About Len, some history..

Len was born in Ilford, Essex. He was christened Graham, but after a teacher at his school discovered that there were two boys called Graham in his class he gave him the nickname Len. This was after the famous Yorkshire and England cricketer Sir Len Hutton. The name Len stayed with him for the rest of his life and he always introduced himself to people he met as either Len or Lenny.

Len served as a Police Officer for 30 years. Firstly, with the City of London Police from 1961 until 1975 and then Gloucestershire Constabulary from 1975 until 1991. During his service in London he was on duty for Sir Winston Churchill's funeral and the Moorgate tube disaster. Whilst in Gloucestershire he was originally based in Stroud and then spent time in Gloucester and Cheltenham. During his service he undertook a number of roles including being a part of the task force in Stroud, the Anti Vice Squad in Gloucester, the Stroud Support Group and the Cheltenham Support Group.

Len joined Stroud District Council in 1991 after retiring from the Police. He was originally Manager of Maidenhill Recreation Centre and then as part of a team managing five Joint Use Sports Centres. During his time with the Council he introduced and organised the Kapers playscheme, the Dairy Crest Trophy and the Millennium 6 aside football tournaments for local schools. The Kapers playscheme and the Millennium football tournament still take place. From 1992 until 1999 Len with his wife independently organised and ran Kids Klub, a Saturday club for the children of Nailsworth.

Len was an excellent sportsman and excelled in several sports including swimming and squash. He was also Chairman of Stroud Squash Club during the 1990's.

Len showed an interest in many sports from Speedway to Football, he followed his childhood football team West Ham United and his local team Forest Green Rovers.

He was an extremely fit person. For the first three months of 2008 he was still regularly running and swimming. However in June 2008 after retiring six months earlier he was diagnosed with Mesothelioma.

After battling bravely against the illness he passed away on 6th December 2008.

Len was the sort of person who left a good impression on those he met. He was always willing to help, offer advice compliment and show an interest in the accomplishments of his family and friends. He was a much love husband, father, step father, grandfather and friend.