We are saddened to report the passing of Charles Randall, Chair of the Hockey Writers’ Club (HWC), who has died aged 71 after suffering from pneumonia.
His career as a sports journalist began at the sports desk of the Herts Advertiser in the ‘70s before joining the Daily Telegraph in 1979. During the following three decades he covered rugby, bowls, cricket and then hockey for that paper before taking over the Chair of the HWC on the death of the Daily Express journalist Graham Wilson in 2016.
Away from his journalism he joined the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC), an army reserve regiment, part-time in 1968 and maintained this connection into recent years as President of the HAC football club.
Numerous messages via Twitter have been coming in from the hockey community. From England Hockey: “England Hockey were terribly saddened to hear of the passing of Charles Randall, Chairman of the Hockey Writers’ Club. Sincere condolences go to his family and friends.”
A message from a former Telegraph colleague described him as “a lovely man” with fond memories of their time together, particularly during the hockey Olympic Qualifier in Santiago, Chile. “His laptop was stolen on a train to one of the matches which for most of us would have been a disaster. But he took it in typically calm fashion.”
A long-term resident of Radlett, Herts, he was a member of Porters Park Golf Club for 55 years and a member of Radlett Cricket Club for a similar length of time, playing league cricket until he was 64.
His interests included collecting records for his Rockola Max jukebox, chess and drawing.
He leaves a wife Kate, whom he married in 1979, two children Nicole and Simon and five granddaughters.
Notification Of Funeral Arrangements
Charles Randall’s funeral will be at 12.30pm on Monday 24 February at Christ Church Radlett (Watling Street, WD7 7JJ) and afterwards at Porter’s Park Golf Club, Radlett (Shenley Hill, WD7 7AZ).
Dress code will be club ties.
The family have requested no flowers please. Donations if desired should be made to the MCC Foundation.
Mike Haymonds, 04.02.2020
