Tributes:

Pay your tribute by e-mailing smeditor@stamfordmercury.co.uk

I have just learned with great sadness of the death of Terry Bates. I knew him as a valued contact, and moreover as a friend, during my 10 years as sports editor of the Mercury from 1988 to 1998 and can only echo the sentiments of others which you have published.
Terry helped me in many ways, as well as valuing the help which the Mercury could give him, and was a role model for many involved in organising sports clubs.
He was never frightened of hard work...never shirked the need to raise money in a good cause...and had the happy knack of getting others to help him.
He will be sadly missed in the area.
Phil Hoare

I have had both the pleasures and honour of knowing Terry Bates for some 30odd years. Although not tall in stature, when he walked into a room everyone knew he was there, the aura, not the voice. A man who loved his family very very much. Whatever Terry did he always gave it 110%. Yes, at times he would be a bit on the loud side but if you gave as you got he would burst out laughing and never held animosity. Very much a man amongst men and I am so glad I both knew and worked with him. Whoever wrote the song "Great Balls of Fire" had Terry in mind.
Take care old friend - Bill Spalton

Sad news travels fast. I received an e-mail from one of my sisters with the sad news. My thoughts and prayers are with Sue and the family. May happy memories carry you all through this sorrowful time.
From Bertha in Canada.

I was really saddened to hear the news that Terry had passed away this week. He was a great bloke who I remember fondly from my time at Bourne Town FC.

Terry would often come into the dressing room before a match or at half time. Even if the manager was in full flow Terry would burst in and take over. The manager wasn't pleased but no one said anything as we all knew Terry was the real boss. He'd either give us a good talking to or offer us a bonus if we went out and won! He was a real character who will be sorely missed.

My thoughts are with his family
Jim Foreman, former player at Bourne Town FC

We are extremely saddened and shocked to hear of the passing of Terry Bates. The Yorkshire Cricket Board and the Yorkshire Cricket Association wish to send our sincerest condolences to Sue and the family.

Those of us who are fortunate enough to work in cricket owe Terry a huge debt as he did so much for the NCA and ECB as development manager/director in those early days. He paved the way and shaped cricket at grass roots level as we know it today.

Terry has left a huge lasting legacy and it is now up to all of us to carry on his good work.
Andrew Watson, Director of Development, Yorkshire Cricket Board

The local sporting community lost a great friend and advocate with the passing of Terry.

We will remember his vigour for sporting life and passion for Bourne Town cricket and football clubs.

An exceptional sporting administrator I personally will remember his inspirational leadership within the changing room environment.
Guy Walton, Stamford AFC

I am still in a state of shock after this awful news that Terry had died. I thought he would live forever.

Terry and Sue taught me sport at the secondary modern school and made me very competitive and gave me a love of sport. Bourne will be a very sad place without his happy smiling face, his drive and energy.

I'm so very glad to have met him all those years ago. My deepest sympathy to Sue and family.
Mrs Ruth (Dean) Atter, Edenham

'Mr Chairman' - This is what I always referred to Terry as. Having spoken to him on Saturday night, I was in total shock to hear of his sudden death on Monday.

Terry would ring without fail most Saturdays and as usual we spoke on Saturday evening about the day's match and how we had got on. Having been involved with Bourne Town Football Club for many years, I have worked along side Terry in various capacities and always appreciated his advice and judgement.

His knowledge and commitment to all sports was incredible and he was always willing to give any help and advice whereever he could.

He will definitely be a great loss to the local sporting community and I personally will miss him enormously. My thoughts go to his family at this difficult time.
Darren Munton, Bourne Town Reserves team manager


A few words of tribute to Terry Bates on behalf of the area's journalists.

Yes, he could be a tough taskmaster but he understood what we wanted and was always fair - even if it was criticism!

I first met Terry when he was the Wakes' manager (about 27 years ago) and I was a young sports editor at the Stamford Mercury.

He left an indelible impression as he was a giant, almost legendary figure in Bourne - but crucially someone you could always rely upon for a story.

The same has been true for so many newspaper colleagues over the years. He will be sorely missed.

Nick Woodhead
Group Editor, East Midlands Newspapers
(Includes Stamford Mercury, The Local and Lincolnshire Free Press)

When Terry took over as chairman of the Lincolnshire ECB Premier League five years ago, he brought with him a wealth of cricketing knowledge and experience of ECB matters that proved invaluable.

