All at Wealdstone FC were shocked and very saddened last week at the sudden passing of club historian and statistician Roy Couch, 82.
Roy was a life-long supporter and saw his first Wealdstone match during the Second World War.
It was towards the end of the 1973/74 season that he first became involved with Wealdstone on a voluntary basis. At the time Colin Pope was the Programme Editor and the league table and stats that appeared in the programme was quite basic.
As Stones were going for the Southern League (First Division South) championship, Roy suggested a more detailed table in the remaining programmes showing each Club’s home and away record. Colin agreed and from that day, right up to the present, Roy compiled the league table and then a vast array of other statistics for the match day programme. During the middle of the 1970s Roy also became one of the club’s programme sellers, a job he did until recently and he also served on the Wealdstone FC Supporters Club committee.
In 1991, just after the club left Lower Mead, Roy took over the complete production and printing of the match day programme with the help of his brother Alan, using a printing machine in the front room of his home in Stanmore – a hugely labour intensive job that he did for many years.
In later years, in addition to his unfaltering match day and team sheet administration duties, Roy lovingly produced a comprehensive annual statistics review of the season and he had only just completed a booklet covering Wealdstone’s 2012/13 season in the Ryman Premier.
Roy will be hugely missed by all who knew him and our thoughts go out to his brother Alan and family.
Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.
Roy Couch: Supporter, Club Historian, Statistician and former Programme Editor: 1930-2013
