I was very honoured to be asked to write a memoriam to Tony Mayes who passed away on February 20th.

Tony and myself were both born on the very same day, and for a time we even lived in the same street, and worked for the same company for the best part of 50 years.
Tony joined the hosiery company Corahs, straight from school in 1939 and started work as a mechanic in the sock department. He was to become the head mechanic in that department by the time he retired.
He joined the army during the 2nd World War and it was while he was serving in Palestine that he developed skin cancer, which was to affect his life thereafter.
Tony was a brave man and suffered his illness without a hint of complaint, despite very many operations.
He rejoined the company after the war and met and married Beryl in 1949. They had a son Nicholas, who died when he was 7 years old. Their other son Richard came in 1954.
Tony was always a keen supporter of company activities, playing football, cricket and he even joined the company’s drama group.
He joined the bowling club in the 1960s and soon became a very good draw bowler, particularly on his backhand. He was in the Corah rink that represented Leicestershire in the National Finals in London in 1972.
1980 was another big year for Tony, when he became the clubs President for that year.
The late 1980s saw the demise of the Corah company and the bowling club had to find new quarters. These were found on the Co-operative Sports Ground and Tony was among the first volunteers to help to remove the whole bowling green, buildings and surrounds and re-locate everything at the Co-op. A truly magnificent effort.
Tony’s condition worsened during the late 1990s and for the last few years of his life he was unable to bowl, but he was always an ever present supporter of the club and its activities.
He was made an honorary life member of the bowling club in the year 2000. he will be sadly missed by his many friends and members and none more so that