There were times when we didn't agree, sometimes he got his way, sometimes the clubs over-ruled him but, as was Terry's way, everything was always decided fairly and democratically and under his guidance, the league has prospered.

This week he should have been chairing our first meeting of 2009 and looking forward with all of us to the new season. Instead our clubs have been left extremely shocked and saddened by his sudden death.
Our sincere condolences go to Sue and his family.
Ann Boulton, Lincs ECB Premier League fixture secretary

Like many in Bourne, I was shocked to hear of the sudden death of Terry Bates. I had nothing but admiration for him and it is a great loss to Bourne and sport.

He was a great mentor to me going back to when he taught me at school and then encouraged my cricketing career which ended with my playing for Lincolnshire at county level.

He was captain of Bourne's cricket and football teams as well as their manager and chairman, as well as spending time at Wrexham and then returning to Bourne. He played in my late father's cricket team in his younger days.

His wife, Sue, taught my two children and they have turned out well.

My mother and I send our sincere condolences to her and her family and to all who mourn his loss.
Jonathan Munton, Past President, Burghley Park Cricket Club

Terry was certainly Mr Bourne as far as sport was concerned and was involved with two of the major sporting clubs in the area, football and cricket.

He devoted a lot of time and energy to both clubs over the years and pursued most roles within the cricket club, more recently as our patron.

He will be missed enormously for everything he did over the years.

We are all at a loss for words that he is gone.
Hedley Stroud, Chairman, Bourne Cricket Club

I have never known anyone to have such a passion for sport and the principles of sport as Terry. He was passionate about the standards of sport, the people who played and the facilities they used.

He was, without a shadow of doubt, Mr Bourne when it came to sport.

When you look back at his life it is a celebration of sport. When he achieved one thing, he moved onto another. When he'd done playing, he became manager and then after managing, he went onto fundraising.

He just kept going. I don't know where he got his energy and motivation from, but if we all had as much motiviation as Terry the world would be a better place.

He will be very sorely missed.
David Johnson, President, Bourne Cricket Club

How saddened I am to hear that Terry has died. I remember him from my days at Morton Primary School where his father was headmaster and his mum a teacher. I will always hold them dear to my heart.

Terry became a respected teacher at Bourne County Secondary School, which I attended. He loved his sport and taught us to love it too. A big man with a big heart will be missed by many. My heart felt condolences go to his wife Sue and family he leaves behind.

God Bless Terry, may you rest in peace.
Julia Martin (nee Culpin)

I was very saddened and shocked to read that Terry passed away this week. As many people do, I have a lot to thank Terry for as he gave me my first job in cricket development in 1997 whilst he was in his role as ECB's Director of Cricket.

I had just left university and Terry appointed me in the role as the first Huntingdonshire Cricket Development Officer but his help didn't end there. As the smallest county in the country, Terry was always very supportive of what Huntingdonshire tried to do and at times of trouble, he always offered a solution.

May I take this opportunity to thank Terry for everything he did to not only support me but mainly for all of the hard work he put in on behalf of the England & Wales Cricket Board, the Lord's Taverners and the Cricket Foundation. Terry was a true supporter of all sport, was very proud of his Lincolnshire roots and will be missed.
Gary Steer, Cricket Performance Manager, Warwickshire Cricket Board

Terry, or 'chairman' as most of the players knew him, will be sadly missed around the club, especially on match days.

Even though Terry had stepped down as chairman a couple of seasons ago he still came to nearly every home game and most away games. It was only a couple of weeks ago that Terry was shouting encouragement from the sidelines. You used to dread half time if the team had played poorly, especially when you saw Terry walking towards the dressing room with a face like thunder, but he only wanted the best for the club on and off it.

He was Bourne through and through and will be sadly missed by everyone at the football club.
Aaron Ridout, Bourne Town player

On behalf of the committee of Bourne Town Football Club I write to express our deep shock and sadness at the passing of our friend and life president Terry Bates.

Terry was not just involved in Bourne Town Football Club, he was Bourne Town Football Club and this club will never see the likes of him again.

