Wednesday 27th July 2022 ko 19:00

Lynn Simpson Memorial Game/ Cancer Research Game

SHERBORNE HARRIERS 2 

LARKING’S LEGENDS 2

Att c30 at Sherborne Harriers

Metaphorically speaking if you scratch the surface of Sherborne Harriers you find Lynn Simpson. She founded the club out of the ashes of Northleach’s youth team, set them up in the grounds of Sherborne House and ran the club for 23 years. It was Lynn I spoke to when I first saw the Harriers 7 years ago and it was Lynn that added the flying pigs to the clubhouse wall when they finally got a long lease on Sherborne Park from the National Trust.

When I started working with the club with their hop game I knew Lynn was no longer in charge, a terminal cancer diagnosis had led her to hand over the reigns, but she still maintained a benevolent presence at the club when she could, and I was both pleased and honoured that she felt well enough to be there on what was a wonderful Sunday last September.  

Knowing Lynn’s situation once Robyn and I knew that the Harriers were going hold a fundraising game for Cancer Research we cleared our diaries, knowing what Lynn and the Harriers mean to us. The only problem was that I managed to get the date wrong and turned up a week early. We arrived to find Chairman Josh Betteridge about to tell the players Lynn had died a day or two earlier.

We left the club to grieve in private, but a week later we found a club with the resolve to make the game as successful as they could and to continue to build the club as Lynn would have wanted. We watched a Sherborne side play a side put together from players who have played alongside Harriers’ stalwart Toby Larking. The result didn’t matter, but the cause does, and Robyn and I will continue to watch Harriers’ progress. From our perspective and I’m sure those involved at Sherborne, Lynn will never be forgotten and the Sherborne Harriers are a fitting legacy to her and everything she stood for.

If you’d like to donate to Lynn’s fundraising page just click here.