It is with deep regret that we announce the death of this committed and dedicated Officer on Wednesday night, peacefully from an illness that he had so patiently borne, in a Nursing Home in Brighton. He chose to move there a few weeks ago to be close to his sailing friends; fortunately one of them was able to visit him hours before he slipped away.
Maurice joined us in 2002, making it clear that it would be for a max five year stint before retiring and pursuing other interests. He was not a man to leave any job unfinished; he was always the last out of the stadium. He became so engrossed in his work, running from organising one Championships to another, Outdoor would no sooner be finished before he would be on the motorway to Birmingham for the next year’s Fixtures Meeting, the booking of venues for the Indoor and the enormously time-consuming task of finding up to 90 Officials to run our 2-day Track & Field and Indoor Championships as well as the Multi Events.
He continued in his professional work up to a few years ago, he was a Chartered Structural Engineer before setting up his own Consultancy business in Chelsea and frequently used his Office facilities for our work. His workload was enormous, yet he never missed any of our then Delegates or Executive Meetings; he would carry out a recce at his own expense of the next European or World Championships, checking on transport, hotels etc. Many of us found that feedback invaluable in our trip planning, and with his knowledge and experience he also advised the Organising Committee on the timescale and how the programme might be improved.
He competed in a few of these earlier Championships until other commitments made it impossible time-wise for him to train etc. He headed up the Team Managers and with Archie Jenkins, Lynn Marr, Arthur Kimber and Ian Richards, we were internationally acknowledged as one of the best managed teams, you would find Maurice at the trackside from early morning till close of the last event.
When he first joined the Executive he wrote passionately about having a dream; that was to see all of you appropriately attired in the official GBR Masters clothing and woe and betide those who did not conform, you would have quickly received one of his dreaded emails! He can now rest in peace in the knowledge that not only did his dream come true, but he was to witness all of you who competed at the last World Championships in Malaga take us to top of the Medal Table, that was a dream that he no doubt though he could only dream of in view of the size of some other teams.
He tried passionately to bring a European or World Championships to Britain, the Olympic stadium would be ideal, he spent hours and huge personal expense seeking meetings with key people in Parks Department, stadium owners, eventually getting UKA approval, only to be thwarted. It is now so sad to think that should we in the near future host one of these events, he will not be there to ensure, in his own words “It would be one of the best organised ever”.
Born in Northampton in September 1939, eventually moving South, he joined Woking AC and then VAC, and as a competitor he did the steeplechase and cross-country. As news of his death spread, tributes have been pouring in from all over the place – he never knew just how much his work and eye for detail was valued. The BMAF Executive and all members offer our sincere condolence to his sister Sandie and thank Archie Jenkins and Arthur who kept in constant touch with him by phone.
Bridget Cushen April 2021
When still competing in Championships abroad, I quickly got used to Maurice`s pre-event emails and immediately thought this man has too much time on his hands. I very quickly appreciated the hard work and his reconnaissance visits were all for the benefit of the Great British Master`s Athletics team. Easily described as combative, like it or not, it was always with the athlete`s best interests at heart. He would go the extra mile regardless of your ability. Joining him in 2005 at the European Non-Stadia Championships in Monte Gordo in Portugal as a team manager for the first time, a good sea food restaurant had already been researched before arrival. Annually at European and World Championships, I witnessed his appetite for nineteen-hour days. Although, as part of a generation who enjoyed his lunch he would disappear for an hour, networking at the same time. Often, after midnight at the end of a long day he could relax with a local `red`. One tip I learned, Maurice did not need the wine list, he had full confidence in the local house wine, always at a very competitive price. The banter often involved his friendship with the legendary Tom Jones. Before this relaxation, he would not leave the stadium until the last British athlete had finished for the day, whatever the event.
First thing in the morning he was more than ready to tackle the LOC on any issue regarding the British team. No country had more pre meeting questions than Great Britain. Likewise, before the Championship he would go through the LOC Competition Manual with a fine-tooth comb and quickly find inaccuracies. In recent times, LOC`s were using his knowledge and experience in advising timetabling and he was often part of pre championship technical site visits. All Maurice`s recce trips were self-funded, his long days completely voluntary. With his hire car, fellow team managers were looked after, with airport transfers whatever the distance. His evening recce`s if he had a moment were for one reason alone – venue selection for the legendary end of Championship party where various countries were more than happy to attend and let their hair down and in Maurice`s words `wear their bling`.
Maurice as some will know, found it hard to delegate and I took it as the greatest compliment that he left all endurance matters to me. I`m not sure whether he thanked me for selecting him for his age-group cross country relay team in the European Non-Stadia Championships in Regensburg in 2010, but he was certainly delighted with his European Championship medal. Similarly, who can forget how he brought the house down in his final race, running the M75 800m at the Indoor Championships at Lee Valley.
The table topping Great Britain & NI medal performance in Malaga in 2018 was certainly Maurice`s greatest hour.
His love of athletics, the British Masters Athletic Federation, sailing and socialising with his friends and looking out for the Arsenal result were what he loved the most. Dedication, loyalty, hard-working and the ability to get the job done are only a few of the many attributes to describe Maurice who soon became a very good friend. At this point of time, I can`t imagine an International Championship without him. R.I.P.
Archie Jenkins April 2021