It is with great sadness that the Bracknell Bridge League Committee has to report the death of Vernon Bates. Vernon had been a much loved character in the Bracknell Bridge scene for more than forty years, and was active in the league almost since its inception.
Vernon worked for ICL (then known as ICT) when the company first fielded teams in the league in 1966, just one year after the league started. For many years he was a key player in the ICL teams. In 1970, Vernon joined the league committee in the capacity of secretary/treasurer. Vernon was to continue to serve on the committee for nearly three decades, finally retiring his post in 1998. He continued as a player though, latterly for the Ascot club, and was playing right up to the end.
Vernon finally lost his battle with the cancer that had afflicted him for nearly eighteen months and passed away on Christmas Eve, 2010.
Vernon will be remembered as one of the world’s mildest of men. Ever cheerful, he would always greet players at the bridge table with a smile and maybe his trademark chuckle. His passing is a great loss to us all and he will be sadly missed.