20 Feb 2006 - GOODBYE BRYAN WATTS

The sad loss of Bryan Watts to the world of tennis was indeed a shock to all that had the pleasure of knowing him. Following membership over the years of several clubs Bryan was more recently a very active member of Thorpe Bay Tennis Club. He contributed greatly in pushing their juniors into Leigh & Westcliff league tennis as a starting point for competitive matches. I remember him fondly with his many suggestions of how we could improve the local tennis scene. He recently offered me free of charge storage space for any of the L.&.W. equipment we wanted to keep under cover. Bryan always had his finger on the pulse of tennis in the area, and somehow found out that a club had refused to store our lectern. This was the true character of the man, always willing to help! Our gentleman of many talents was playing table tennis at Rayleigh T.C. when he collapsed and so sadly passed away. His funeral took place at The Southend Crematorium in the larger chapel on Monday 20th February 2006. The Chapel was packed with all standing room taken, so many people wanting to say goodbye to a long standing tennis friend. Graham Ray, also a member of Thorpe Bay, gave a very moving reading of the days in Bryan's life, both in sport and business.
Bryan's family and partner Margaret Tubbs invited all mourners back to the Bay's tennis club for drinks, and you could hear so many tennis stories of Bryan's glory days.