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Steve Charlton
(1926 - 2026)
 Steve Charlton passed away on 28 February 2026, seven months before his
100th birthday. He was a Life member of Veterans AC and was the club’s longest serving
member, having joined in 1967 at the age of 40. Steve will be remembered as a renowned
endurance athlete. As he moved through the age groups, he consistently achieved remarkable
times on the road and track which were beyond challenge. At the time of his passing, he
still held an amazing set of eight British bests at road distances from 5k to Half
Marathon and seven British track records for 5,000m and 10,000m for age groups from M65 to
M85.
In 1943, at the
age of 17, Steve volunteered for service in World War II and joined the Merchant Navy and
then the Royal Navy serving on ships laying undersea cables between Britain and France. As a
civilian after the war, for recreation he chose to play football but was enticed, as a spin
off, to try running. He joined Belgrave Harriers in 1946 and competed in cross countries,
training just once a week and not at all in the summer months. However, he stuck with it and
by the 1950s was achieving good times in road and cross country races, representing
Middlesex in County championships. However, the standards in those days were very high and
he was well-placed but not a winner. He also found that he was prone to injuries and needed
to manage his training load carefully. In his thirties, he ticked along, raising a young
family with his wife who was a constant source of support to him throughout his time in the
sport.
In 1967, soon
after his fortieth birthday, he joined VAC. By then he had moved to Thames Valley Harriers
as his first claim club. There were many “veteran” runners at TVH and Steve found particular
inspiration from the achievements of Ron Hopcroft and Ron Franklin (obituaries below). Steve
joined TVH’s teams which focused on the prestigious veterans’ races at the time and prided
themselves on taking home medals, often Gold.
In the early
1980s, at the age of 55, Steve set his mind to train consistently and go for individual
wins. He first targeted the National Veterans Cross Country championships at Parliament
Hill. In a strong field, he was rewarded with M55 Gold and eighth place overall. He also
turned his attention to breaking age group records, an endeavour which motivated him for the
next thirty years. His first British records were in 1982 when he set new M55 5,000m and
10,000m track records, breaking new ground by going under 17 minutes and 35 minutes, marks
which stood until 2006. Unfortunately, in a pattern which became recurring, he then
succumbed to injuries, mostly hamstrings and hips. After a break, he came back strong in his
sixties and eyed up the British M65 records on the track and bests on the road. In a period
of excellent form, he broke many of them. Two are still in place at the time of writing (May
2026), these being his M65 Half Marathon British age group best of 1:19:49 set at Aylesbury
in 1993 and his M65 British record of 36:48.8 for 10,000m set on the track at Solihull in
1994. Demonstrating his versatility, in 1993 he also won M65 Gold at the National Veterans
Cross Country Championships at Burnley.
Setting the M85 British 10,000m record at
Kingsmeadow
More successes followed as he moved through the M70, M75, M80
and M85 age groups. He raced sparingly and managed his training to keep injuries at bay and
optimise his speed and pace for his targeted events. This paid off when in June 2002, aged
75, he broke the World Record for 5,000m at the Battersea track in the SCVAC championships,
recording 19:45.5 to become the first man over 75 to run the distance in under 20
minutes. That time still stands in 2026 as an M75 British record. In 2002, he also bagged
the M75 10,000m British record and British road bests at 5km and 10km which no one has
bettered so far. He also had the honour of being selected to run for England in the new M70+
age category at the British & Irish Cross Country International in Ballymena, Northern
Ireland. He won the Bronze individual M70 medal despite being 76 at the time.
Five years later
in 2007, new to the M80 age group, he again hit form and set five British records and bests
which still stand. These are the M80 5,000m and 10,000m British track records and the 5km,
10km and 10 Mile road bests. The pattern was repeated in 2012 when again he came back from a
fallow period to set seemingly unassailable marks for M85 for 5km and 5 Miles on the road
and an M85 British record of 51:24.1 for 10,000m on the track at VAC’s championship at
Kingsmeadow. For the 10,000m, he currently holds every British record from M65 through to
M85, set over a period of 18 years. He probably also holds European and maybe even World
records, but these are less well documented.
Sadly, there was
no comeback in the M90 and M95 age groups. Steve felt that he had done enough, and his
hamstrings and hips would take no more. He was modest about his achievements but very proud
of them. VAC is equally proud that this quiet, courteous, likeable member of the club
demonstrated such prowess and is spoken about in awe when records are mentioned. Steve’s
performances in endurance running took age group marks to new levels and he will live on in
the record books. 15-05-26
Ivor Wiggett (1943 – 2026)
 VAC was sad to learn that Ivor Wiggett died recently after a short illness.
