We were saddened to learn of the recent passing of lifelong supporter Clive Childs, at the age of 75.
Poor health sadly prevented him from attending matches this season, but he became a regular at Chesterfield games in the late 1950s and from 1961 to the 90s is believed to have not missed a competitive Chesterfield game home or away.
Clive’s funeral is at 10.10am tomorrow (Monday) at the Chesterfield Crematorium.
Our thoughts are with Clive’s family and friends at this difficult time.
Here are some of the tributes paid to Clive:
My favourite story is that in August 1994 we were on holiday in Speyside which coincided with Ross County’s first ever home game as a senior club. I was walking down Dingwall high street when I saw Clive; he wasn’t surprised to see me and I wasn’t surprised to see him! It was a Tuesday evening so we inevitably chatted about Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s first senior game three days earlier, which we’d both been to unbeknown to each other, and Clive asked if I’d been to the 11am Clachnacuddin game, which I hadn’t known about – I was gutted – and I asked if he’d been to the 6pm game at Nairn County, which I’d been to, but he didn’t know about! He was gutted!
Lovely very gentle man who always had time for a chat.
Phil Tooley
He didn’t miss a game, home or away from QPR away in 1961 (our only away win – their only away defeat) until the 90s (think he was in hospital), this must be a record.
Remember him driving me to a Bristol City game in early/mid 80s, just me him and his old mate. We reckon we were the only Town fans there, certainly didn’t see any others, the away end had home supporters and us.
If you ever went to an obscure non-league game, you were guaranteed to see Clive. I remember going to Shepshed Charterhouse for a low key Southern League game and being totally unsurprised when the first person we saw was Clive writing the teams down in his famous notebook.
David Lee
I first got to know Clive in the early 80s as he stood near me at games on the Compton Street side of the ground at Saltergate. At this time I was an avid programme collector and if I did not go to an away game I would ask Clive to get me a programme, as he never missed a game – home or away. I usually met Clive in the Saltergate car park after the next home match (as he always held court there, discussing the game with his friends) to obtain the programme, which he kept in mint condition in his A4 notebook.
Clive always wrote both teams line-ups in his notebook and even during this season (when he suffered from ill health and was not able to attend games) he would ring me to check our line-up, as he did not do the internet.
I will miss Clive greatly, a chap I have known all my adult life as a Chesterfield supporter and Chesterfield FC have a lost a true loyal/long standing supporter.
Paul Kellett
Clive’s research into the Victorian and Edwardian eras was a key part of the official history, and he was as knowledgeable as anyone you care to name about the club. He was a keen watcher of any sport, more or less, and I never saw him without one of those A4 notebooks that he used to cram line-ups into. He probably recorded line-ups for every match he ever attended, and I bet the books would fill many a hole in our reserves & youth details.
Stuart Basson, Chesterfield FC Historian