Obviously Terry was involved with numerous clubs and organisations but I can only speak with football in mind, it did not matter where you went or who you spoke with as soon as you mentioned you were from Bourne Town Football Club you knew the next question would be 'do you know Terry Bates?' It was an honour to say 'Yes, I do'.

I have come to believe in my short association with Bourne Town that everybody in football knew Terry and that Terry knew everyone. Not only will this club miss his presence but we will also greatly miss his guidance, those words on the other end of the phone line, 'Andy have you got a moment – I'll just pop round'. You knew it was going to be not just advice, but sound advice.

The football club, the town and the people who live here will miss Terry Bates for more reasons than they can possibly bring to mind today.
Andy Stubley, Chairman, Bourne Town Football Club

I knew Terry for 35 years through the football club. Even though we had our ups and downs, he was a man to be admired for everything he did with sport.
Derek Glover, former committee member, Bourne Town Football Club

Over the past 10 to 15 years, our paths have crossed quite a lot and I have always found Terry to be very honest. He was a very good friend to me and a wonderful man.

It is going to be a great loss to his family and to the town. He has done so much good for the community.

It is now up to the group that Terry formed (Abbey Lawn Sports Association) to carry on the work he started.
Chairman of Bourne Outdoor Pool Preservation Trust Mandy Delaine-Smith

I was very upset to hear about his death and my sympathies go to his wife.

He did such a lot of good work in Bourne and he was very well-known. I know he will be greatly missed by the football and cricket clubs and a lot of the people who were taught by him at school.

He will be sadly missed in the town.
Bourne mayor Shirley Cliffe

In the first instance I knew Terry when he was manager of the Lincolnshire County Cricket Club and I played under his management and then a number of years later, I took over from him as director of the Cricket Foundation.

I was very saddened and shocked to hear of his passing. He was a man who lived life to the full and who had devoted both his professional life, as well as his life as a volunteer, to sport. He gave many people the opportunity to play cricket and football - his two great loves.

He will be missed.
Nick Gandon, who took over from Mr Bates as director of the Cricket Foundation in 2003

The trustees of the Len Pick Trust are deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Terry and wish to express our deepest condolences to Sue and the family.

Terry has been a member of the trust since 2006 and was due to become its chairman in April. He brought a tremendous energy and enthusiasm to the work of the trust, which was coupled with a deep understanding of the town that we serve and he will be very sadly missed.

Many people who came into contact with him whether it be through his connections with local sports clubs, his career as a teacher at The Robert Manning College or his many other wider roles will also miss Terry. The town has benefited greatly over the years from his stupendous fundraising activities and the town is the poorer for his passing.
The Len Pick Trust

I am struggling to come to terms with the news of his death as life in Bourne is just not going to be the same without him.
Literally thousands of people, the length and breadth of the whole country (and maybe even beyond) have had their lives touched by Terry Bates and we are all much the better for having been in contact with him.

His dedication to sport in general, and Bourne and district in particular is something that we can reflect upon with awe and admiration and we can be so thankful that he passed our way.

He is going to be very sadly missed, but the legacy that he leaves us all is something that we can enjoy for many more years to come. So much of what we enjoy in Bourne is literally down to the efforts and drive of Terry Bates.

Forthright and sometimes even controversial, Terry was never afraid to express his views - sometimes he met opposition, but he was always held in great respect, such was his commitment, his energy and belief in what he was doing.

On a more personal note, I feel privileged to be able to say that he was a very good friend.
Derek Bontoft

It is with great sadness that the ECB has been informed of the death of long-serving former staff member Terry Bates.

The former teacher worked at Lord's for the National Cricket Association and continued his involvement in the administration and development of the recreational game after the NCA was merged into the new ECB in 1997.

He moved on within ECB to become chairman of the Cricket Foundation, retiring five years ago.

Managing director England Cricket Hugh Morris said: "We are very sorry to hear this news. Terry was a long and loyal servant to English cricket and will be sorely missed.

"Our thoughts are with his family at this time."
English Cricket Board

It's a blow for Bourne in a big way. He was a giant in sporting terms He was committed to the town and very hard working. He had a wonderful way of getting things done.
I liked him a lot. If had a reason to disagree with you he would always tell you but never bore a grudge.
Bob Feetham, chairman, Stamford AFC