He was made an honorary member of VAC in 2013 in recognition of the many times he acted as
starter at our track meetings. He was also the adjudicator at our Battersea Park road
races on a few occasions.
Before becoming a starter Ivor was a road and cross country runner, a member of North London
AC which later merged with other clubs to became London Heathside. One of his achievements was
running under 54 minutes for 10 miles. He retired from running in 2010 and qualified as a race
starter, A recent article about him states that in 2024 alone he officiated at more than
54 track fixtures.
He was always reliable and courteous to officials and athletes, managing to be both firm and
friendly. It was clear that he loved his role, supporting grass roots athletics for over 50
years. 1-02-26
Don Turner (1937 - 2025)
 Don
on the left with Cecil Gittins (obituary below), Wimbledon Common,
18 February 2006. Photo by Jeremy Hemming.
VAC is sad to
report that Don Turner passed away on 9 March 2025, aged 88. Don was a worthy Honorary
member of VAC in recognition of his services to the club for over thirty years. As an
athlete, an official, an organiser and a committee member, he devoted most of his life to
athletics at club, county and national level. In recognition, in 2023 he was presented with
an England Athletics award for
Services to Athletics and Running.
Don was a member
of Epsom and Ewell
Harriers for 70 years. In his
youth he was an international standard distance runner. He completed 65 marathons in total,
with a best of 2:32:42. He also excelled in ultra races. In the prestigious London to
Brighton race, he was runner-up in in 1959 and 1962 and third in 1961 and 1963. In 1960 he
set a World Record for Six Hours on the track at Walton, running 52 miles and 1100 yards. He
twice won the race around the Isle of Man TT course. Further afield, in 1962 he was a member
of Britain’s first official team to the Comrades Marathon in South Africa. He placed third,
covering the challenging 54-mile uphill course in six hours and seven minutes. Altogether he
ran 135 races at distances longer than the marathon.
When Don retired
from competitive running, he turned to athletics officiating and administration. He
specialised in timekeeping and became one of the leading timekeepers in the South of
England. In 1980 and 1981, he shared his expertise with Chris Brasher and John Disley and
played a key role in organising the finish and the timekeeping for the first London
Marathon. He has also been the Chief Timekeeper at the renowned Night of 10,000m PBs event
at Highgate. Over the years, he has filled many roles for his club and for Surrey Athletics,
the South of England AA and the South of the Thames Cross Country Association. As a race
organiser, he managed Epsom & Ewell’s iconic Epsom 10 road race for many years as well
as Surrey’s County championships. For 22 years he was the Treasurer of the National Union of
Track Statisticians (NUTS). In the 1990s he was also a regular contributor of race results
and commentaries to Athletics Weekly magazine.
In VAC, there are
many who knew Don as one of VAC’s most trusted and reliable officials. From the 1990s he
would turn out in all weathers on Wimbledon Common as a timekeeper for VAC's cross country
races. In the summer months, he would willingly serve as the lead official, keeping time or
recording at VAC’s road races in Battersea Park and our regular track meetings. He still
helped VAC up until last year, turning up with his stopwatch and clipboard to contribute his
expertise and calm efficiency to the officials’ team.
Don will be missed
by many as an official but also as an ever-present, dedicated, supporter of athletics’
endeavours. 14-03-25
Peter Yates
(1930-2023)
Peter Yates died on
the 5th of March 2023 aged 92. He joined VAC in 1988 and moved to Devon in 1999 but
continued to be a member until 2015. VAC is very grateful to receive a financial legacy from
Peter. His Will made the gift “to the Veterans Athletic Club in appreciation of its
promotion of veteran athletics”.
Peter joined Kent AC
in 1949 and stayed with the club for the rest of his life, latterly as an honorary member.
He made a massive contribution as General Secretary and then President and is credited,
along with Ron Hale, for resurrecting Kent AC from near collapse in the late 1970s and being
instrumental in transforming the club to one of the top clubs in the
country.
Peter first competed
as a sprinter but showed his versatility by embracing cross country and road running in the
1980s, completing the first three London marathons. For VAC, he made many appearances as a
sprinter at the Battersea Park and Kingsmeadow track meetings in the 1990s in the M60 and
M65 age groups. He was a regular points scorer in the Gibson Cup sprints handicap
competition administered by the late Jeremy Hemming.
