Sad passing of refereeing stalwart

Workington AFC was saddened to learn of the passing of one of the Northern Premier League’s Vice-Presidents, Gerry Jones.

He was recently admitted to hospital with Coronavirus but died at the weekend, aged 92.

Gerry, a former Football League referee, had been a long serving official of the NPL and was Match Officials Appointments Secretary for many years, liaising with several Workington secretaries, over time, on a regular basis.

In a career which saw him gain Football League status as a referee, Gerry refereed numerous matches at Borough Park.  At the other end of the scale, he once officiated at Bayern Munich in a European fixture.

And we were proud to host Gerry, accompanied by his son Chris, as our guests two years ago when his final visit to Borough Park coincided with the fiftieth anniversary of one of his first refereeing appointments at the ground.

He was a fine man, an efficient administrator, always helpful and blessed with a clever, dry sense of humour.

RIP Gerry.