Suffolk Shrimper In Dorset
Director⭐⭐
It is with much sadness that we have to report that SUEPA member Dave Martin-Chambers passed away last Friday.
Dave had long since emigrated to New Zealand and it took us a while to track him down, but we finally did so a couple of years ago and we know that, with his family, he regularly followed SUEPA and the fortunes of our club from afar.
Dave, was born in Ward Green on the outskirts of Barnsley in June 1947 (he was one of seven children, with younger brother Phil going on to become a Barnsley legend in the '70's and '80's), and after schoolboy trials with Barnsley Boys ended up becoming a member of the Wolves junior squad. After a couple of seasons he then moved on to Denaby United in the Midland League where he joined on a pay-per-game basis. It was there that he caught the attention of Rotherham who he signed for initially on a one year apprentice deal before turning full pro when he was aged 17. The midfield winger made 27 apps scoring four goals for the Millers before next signing for then Southern League Cambridge United where he teamed up with Geoff Hudson (who knew all about Dave's capabilities from their time together at Rotherham) and helped the U's win the Southern League title. It was that link that continued as when Hudson came to Roots Hall initially as trainer (and then manager) Dave followed, signing for us in October 1968. He quickly became a crowd favourite and went on to score five times for us in 66 apps before moving on to York in March 1971 and then playing for non league Folkestone.
In his time at Roots Hall Dave was initially part of a very creative and high-scoring 1968/69 side, playing alongside the likes of Eddie Clayton and Chico Hamilton to feed the Best-Moore goal machine up front. Dave scored on his home debut (see second picture here) v Doncaster in a 2-0 win on 9 November 1968. He played 32 times the following season as the team struggled a bit under three managerial changes - he appears in the iconic 'West Brom stripes' team picture from that campaign (a pic much shared and also shown here when clearly everyone was feeling a bit down in the dumps, though we reckon Dave was still smiling underneath that heavily groomed tash!
An August 1970 match programme notes that Dave was due to marry local lass Penny in June 1971 by which time he'd ultimately moved on to York. Penny and Dave, as mentioned, emigrated to NZ and had two daughters. Dave's passing also leaves behind four grandchildren, one of whom (Ebony) we must thank for getting in touch with us today. Our sincere condolences go out to them all. RIP Dave, forever a Shrimper
Dave had long since emigrated to New Zealand and it took us a while to track him down, but we finally did so a couple of years ago and we know that, with his family, he regularly followed SUEPA and the fortunes of our club from afar.
Dave, was born in Ward Green on the outskirts of Barnsley in June 1947 (he was one of seven children, with younger brother Phil going on to become a Barnsley legend in the '70's and '80's), and after schoolboy trials with Barnsley Boys ended up becoming a member of the Wolves junior squad. After a couple of seasons he then moved on to Denaby United in the Midland League where he joined on a pay-per-game basis. It was there that he caught the attention of Rotherham who he signed for initially on a one year apprentice deal before turning full pro when he was aged 17. The midfield winger made 27 apps scoring four goals for the Millers before next signing for then Southern League Cambridge United where he teamed up with Geoff Hudson (who knew all about Dave's capabilities from their time together at Rotherham) and helped the U's win the Southern League title. It was that link that continued as when Hudson came to Roots Hall initially as trainer (and then manager) Dave followed, signing for us in October 1968. He quickly became a crowd favourite and went on to score five times for us in 66 apps before moving on to York in March 1971 and then playing for non league Folkestone.
In his time at Roots Hall Dave was initially part of a very creative and high-scoring 1968/69 side, playing alongside the likes of Eddie Clayton and Chico Hamilton to feed the Best-Moore goal machine up front. Dave scored on his home debut (see second picture here) v Doncaster in a 2-0 win on 9 November 1968. He played 32 times the following season as the team struggled a bit under three managerial changes - he appears in the iconic 'West Brom stripes' team picture from that campaign (a pic much shared and also shown here when clearly everyone was feeling a bit down in the dumps, though we reckon Dave was still smiling underneath that heavily groomed tash!
An August 1970 match programme notes that Dave was due to marry local lass Penny in June 1971 by which time he'd ultimately moved on to York. Penny and Dave, as mentioned, emigrated to NZ and had two daughters. Dave's passing also leaves behind four grandchildren, one of whom (Ebony) we must thank for getting in touch with us today. Our sincere condolences go out to them all. RIP Dave, forever a Shrimper
