Older members will be saddened to learn that Charlie passed away on 22 December 2021, aged 87.
At the end of WW2, our stalwart Fred Silver collected some of the local Northland boys for a Saturday morning run, this included Charlie, his older brother Les and Barry Ward, his lifelong friend and Scottish member. This became the Northland Scottish Colts Pack, with their own trophies and he won the Colts Shield in 1946 and the Ward Cup in 1949. Most also ran with Scottish and in 1949 he won the Baudinet Cup and Galashiels Trophy, then in senior ranks the Le Gaye Rosebowl in 1957, quite an accomplished runner. He was also a regular member of the working party that erected our first clubhouse up on the bank at the southern end of Prince of Wales Park.
In later years he became an Honorary Member and shared in much of our social life, especially the Centenary in 2015. His funeral at the Baptist Church in Karori was well attended by his Scottish friends, including Barry Ward from Tauranga. Incidentally, the same weekend his grandson, Alex Lister from Auckland, competed in the NI Colgate Games at Newtown Park.
~ Alan Stephens