January 1968 and Price’s School, Fareham says “Goodbye” to its then Head of Sports and PE, Mr. Wise (who I remember teaching us how to get over a vaulting horse).
Down the path to the Price’s gymnasium strides his successor. This man is noticeably squarer: square in the shoulders, square of jaw…the squareness accentuated by a brown sports jacket with a broad, check pattern. Serious and purposeful, enter into the Price’s arena, Charlie Tuck!
Those of us who knew Charlie for years afterwards, by the way, would see an awful lot more of that check sports jacket, made it seemed of some indestructible, alien fabric.
Charlie had come from a difficult school “Oop North” and was determined to make his mark! He very soon realised, of course, that despite the long hair and the casual attitude of his new, southern charges, he’d landed among pussy cats!
We were lucky at Price’s to begin our cricketing journey with Mr. Gros - “Gus”- the nicest, old school Gent we’d ever met…and cricket was a joy. It was still a joy when we got to the 1st XI but Charlie professionalised us.
My Mother thought that a paper-white cotton slipover was the thing for cricket. Charlie had his northern knitters run up the loveliest, cream, cable-knit sweaters. My first pair of cricket boots were second-hand, of a dirty canvas, with screws instead of studs and a huge blister for a toecap. Charlie had us draw round our feet and he sent the sketches off to a specialist cobbler. Back came bespoke, beautiful, buckskin cricket boots.
How smart we looked, how successfully we played, how proud we felt…
At the end of our first year in the top XI Charlie planned for us something mysterious called “A Cricket Tour”. I’d once had a day trip to the Isle of Wight so a week in the Channel Islands sounded impossibly exotic. My parents put some crisp pound notes into a wallet and secured it into my school blazer with safety pins. I must have checked it was still there ten times before we got to Weymouth.
Waiting for us in Weymouth was a British Rail, Cross-Channel ferry. Waiting for us in the Channel was a Force 8 gale. Nowadays that boat wouldn’t have left port. Then, it butted out to sea and we were all issued with strange, white bags with plastic innards “For your convenience in case of illness”.
We were all ill…that trip the nearest any of us had come to a wartime, Arctic convoy. And like a destroyer on convoy duty, Charlie zig-zagged across the deck putting his arm round our shoulders, offering us his sweaters, his raincoats…a brown, check sports jacket.
We’d thought Charlie hard, harsh sometimes. But here we saw his gentleness: a tough nut with a very soft centre. In any film biography of Charlie, he’d have been played by Russell Crowe!
Music is fly-paper for memory and that Channel Islands tour was played out to the strains of All Right Now by Free, forever on the jukebox at our hotel. And it was very much all right then. Charlie created successive tours and those tours created a rich seam of experiences, friendships, memories.
Charlie was always, in the very best sense, ambitious and he looked further afield for our tours. He sounded me out on a trip to Sweden…which had its attractions for a young man. And then… “What about the West Indies?” I must have sounded like Sergeant Wilson in Dad’s Army: “Oh, yes, sir. What a very good idea, sir? …You are sure that’s a good idea are you, sir?”
And then he went and made it happen… Months of mega-jumble sales, raucous discos, glitzy balls, evenings at the school with England Cricket captain Tony Greig and Leslie “Crackerjack” Crowther!
Here’s Charlie’s brochure for that tour: charming advertisements for a Yorkshire chiropodist and Subbuteo table cricket…sit alongside those from international banks and airlines.
And what about this as a list of contributors: Prince Philip, E.W. Swanton, John Arlott, Brian Johnson, Clive Lloyd, Mike Denness, Brian Close, Alec Bedser…and on and on?
Charlie had got sponsorship from golfer Tony Jacklin’s clothing company and there’s a photo of 1st XI cricketers trying hard to look like male models. In burgundy trousers! “When Price’s College travel,” ran the Hepworth’s tour blazer advertisement, “they travel in style”!
How did he do it?
Because he was go-getting (what we nowadays call “thinking outside the box”- and there were many boxes for a state school in the 1970s - kicking his way out of boxes if necessary). Then, the most painstaking, relentless, unstoppable organisation. Charlie could have organised D-Day. Oh, and - a technical term here - he had a lot of “Brass Neck”!
Which is why Price’s 1st XI Cricket scores were phoned to The Daily Telegraph each week, there to appear alongside the great public schools. And why Price’s averages sat every year in Wisden alongside those same schools. We were to be taken notice of!
And so to the West Indies…
We land in Trinidad. My old journalist friend, Simon Whitby, wrote a post-tour article headlined “Paradise Found on Cricket Tour” but more accurately it might have read “Hell Entered on Cricket Tour”. The oil workers were on strike. Without oil there would soon be no petrol. Without petrol there would be no electricity. Without electricity there would be no water. Welcome to Trinidad!
