As you will know, last year saw the sad death of John Cobbold. During his association with the club, including throughout his illness, John was an incredible advocate for the club and worked tirelessly to improve the club in so many ways. He captained teams, documented the club’s history, organised tours, social events and, latterly, the VP section of the club, ensuring the VPs were kept up to date on club news and were always warmly welcomed back to the club at his excellent VP events. John absolutely loved the social side of the game and many people will fondly remember chatting to John in the bar. Always armed with joke, John did all of this with a smile. The dedication and selfless way in which he went about promoting Old Southendian Hockey Club over his decades of involvement with the club should serve as an example and inspiration to us all.

You will all also, I’m sure, be familiar with the Vaughan Copeland Trophy. The Vaughan Copeland Trophy is an award given each year to a member of the club who has in some way provided outstanding service to the club. That could be over the course of that season or, in some cases, over the course of many seasons. The trophy has always sought to acknowledge and reward the values and qualities that John embodied; selfless, quiet, committed work to make the club better for all of us.

I am pleased to announce in recognition of John’s contribution to the club, the committee have decided to pay tribute to John’s legacy by re-naming the Vaughan Copeland Trophy in John’s honour. From this year, the Vaughan Copeland Trophy will be known as the John ’Tolly’ Cobbold Trophy. The first award will be made at the Club Supper of this year’s winner and they will receive a brand new trophy. Previous winners will not be forgotten, with the existing trophy being given a polish and put on display in the clubhouse. This year’s award is not just a moment to thank a member for their service to the club but also an opportune time to remember John and everything he did for the club.

Tom Cawcutt
Chairperson