A stalwart of table tennis in Chesterfield for many decades, Ron Chapman recently died at the age of 96. Eric Hall has sent this appreciation of Ron.

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Ron was born on 23 August 1930 and lived in Margate with his mum Elsie, his dad William and his two sisters Pamela and Peggy.

Nine years later, in 1939, their lives changed forever when children of a certain age were evacuated from some parts of the country due to danger of invasion after the start of the Second World War. Ron and Pamela were bundled into a railway carriage with no idea where they were heading. Even their mum wasn’t told.

After a three-hour journey they arrived in Rugeley, Staffordshire and were taken in together by a local family, and there they stayed for the next two years. They did not see their parents at all during this time. Their mum could not afford to make the journey to visit them and their dad was away in the RAF, where he suffered from nerves and was eventually sent to a hospital in Matlock. After being medically discharged from the RAF he decided to set up home in Chesterfield.

And so it was that in 1944 the family was reunited in Newbold when Ron was 14. He attended Chesterfield Grammar School and later got a job as an instrument engineer at British Thomson-Houston, which later became Dema Glass. He followed his father into the RAF for two years, and then worked at Dema Glass until his retirement.

It was in 1947 that Ron became a Spireite (Chesterfield fan) and followed the team for the rest of his life and hardly missed a home game.

Table tennis also became an important part of his life. It is not clear when Ron first played in the Chesterfield League, but it was most certainly a very long time ago, and he continued to do so until quite recently. He also became a coach and worked in a number of schools in the area.

But it was behind the scenes where Ron excelled – in fact he was the driving force in Chesterfield table tennis for over 50 years. He took on the role of Records Secretary during the 1960s and finally handed over the reins in 2016. He became Chairman in 1983 and held the post for 40 years. In addition, he became President in 1990.

Although Ron ceased to be active in the day-to-day running of the League around four years ago, when his health deteriorated, he most certainly has not been forgotten. Without Rob Chapman the Chesterfield & District Table Tennis League would not be what it is today.

Ron’s funeral will take place on Wednesday 7 October at 1.30pm at the Chesterfield Crematorium.