On the way from the airport into Port of Spain we passed a torchlight procession of aggrieved oilmen. That night I slept in a cloud of mosquitoes. Charlie was concerned and, after so much hard work, annoyed. Though he never really got “annoyed”, did he, it was always “bloomin’ annoyed”?
We left for the serenity of St. Lucia. Pre-independence St. Lucia. Government House St. Lucia - a world apart - there to meet The Duke of Edinburgh!
Charlie had a sudden brainwave: HRH must be presented with a piece of Price’s tour memorabilia. This seemed a bad idea to me, and a worse one when Charlie made it clear that I was to do the presenting. He gave me the item and thumped me in the back, propelling me into the royal presence with the encouraging line: “Goo on, Crockett!”
So it was that at Easter 1975 Prince Philip was, stutteringly, presented with a 100% polyester Price’s West Indies tour tie!
Typical of Charlie’s meticulous organisation, by the way, and in case we met such VIPs, was some dedicated, pre-tour handshaking practice. Charlie would proffer a powerful hand. If your own grip and leverage were insufficiently robust he would say “Oooh, Crockett…it’s a wet one!”
When Old Pricean cricketers meet up each year - Simon, Terry Morton, Mark Hartley and I were together last week - we re-tell (while our wives roll their eyes) all the colourful stories of that wonderful tour.
I was an English teacher so Charlie perhaps wouldn’t think he was getting his money’s worth without a quotation. These famous lines are from A. E. Housman:
Into my heart an air…
From yon far country blows:
What are those blue remember'd hills,
What spires, what farms are those?
That is the land of lost content…
The happy highways where I went
And cannot come again.
Those Price’s cricket days with Charlie, with Sue on tours, Richard then a toddler playing on the outfield… A land of lost content indeed.
We live in a world of joy that is often a daily challenge and can ultimately be a vale of tears: Charlie could both conjure the joy and relish it, he could rise superbly to the challenges, and he could walk with stoicism and quiet courage through the last. For these reasons - and many others besides - we, his boys, his Price’s, cricketing boys - so many here today - admired and respected and, yes, often loved him.
To which I can hear Charlie’s certain response: “You what, Crockett?”
Rest in peace, old teacher, old coach, old friend…
Sue Tuck in the middle flanked by Jess and Richard
Good Morning….on behalf of our family, I would like to thank you all for coming here today, to
celebrate my father’s life, which was most definitely a life well lived.
During his last months Dad asked me to say some words on his behalf , mentioning that he would leave a few notes about his life ….and he did …45 pages …. So please get comfortably seated !!
Dad was born on 4th March 1943 in DONCASTER in South Yorkshire, or as he would say, “In
The Socialist Republic of South Yorkshire”! Dad was certainly a very proud Yorkshireman!
His parents Nellie and Harold christened him Malcolm but from a very early age he was known
to most people as CHARLIE . He also had an older brother John, who was 11 years his senior,
and they both had a very happy childhood .
At Beechfield Junior Boys School , Dad soon realised he had an aptitude for both music and sport. He
was reasonably gifted at playing the violin and his cricketing abilities were obvious at a young
age, as he was picked for the 1st XI cricket team at only 8 years old!!
After passing his 11 plus, he moved up to Doncaster Grammar School, which he absolutely loved, and
he threw himself into nearly everything offered to him. Whilst academia wasn’t exactly put on
the backburner, music and sport again played a major part in his school life. He was a regular
participant in the orchestra and choir, and each year represented the school teams in cricket, rugby
and squash. At just 16 years of age, he opened the batting for Doncaster Town in the Yorkshire
League, enjoying playing on such iconic grounds as Headingley, Scarborough and Bramall
Lane. He was also extremely proud to play for and tour with a very successful Yorkshire Under
19 side.
After passing his A Levels, Dad decided that he wanted to teach PE and spent 3 very happy
years undertaking his teacher training at Carnegie College in Leeds. Once qualified, he got a
job at St Peter’s High School back in Doncaster and whilst at the school he made the famous footballer Kevin Keegan his 1st XI cricket captain .
It was during this time that he met the real love of his life … my mother Sue, who was also
working in Doncaster. They first met at Dad’s local haunt, The Salutation pub, and after
‘courting’ for two years, they got engaged and subsequently married in July 1968 in Harrogate.
With ROMANCE at the forefront of their minds, they spent the first 4 days of married life at the
Headingley Test Match !…..
Dad always said that the best thing he ever did was to marry Mum, despite her often joking that
he was her ‘bit of rough’! He would always say that Sue was not only a wife, but his very best
friend , rock-solid partner and he was so grateful to have her by his side.
Earlier that year, Dad was flattered to have been appointed Head of PE at Price’s School,
in Fareham. Mum moved down to Hampshire a few months later to be with him and in the October they bought their first home together in Catisfield , Fareham.
