Bar na bas
Schoolboy⭐
It is good to have a place on here to share news of ex players and fans who are no.longer with us.
Two years ago, I shared the news that my father, Kenneth Crowe, had died at the age of 84. We gave him a good send off at his funeral and included his name in the roll of honour on the scoreboard and in the programme of the first home game in 2020.'
And then, last Monday, my younger brother Stephen Crowe, died at the age of 57, of pneumonia, after suffering in recent years with dementia. He was born with Down Syndrome in 1964 at a time when parents were told to "put them in a home and forget about them", but fortunately, my parents were determined to love and care for him and his presence in our family was a joy and inspiration which guided our futures, as we all went into social or care work of some kind. My parents did a lot of voluntary work with MENCAP and mum set up self help groups for parents who had just had a baby born with Downs, this at a time when virtually the only peer support groups in the UK were Alcoholics Anonymous, so pretty.ground-breaking stuff, all thanks to Stephen's birth.
He achieved loads in his life, and had many interests, especially music, and played drums with the Music Man group for people with learning disabilities. He even played drums on stage at the London Palladium, not a lot of people can say.that!!! He loved volunteering and was great with the babies and children at the church mums and toddlers group.
My dad introduced me to Southend United in 1968 (we won 4-0, a good start) and then we started taking Stephen to matches, when he was old enough to know.what was going on.
He became a huge Southend fan, and loved going to the Hall. It was fun taking him along, though not without its hairy moments. Three stand out for me:
January 1976, FA Cup 4th round v Cardiff City, we won 2-1, setting.up an away trip to.the Baseball Ground. For some reason, there were Cardiff City fans on the South Bank and had a bit of a rampage at one point. Stephen aged 11 was quite loud in asking "Why are those men being horrible?" whilst pointing at them as they passed by, necessitating some urgent hushing up!!!
Along those lines, I remember having to take cover in the doorway of a house up Shakespeare.Drive after we met a large crowd of Wolves fans coming up the road from the North Bank end, after we had beaten them.1-0 in April 1987 when we were both going for promotion from the 4th division. We made it, they didn't, until going up as division winners the following year (look at where the teams are now!!!) Anyway, the Wolves fans were not happy and on this occasion, Stephen now aged 22 was scared. Especially when a couple of the fans came up the path after us. Fortunately, they just held their right hands out and shook us both by the hand to offer congratulations on the win!!!
And I vividly remember struggling to offer an answer another time when my brother asked loudly in the South Upper stand, why the crowd were singing "the referee's a winker"
He loved going to Meet the Blues Day and sometimes went to Boots and Laces to watch training. There were a number of players who used to look out for him and always greeted him warmly.
Even after his health meant he could not get to matches, he used to listen to the games on the radio, and made sure he was wearing the right shirt (home or away). He would then chat to my dad on the phone after the game. I am not sure that the match reports were too accurate. Stephen must have been one.of Southend's most optimistic supporters. Even in these last
few years, when we talked about Southend, he would say we did well, even if he had listened to a match we had lost 3-0!!!
To the last, he was a fan. Even on the day he went into hospital, he was wearing a Southend United polo shirt and he will be wearing that for his last journey, with a Blues bobble hat and scarf in his coffin which will also be Southend United blue.
He was, and is, an.absolute gem. We will miss him greatly.but celebrate a life well-lived, a brother well-loved...
Rest in peace, Stephen.
Two years ago, I shared the news that my father, Kenneth Crowe, had died at the age of 84. We gave him a good send off at his funeral and included his name in the roll of honour on the scoreboard and in the programme of the first home game in 2020.'
And then, last Monday, my younger brother Stephen Crowe, died at the age of 57, of pneumonia, after suffering in recent years with dementia. He was born with Down Syndrome in 1964 at a time when parents were told to "put them in a home and forget about them", but fortunately, my parents were determined to love and care for him and his presence in our family was a joy and inspiration which guided our futures, as we all went into social or care work of some kind. My parents did a lot of voluntary work with MENCAP and mum set up self help groups for parents who had just had a baby born with Downs, this at a time when virtually the only peer support groups in the UK were Alcoholics Anonymous, so pretty.ground-breaking stuff, all thanks to Stephen's birth.
He achieved loads in his life, and had many interests, especially music, and played drums with the Music Man group for people with learning disabilities. He even played drums on stage at the London Palladium, not a lot of people can say.that!!! He loved volunteering and was great with the babies and children at the church mums and toddlers group.
My dad introduced me to Southend United in 1968 (we won 4-0, a good start) and then we started taking Stephen to matches, when he was old enough to know.what was going on.
He became a huge Southend fan, and loved going to the Hall. It was fun taking him along, though not without its hairy moments. Three stand out for me:
January 1976, FA Cup 4th round v Cardiff City, we won 2-1, setting.up an away trip to.the Baseball Ground. For some reason, there were Cardiff City fans on the South Bank and had a bit of a rampage at one point. Stephen aged 11 was quite loud in asking "Why are those men being horrible?" whilst pointing at them as they passed by, necessitating some urgent hushing up!!!
Along those lines, I remember having to take cover in the doorway of a house up Shakespeare.Drive after we met a large crowd of Wolves fans coming up the road from the North Bank end, after we had beaten them.1-0 in April 1987 when we were both going for promotion from the 4th division. We made it, they didn't, until going up as division winners the following year (look at where the teams are now!!!) Anyway, the Wolves fans were not happy and on this occasion, Stephen now aged 22 was scared. Especially when a couple of the fans came up the path after us. Fortunately, they just held their right hands out and shook us both by the hand to offer congratulations on the win!!!
And I vividly remember struggling to offer an answer another time when my brother asked loudly in the South Upper stand, why the crowd were singing "the referee's a winker"
He loved going to Meet the Blues Day and sometimes went to Boots and Laces to watch training. There were a number of players who used to look out for him and always greeted him warmly.
Even after his health meant he could not get to matches, he used to listen to the games on the radio, and made sure he was wearing the right shirt (home or away). He would then chat to my dad on the phone after the game. I am not sure that the match reports were too accurate. Stephen must have been one.of Southend's most optimistic supporters. Even in these last
few years, when we talked about Southend, he would say we did well, even if he had listened to a match we had lost 3-0!!!
To the last, he was a fan. Even on the day he went into hospital, he was wearing a Southend United polo shirt and he will be wearing that for his last journey, with a Blues bobble hat and scarf in his coffin which will also be Southend United blue.
He was, and is, an.absolute gem. We will miss him greatly.but celebrate a life well-lived, a brother well-loved...
Rest in peace, Stephen.
