Howard Williams RIP (March 2017)

Howard Williams RIP (March 2017)

(Howard Williams died in his 80’s in the weekend of the 25/26 of March, 2017)

There are those in athletics who work tirelessly as officials for no remuneration, to keep the sport afloat.
Certainly Howard, with his tremendous encouragement and love of the sport, will go down as one of those.

He certainly was one of the  Essex ‘Greats’ not for his modest athletics achievements of running 2:50.2 for the tough Isle of Wight Marathon or for doing 52 minutes for 10miles but, by being AAA’s Honorary Secretary for Essex in the 1980’s; President of Ilford Athletic Club in 1966 and Essex County President in 1996. He was first Ilford Athletic Club cross-country and road secretary in 1958!

Perhaps, the thing he will be most remembered for, by the cross-country fraternity, was being the Founder of the Metropolitan League in 1966. From 1966 to 2010 he spent his Saturday evenings and, all of Sunday collating and writing out all the results, single handedly, which his wife Anne understood he had to do. Considering, since then, computers were used as a back up, it was quite remarkable.

The enthusiasm of Howard Williams has meant that the Metropolitan League has grown in numbers, year by year and, it is due to Howard Williams’s initial hard work