It is pleasing that Peter must have enjoyed his time with VAC and appreciated the work done by
the club to perpetuate and grow Masters’ athletics. 23-01-25
Michael Harran (1938-2024)
Mick (“Micky”) Harran passed away
on the 9th of September 2024 aged 86. He joined Veterans AC
and Surrey Walking Club as a race walker nearly twenty years ago following on from a running
career with Herne Hill Harriers. He was well known on the Southern race-walking circuit and
a regular performer in VAC’s Battersea Park walks and the Enfield Race Walking
League.
In the 1950s Mick was
posted to Cyprus with the army for his National Service. He was a boxer and a footballer at
that time. In his working life, he became a teacher, starting as a football instructor and
going on to teach all sports, including cricket, gym and athletics. He achieved success as
an inspirational coach of school running and football teams. He continued to teach until he
was 75, long past pension age.
Mick competed on the
road and track at all race-walk distances. One of his best performances was in 2010 in the
M70 age group in a 3000m race at Oxford’s Iffley Road track in which he achieved 15:58.9. He
frequently recorded ten-minute miling or better. He relished racing the long road walks such
as the RWA and BMAF 20k and 30k championships and he travelled twice to Guernsey for the
tough Church to Church 19.4 miles race staged by the Sarnia Walking Club.
Away from walking and
running, Mick had a wide range of interests which included an extensive coin and stamp
collection and hundreds of books. He was an avid follower of horse racing, even to the
extent of missing one of his favourite races to go to the Derby.
Mick is survived by his son, Tony, who is a highly regarded runner for
Herne Hill Harriers and VAC. 15-10-24
Tom Richards
(1939-2024)
 VAC is sad to report that Tom Richards passed away on 24 July 2024, aged 85.
Tom was a first claim member of VAC and will be remembered by many as a dependable,
diligent and careful recorder at VAC’s road and cross country events in Battersea Park and
on Wimbledon Common. Tom was also a valued officer of Southern Counties Veterans AC,
serving as Vice-Chairman and Treasurer. He was appreciated as a highly qualified field
judge at many track and field meetings and was also the referee of the Sri Chinmoy 24 hour
track race in 2021.
Tom was an Honorary Member and Vice President of South London
Harriers, a club which he joined in 1956. Tom was known there as Tom Richards Junior, as he
followed his famous father into the club. Tom Richards Senior, a Welshman, had a magnificent
record of athletics’ achievements, with the pinnacle of representing Great Britain and
winning the Silver medal for the Marathon at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. Tom inherited
his father’s medal and was immensely proud of him.
Tom was an unassuming man, instantly likeable, always helpful,
and he will be missed. 2-08-24
Kevin Burnett (1939-2024)
 Kevin Burnett, a long-standing member and former VAC President, passed away
in May 2024 at the age of 84. He had been active in sport from the age of 11, mostly
playing football and cricket. In the 1980s, he turned to running and joined Striders of
Croydon (then known as Philips City Striders) in 1987 and VAC in 1988. He loved to compete
and at first focussed on road races and fun runs in his local area of East Surrey, as well
as being a regular at VAC’s Battersea Park races. He tried all distances, content to
compete without seeking glory. He was proud of his 10-mile PB of 81:50, but times were not
his prime motivation. He was always on the lookout for competitive opportunities and
challenges. In 1988, he entered the Surrey Cross Country championships at a time when the
race was dominated by classy club teams. He was not deterred and went on to compete at
many cross countries, including VAC’s races on Wimbledon Common.
In the 1990s, he expanded his range of interests to embrace track and field events. He
discovered he was suited to sprinting and throwing. Before long he was proficient at the shot
put, discus, hammer, javelin and weight throws, sometimes doing them all at a single meeting.
In 1996 he won six medals (two gold and four silver) in the Surrey Masters T&F
Championships and continued to be a medallist in these championships for the next 25 years. He
joined other clubs so that he could compete in new leagues. Holland Sports AC gave him access
to the Southern Athletics League (SAL). Hercules Wimbledon allowed competition in the Rosenheim
League. He also taught himself to race-walk and turned successfully to this discipline on the
track and in VAC’s Battersea Park road series. He added the Surrey Walking Club to his array of
clubs, genuinely supporting them all.
As a prolific competitor he notched up over 1100 performances on his Power of 10 profile. This
included 602 parkruns beginning in the early days of the parkrun movement at Banstead Woods in
2007 and recording his 600th at Swanley in 2023.
