Anniversary tribute to Tom Whelan
It isn’t very often that non players are highlighted on this site but on the 100th anniversary of his birth, today we take a look at the life of former committeeman et al, the late Tom Whelan.
Tom will be well remembered by many. In my case he was the father of two good friends of mine, the late Martin and younger brother John. Both of whom represented the club.
Tom Whelan was born in Preston on 31 January 1922. He was one of seven children, of whom six survived to adulthood. His father was a baker, tram driver then a bus driver and managed to stay employed during the depression of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Unusually, for that era, he ensured that both his daughters and all four sons learnt to cook. His family remained in the Preston area but work brought Tom to Burnley initially in the 1940’s and then permanently in the mid 1950’s. He worked at Lucas Gas Turbine Equipment for the next 35 years. Originally, he lived in Dugdale Road but moved to Lowerhouse Crescent when the houses were built in 1966. He had the choice of buying a house at the opposite end of Burnley but Tom insisted on Lowerhouse Crescent because of the cricket club being nearby. For the next 25 years it was a hugely important part of his life. He was Chairman of the selection committee for a number of years, barman, gateman, umpire and general clubman. The club was on its knees for most of those years and surviving was a success. He loved his Saturday afternoons watching the cricket and he made many friends. Most games he would spend in the umpires’ room talking to a few of the other committee men – Joe Waterworth, Jack Hayes and Geoff Hope amongst them. He enjoyed going to Test matches at Old Trafford and Headingley. A highlight was attending the World Cup semi-final in 1983 when England lost to India. He had split loyalties that day as the man of the match was the Indian all-rounder Mohinder ‘Jimmy’ Amarnath , who just happened to have been the Lowerhouse professional for the last few years.
He had wanted to become a doctor but wasn’t able to attend Preston Grammar School. His older brother had passed the entrance exam a few years earlier but the family couldn’t afford to buy the uniform. When Tom also passed the entrance exam the family could afford the uniform but his parents didn’t think it was fair that he should attend when his older brother had missed out. Whilst he was a capable sheet metal worker and then a foreman, he always regretted that his education had been limited. It was that which made him encourage his four children to work hard at school and go on to university. All benefited from his encouragement and generosity.
Apart from cricket he was an avid reader of an eclectic range of books and a lover of poetry especially Emily Dickinson. He enjoyed his garden, particularly his roses.
Stan writes. Tom was a delightful bloke, easy going, intelligent, witty and knowledgeable on a whole host of subjects from sport through to politics. Amongst his many roles at the club was that of the “A” team manager which incorporate umpiring. The A team in those days was the only age group of cricket available to non-first and second eleven players. It had an upper age restriction of 18 but it wasn’t unusual to have 13-year-old making up the numbers. Most of us began at the younger age until we became permanent fixtures. The teams would be captained by over age players. In Tom’s period as manager, Brian Higgin, Mick Swift and Ian Wrigley were captains. Tom had a number of successful teams at a time when the club would finish bottom of the leagues at senior level. In my time under Tom, we reached two cup finals and a number of players came through the ranks to play second and first team cricket. Tom took his job as a selector seriously, he would attend the nets and often join in, bowling his left arm orthodox spin.Tom was always encouraging the youngsters and to be in his company was a pleasure.
By Stan Heaton
