so as to be a new style Exiles cap with “1ST XI” embroidered on the side. These will be given out on 19 July to current players who have been awarded 1ST XI “colours”.
There will be a charge to cover the cost of buffet style food. To help plan the catering we will be seeking to confirm attendance in advance through the purchase of tickets. For now, though, it would be helpful if you could give us advance indication of your intention to attend by notifying Peter Gilbert asap (email: peter.scorebox@outlook.com tel: 020 8341 2922). Please also advise if you are likely to be bringing anyone with you. We will provide full details by the end of May.
Thanks
David Taylor
ps. It is still not too late to add a tribute to Roger in the online Book of Condolence. The more contributions the better. The link is below.
https://rememberancebook.net/book/roger-graham-dean/