Those who knew Kevin will remember him as a kind and modest person, always willing to chat,
gently drawing on an encyclopaedic memory of his own exploits as well as being genuinely
interested in those of others. After his funeral, his athletics record book, going back forty
years, was on display. Kevin had meticulously recorded every event, focussing on the occasion,
rather than his own statistics. As an example, after competing for Holland Sports in an SAL
fixture in Exeter in July 1993, he wrote that it was a hot day, the small team of four did well
but came last and that “I did eight events”. 6-07-24
Ken Livermore (1932-2024)
Ken Livermore, a dedicated race walker, died in January 2024, aged 91. He had been a continuous
member of VAC for 36 years, joining in 1987. As a young man, Ken established himself as a
runner on the North London athletics scene. He joined Woodford Green AC, then moved on to
the club now known as Enfield and Haringey AC. He became a race walker but also enjoyed
orienteering and long-distance walking. One of his great achievements was becoming Centurion
#386 in the 1966 Leicester-to-Skegness 100 miles' walk, clocking a very impressive
21:07.41.
In competition, he took part in club, county, national and
international events on the track and road at all walks’ distances from 2K to 20K. He was a
regular at VAC’s and BMAF’s events as well as travelling abroad to European and World Masters
championships. He was also a great supporter of the Enfield Walking League. He put back into
sport by acting as a recorder on 24-hour races over 100 miles and being a long serving Walking
Secretary for the Hertfordshire County Athletic
Association. 5-07-24
Jeremy Hemming 1932 – 2022
 VAC was very sad to learn that Jeremy Hemming died on 28 July 2022, aged 89.
He joined Vets AC in 1981 and had been one of its outstanding officers during a period of
three decades. For over twenty years, he wrote and produced VAC’s newsletters, packed with
news, interviews, reports, results and statistics. Four were issued each year and over
eighty paper editions exist. They form a priceless archive of VAC’s history and culture.
They also show-case Jeremy’s flair with words and his understanding of the athletics’
disciplines and extensive knowledge of the Masters athletes on the scene at the
time.
Jeremy will also be remembered as a talented sports’ photographer and for his presence at every
VAC event to capture the moments. His photos grace the results’ pages of VAC’s website going
back to 2005, bringing to life the prowess of Masters’ athletes and capturing the performances
of many VAC members. As a dedicated Committee member, Jeremy also took on many other roles such
as record keeping, event administration, fixture planning and publicity.
Born in India, Jeremy was educated at Wellington College, Berkshire, where a talent for running
would secure him a place in one of the school’s rugby teams. He served in the army, becoming a
captain in the Royal Horse Artillery. He aspired to become a jockey and once raced at Sandown
Park but accepted that he was too heavy and could not make the weight without health risks.
Instead, he took up point to point racing and flourished as a polo player in the army’s teams.
After the army, he worked in the insurance and publishing sectors and as a proof-reader for the
National Audit Office at a time when vast volumes of paper reports were produced and there were
no electronic spell-checkers.
Jeremy enjoyed running to keep fit during and after his army career but did not compete until
the 1980s when he was caught up in the running boom and introduced to Veterans AC by Sylvester
Stein, the pioneering editor of “Running” magazine. He tried cross country and did some road
running but his sprint speed was wasted until he settled on the 400m as his natural event. By
training hard and taking advice from fellow veterans, he achieved a PB of a respectable 65.9
seconds.
VAC will always be grateful to Jeremy for giving so much to veterans’ athletics over the years.
He will live on through his splendid newsletters and iconic photos.
Keith
Spacie (1935 – 2022)
.jpg) 1st M70, VAC Cross Country championship January
2008
Past VAC member, Keith Spacie died on 16 October at the age of 87. He will be remembered
as a regular at VAC’s cross country races on Wimbledon Common where he was always at the
forefront of his age-group.
As a Thames Hare &
Hounds veteran member, with a prowess for cross country, he accumulated 17 Surrey CC titles,
nine Southern titles and three British titles, as well as three victories and one second place
in home international cross country championships.
Keith was a keen participant
at the Wimbledon Common parkrun, starting with run number 10 in March 2007, completing 62 up to
September 2014. In that time, he set the record for the 70-74 age group, with 20:27 in
2009 (age grade: 89.73%) and for the 75-79 age group in 2011 (22:25, 86.02%). Keith ran 117
parkruns in total, including 32 at Guildford, an event he helped to establish with his
partner Clare.