He loved his work at Price’s – whether it was coaching, improving the school fixture list,
organising tours, helping prepare the cricket square on a Saturday morning, or even disciplining
unruly pupils with his trusted plimsoll nicknamed Sebastian.
Latterly as a great mark of respect the plimsoll was awarded back to him by his students, being resplendently sprayed in Gold and mounted on a plinth. After a little dusting down here is …Sebastian ….
Dad always talked so fondly
of the school – the ethos, the members of staff and of course the pupils, a few of whom became
lifelong friends with Mum and Dad and who are kindly here today
…… Those years spent at
Price’s certainly were very special to him.
During this time, I was born in April 1970 back in Harrogate, while Mum and Dad were on
holiday visiting both sets of parents. A few journalists got wind of this story and put a cricketing
‘spin’ on it, implying that they had rushed up to Yorkshire so that I could be born there and
therefore be eligible to play one day for the county. The truth was a little stretched and in any
case I was never quite good enough!!
In 1977, Price’s became a Sixth Form College, and with Dad not being particularly enamoured with the reorganisation decided his career path may lay elsewhere . With his characteristic drive , courage and ambition he started a sports clothing manufacturing business ,working very early mornings and late nights, whilst still teaching .
His best selling garment was a bespoke woollen cricket sweater and with Dad’s natural fun patter , genuine interest in people and dogged persistence he soon had contracts with esteemed clients such as Harrods ,Queens Club and Wimbledon Tennis to name but a few.
By the late eighties business was going well and Dad took the plunge to retire from teaching . Mum soon joined the company and their job roles seemed to really complement each other - Dad out on the road selling and Mum organising accounts and customer service .
Whilst work and career were very important to Dad he was a big family man too and
ALWAYS made time for us. A few very early and happy memories I have, are of our first holiday abroad
in Corfu where Dad taught me to swim, the two of us at Saints Football standing on the terraces
together in all weathers, him hauling me out of bed at the crack of dawn to take me to squash training before school and in the summer months going to watch him play cricket for Gosport Borough - great times that I will always remember fondly
I will now hand over to my daughter Jess
To echo Dad’s words, I just wanted to start by saying thank you to everyone that could make it here today, I know grandpa would be humbled by the number of people who have come to celebrate his life.
In 1991, my grandparents made the significant decision to move to West Meon, finding a beautiful spot for both living and running their sportswear business. They were welcomed to the village by Andy Morley, a former student of grandpa’s, who was previously the village bobby. This connection helped them quickly integrate into the community, forming many friendships and becoming actively involved in village life.
As part of village life, they both served as Vice-Presidents of the Cricket Club, with my grandpa coaching occasionally and consistently supporting the team. In addition to sport, they both helped run the bar at West Meon theatre productions and were involved in the village music festival. As part of this role, Grandpa dedicated significant time securing advertisers for the festival brochure, which helped to attract top musicians to the events. His community spirit extended to maintaining the churchyard, where he regularly helped with the tidying up on Saturday mornings. As many of you will know, Grandpa was not only keen on keeping the churchyard tidy but was very proud of his own lawn and the “Wimbledon stripes” he was particularly pleased with. He often reminded me that his lawn had been informally ranked top in West Meon!
Lawns aside, Grandpa had a very wide variety of interests. My grandparents used to regularly attend shows in London’s West End and at local venues such as the Chichester Festival Theatre. He was a passionate Wasps Rugby supporter, and regularly attended matches with his brother, John. After Wasps moved up to Coventry in 2014, Grandpa would use visiting me at University in Warwick as an excuse to attend their games! Grandpa’s Wasps’ dedication extended beyond home games, and they often followed the team to European competitions, combining these trips with cultural explorations of cities like Venice, Paris, and Dublin.
Travel was a significant part of
my grandparents’ lives. They explored numerous global destinations, often organizing their own itineraries. My grandpa’s interest in sports grounds frequently influenced their travel plans. They visited notable locations such as the Newlands cricket ground in Cape Town and attended events like the Australian Open in Melbourne. They enjoyed many memorable holidays, from cruising the Grenadines and the British Virgin Islands to attending tennis tournaments in both Europe and the US.
My grandparents had found a real love of cruising on small ships and got to enjoy swimming on the Equator and visiting Cape Horn. Their travels included the wildlife of the Galapagos, the cultural richness of St. Petersburg, New Zealand’s Southern Alps, and safaris in South Africa and Kenya, among many other adventures.
Alongside all the travel, as many of you know, my grandparents played a significant role in my upbringing, especially during my younger school years. Grandpa and I shared a close bond, he always provided unconditional support through various sports, academic stages, and latterly my career in investment. He really was a strong pillar that helped guide me through the sometimes-difficult patches in life and I am forever grateful for everything he did for me.