I will start with a little bit of Posh, and probably a lesser-known couple of meetings between our two clubs in the 1996/97 season. These two games were in the Optimum Interiors Capital League, when our reserves came up against Peterborough United (reserves, I assume). That season was our last at Town Meadow ahead of the move to Broadfield, and also our last in the Capital League before a move to the Suburban League for our reserve side.

The first game at Town Meadow on 11^th September 1996, turned into a heavy 3-0 defeat, which was pretty much how that season continued, although our reserves did beat Woking 5-0 at home in the next game, one of only five wins all season for the reserves. Sadly the season wasn’t that much better for the first team but at least they avoided relegation (just) ahead of the move to Broadfield.

We would visit London Road for the return match on 19^th March 1997 (see team sheet), this time losing 2-0 against a side which would go on to top the Capital League table ahead of Brentford and Wycombe Wanderers, with our reserves finishing second from bottom, ahead of only Sutton United.

19th March 1997 Posh 2 Crawley 0

That final season at Town Meadow would also be the last in an official capacity (as club treasurer) for one of the Red Devils’ “heroes”. Most fans will now have heard the sad news of the death of Audrey Turnbull last Wednesday at the age of 98, even if some of the younger fans are not yet aware of all that she and her family have done for this club.

While Bruce Winfield is rightly lauded for his efforts over many years, culminating in our rise to the EFL in 2011, people such as Audrey and her husband Les helped build the foundations for later successes by keeping the club alive during some very difficult years in the 1970s, all the way through to our move to Broadfield Stadium in 1997.

When Audrey and Les first got involved in the mid 1970s, keeping the club alive looked a near impossible task, with a run-down ground (see pictures) and the finances in an even worse state.

An almost derelict Town Meadow 1975

Les Turnbull, Brian Finer, Archie Elsey 1975

Les became involved when long-time director Brian Finer was still very much the man in charge (aided by Bruce Winfield and another long-time director, Ken Symons), but with dwindling interest from football fans in the town, and attendances only in the 200s, progress proved to be slow.

With much support from Bruce and Les, we managed to get a social club up and running in the late 1970s, and its success gave a significant boost to club finances. When John Maggs took over the managerial reins from Dave Haining, along with a slightly higher budget, the football side of things slowly (very slowly for the first two to three years of the Maggs reign!) started to improve, and a major upturn was promotion to the Southern League Premier Division in 1984.

The early 1980s saw the continued support of Bruce and Ken, but with Les joining the board in the early 1980s, along with another club hero in John Duly, we started to see more local businesses offering their support too. This was certainly no coincidence as, looking in programmes from the early 1980s, I see that many of the advertisers were based around the Copthorne/East Grinstead area, which is where Les, Audrey and John Duly operated their businesses! Also, with people like Jim Green using his professional media skills, and local publican Archie Elsey using his network of contacts, local people started to realise that the club was indeed still functioning – even more so when the surprise promotion arrived in 1984.

1983/84 Promotion Squad & some Club “Heroes”

All through this period of real struggle, from the mid 1970s to the mid 1980s, a small but loyal band of fans/volunteers helped Stan Markham, another hero, in keeping some semblance of a football ground operating before the huge improvements masterminded by John Maggs and the board in the 1990s, ahead of the move to Broadfield. That move was in no small part due to the relationships and contacts built up over the years by the Turnbulls and other club officials with councillors. Those connections helped us to achieve a move to what at the time was one of the very best non-league grounds in the country.

Throughout this period, people like Audrey had been working away in the background, with little fuss, supporting these efforts, and as treasurer from the mid 1980s (to 1996), Audrey was also managing the club’s finances which, as many will realise, is not an easy job in a non-league football club.

After Audrey and Les had to deal with Les’s serious illness, they continued to offer their support to the club – they certainly helped me when I had a spell on the club board in the early 1990s.

As I found when writing an obituary for Les Turnbull in 2016, it isn’t easy finding photos which show Audrey’s work on behalf of the club because it was done with minimal fuss and no self-promotion. However, in recognition of Audrey and all our unsung heroes of the past, I have turned over the rest of this piece to just a few images, remembering some of them (but by no means all), where possible, celebrating a success – successes which rewarded theirs and others’ efforts off the pitch.

Included in these images is one of Audrey, at the age of 97, celebrating our magnificent play-off win at Wembley last year. A just reward for so many years of dedication. RIP Audrey.

Mick Fox – mjfjo@yahoo.co.uk

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  August 1981 Directors Ready for Work (Simon Randall, John Duly, Archie Elsey, Les Turnbull, Les Keating, Ken Symons)

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  Stan Markham & Gilbert Rice Floodlight Cup (I think!)

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  Nov.1991 Directors (Audrey in check coat partly obscured by a celebrating Jim Green!) Celebrating FA Cup win over Northampton.

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  April 2004 SL Championship sealed at Welling, John Duly in jesters hat celebrates with fans.

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  June 2004 The “Backroom” team celebrate SL League & Cup Double & entry into the Conference.

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  February 2011 FA Cup 5th Rnd. Audrey & Les, (Some bloke who played for England a bit), Sue Carter, Silpa Winfield, Sheila & Vic Marley.

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  2016 “Les Turnbull Cup” Audrey hands trophy to Carol Bates Team Captain with team members inc. Gillingham CEO

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  Nov.2023 Launch of Club Exhibition. Me & Audrey with board full of Heroes.

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  Wembley May 2024 Audrey celebrates the Red Devils success.