Keith’s professional life
was spent in the armed forces in which he rose to the rank of Major- General. A highlight of
his distinguished military career was his appointment as Commander of British Forces in
the Falkland Islands in the 1980s.
In 2012, he was a torch
bearer for the Olympic relay as it passed through Guildford. He said the honour was the
"ultimate" highlight of his athletic career. "I am delighted to be carrying the torch," he
said, explaining that he had been a lifelong athlete and ran every day.
"I am 77 now, but I am still running and competing and I will be trying to set an example, as
one of my main aims is to encourage people to keep fit."
 Maurice Doogan (1939-2021)
It is with deep regret that we report the death of this committed and dedicated BMAF Officer on
14 April 2021 at the age of 81. Maurice passed away peacefully
in a Nursing Home in Brighton
from an illness that he had patiently borne.
He chose to move there to be close to his sailing friends; fortunately one of them was able to
visit him hours before he slipped away.
Maurice joined the BMAF Executive in 2002, making it clear that it would be for a maximum five
year stint before retiring and pursuing other interests. He was not a
man to leave any job unfinished; he was always the last out of the stadium. He became so
engrossed in his work, running from organising one Championships to another, Outdoor would no
sooner be finished before he would be on the motorway to Birmingham for the next year’s
Fixtures Meeting, the booking of venues for the Indoor and the enormously time-consuming task
of finding up to 90 Officials to run our 2-day Track & Field and Indoor Championships as
well as the Multi Events.
He continued in his
professional work up to a few years ago, he was a Chartered Structural Engineer before setting
up his own Consultancy business in Chelsea and frequently used his Office facilities for our
work. His workload was enormous, yet he never missed any of our then Delegates or Executive
Meetings; he would carry out a recce at his own expense of the next European or World
Championships, checking on transport, hotels etc. Many of us found that feedback invaluable in
our trip planning, and with his knowledge and experience he also advised the Organising
Committee on the timescale and how the programme might be improved.
He competed in a few of
these earlier Championships until other commitments made it impossible time-wise for him to
train etc. He headed up the Team Managers and with Archie Jenkins, Lynn Marr, Arthur Kimber and
Ian Richards, we were internationally acknowledged as one of the best managed teams, you would
find Maurice at the trackside from early morning till close of the last event.
When he first joined the
Executive he wrote passionately about having a dream; that was to see all of you appropriately
attired in the official GBR Masters clothing and woe and betide those who did not conform, you
would have quickly received one of his dreaded emails! He can now rest in peace in the
knowledge that not only did his dream come true, but he was to witness all of you who competed
at the last World Championships in Malaga take us to top of the Medal Table, that was a dream
that he no doubt though he could only dream of in view of the size of some other
teams.
He tried passionately to
bring a European or World Championships to Britain, the Olympic stadium would be ideal, he
spent hours and huge personal expense seeking meetings with key people in Parks Department,
stadium owners, eventually getting UKA approval, only to be thwarted. It is now so sad to think
that should we in the near future host one of these events, he will not be there to ensure, in
his own words “It would be one of the best organised ever”.
Born in Northampton in
September 1939, eventually moving South, he joined Woking AC and then VAC, and as a competitor
he did the steeplechase and cross-country. As news of his death spread, tributes have been
pouring in from all over the place – he never knew just how much his work and eye for detail
was valued. The BMAF Executive and all members offer our sincere condolence to his sister
Sandie and thank Archie Jenkins and Arthur who kept in constant touch with him by
phone.
Bridget Cushen -
April 2021
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Dave Stevens 1936 - 2021 
Mary Worth (1928 – 2021)
Peter Ryan (1954 – 2020)
Alistair Jackson (Jacko) 1943 - 2020
PETE MULHOLLAND BEM (1939 – 2020)
Michael May 1960-2019
Charles Eugster (1919 – 2017)
.jpg)
Alasdair Ross, 1952-2016 In Memoriam
I regret to inform you that Jaroslav Hanus, multiple British masters
record holder in the throws, passed away on March 8th 2014, following a stroke. The
funeral will be at Breakspear crematorium, Ruislip, on Thursday 20th March at 1pm.
BOB BELMORE 13 October 1927 – 9 September 2013
Jim Day died suddenly on Sunday morning (1 July 2007). Jim would have
been 74 in August and the following year would have achieved 50 years membership of
Blackheath & Bromley HAC. 4-07-07