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Shirmpers legend passes away
Andrew Schooler
Minute's silence to be held to commemorate HPFC great Freddie Lane, who has died at the age of 95.
A minute’s silence will be held in memory of a true Harwich and Parkeston great, Freddie Lane, at Saturday's FA Cup tie with Mildenhall.
Freddie (pictured, right) was a key member of the club’s squad which reached the FA Amateur Cup final in 1953, playing at centre-half in every round prior to the final. However, a week before the trip to Wembley he was injured and missed out on the chance to play in front of 100,000 at the national stadium.
Freddie, who returned to the Oak in 2023 for the 70th anniversary of the final, died at his home in Kent on Thursday at the age of 95. He had been the last surviving member of that 1953 squad. In total, he played 172 games for the Shrimpers between 1950 and 1957.
His daughter, Juliette, said: “Today the Harwich Shrimpers gained their missing player, his old team have been playing with only 10 men for a long time. (He was) the best dad, husband to my mum, and grandad in the world.”
She added: "Dad had always been so proud of his connection with the Shrimpers. Right until the last few weeks he could still name his team-mates."
Our thoughts are with Juliette and the rest of the Lane family.
Freddie was born in Norwich in 1930 but was raised in his mother’s hometown, attending Harwich High School, which sits just yards from the Royal Oak and now houses Mayflower Primary School.
He played for Tollgate United as a teenager before military service – in the Royal Air Force - sent him to Chippenham where he represented Chippenham United and Andover.
Upon his return, Freddie joined the Shrimpers, making his debut in 1950. He would go on to play almost 200 times for the club, those days competing in the Eastern Counties League.
However, he will remembered most for his performances during that Amateur Cup run, shining in defence as Leytonstone were stunned in the quarter-finals and Walton & Hersham defeated in the semis at Brentford.
Sadly, the week before his Wembley date, Freddie injured his knee in a league match against Eynesbury Rovers. A midweek trip to Ipswich Town to see their medical staff was made but there was little they could do and Ken Bloss (pictured, left) had to fill Freddie’s shoes for the final, which was lost 6-0 to Pegasus.
The following season, Freddie signed amateur forms for Ipswich but was injured on his debut for their reserves.
After leaving HPFC in 1957, he joined Gorleston where his former Harwich team-mate Jock Pollock had moved.
His final game for the Norfolk side was actually on the Oak – a job switch then saw him leave East Anglia and Freddie ended his playing days at Newport, Isle of Wight.
In recent years, Freddie and wife Yvonne, whom he married in the summer of 1953, have been living near Gillingham in Kent.
Freddie (pictured, right) was a key member of the club’s squad which reached the FA Amateur Cup final in 1953, playing at centre-half in every round prior to the final. However, a week before the trip to Wembley he was injured and missed out on the chance to play in front of 100,000 at the national stadium.
Freddie, who returned to the Oak in 2023 for the 70th anniversary of the final, died at his home in Kent on Thursday at the age of 95. He had been the last surviving member of that 1953 squad. In total, he played 172 games for the Shrimpers between 1950 and 1957.
His daughter, Juliette, said: “Today the Harwich Shrimpers gained their missing player, his old team have been playing with only 10 men for a long time. (He was) the best dad, husband to my mum, and grandad in the world.”
She added: "Dad had always been so proud of his connection with the Shrimpers. Right until the last few weeks he could still name his team-mates."
Our thoughts are with Juliette and the rest of the Lane family.
Freddie was born in Norwich in 1930 but was raised in his mother’s hometown, attending Harwich High School, which sits just yards from the Royal Oak and now houses Mayflower Primary School.
He played for Tollgate United as a teenager before military service – in the Royal Air Force - sent him to Chippenham where he represented Chippenham United and Andover.
Upon his return, Freddie joined the Shrimpers, making his debut in 1950. He would go on to play almost 200 times for the club, those days competing in the Eastern Counties League.
However, he will remembered most for his performances during that Amateur Cup run, shining in defence as Leytonstone were stunned in the quarter-finals and Walton & Hersham defeated in the semis at Brentford.
Sadly, the week before his Wembley date, Freddie injured his knee in a league match against Eynesbury Rovers. A midweek trip to Ipswich Town to see their medical staff was made but there was little they could do and Ken Bloss (pictured, left) had to fill Freddie’s shoes for the final, which was lost 6-0 to Pegasus.
The following season, Freddie signed amateur forms for Ipswich but was injured on his debut for their reserves.
After leaving HPFC in 1957, he joined Gorleston where his former Harwich team-mate Jock Pollock had moved.
His final game for the Norfolk side was actually on the Oak – a job switch then saw him leave East Anglia and Freddie ended his playing days at Newport, Isle of Wight.
In recent years, Freddie and wife Yvonne, whom he married in the summer of 1953, have been living near Gillingham in Kent.
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