30.01.1941 – 30.06.2019

Jaswindar (Jas) Singh Missan, the former Kenyan international, died yesterday morning (Sunday) following a stroke at his home in Chatham, Kent, England. He was aged 78.

Jas was born on 30 January 1941 in Mombasa, Kenya. He was educated at Alidina Visram High School and Mombasa Technical High School. He represented his schools in hockey and athletics and played for Sikh Union Mombasa and the Coast Team. He was a top class sprinter at Coast, with Kenya’s 1962 Commonwealth Games champion Seraphino Antao as his training partner. He was clearly a talented sportsman.

Jas was selected to play for Kenya against England on 20 September 1958 in Nairobi, at the age of 17. The following year he captained the Combined University Team to play against the Indian team on their tour of East Africa. He played for Kenya against India in a test match in Mombasa. He played for Kenya Governor’s XI against the Pakistan team on their tour of Kenya in 1960.

In September 1961, Jas came to the UK for further studies. He decided to settle in England after graduating which meant that his international career was cut short, but he brought all the international hockey skills he had learned in Kenya with him to England, including the Asian style of play he developed from playing against both India and Pakistan.

He represented London Universities from 1961 to 1965 and was awarded his University Colours in 1962.

He played in the British Universities Sports Federation tournaments in 1962, 1963 and 1964 and represented British Universities against European Universities.

He played for Surrey County from 1962 to 1970 and was a member of the Surrey team that won the County Championship in 1963. He was awarded his Surrey Colours in 1962-63 season.

He was a member of the Indian Students tour of Holland in September 1962. He played and captained London Indians Hockey Club in the 1960s and 1970s.

Jas joined Spencer Hockey Club, one of London’s leading clubs at the time, in 1965. He captained Spencer from 1970 to 1975 and it was under his captaincy that Spencer won the London League in the 1973-74 season for the first time in the club’s history.

He was selected to represent London XI against India at Surbiton in June 1966 and again in 1967.

Jas was a one Club man, and he was elected as the President of Spencer Hockey Club from 1999 to 2003 and remained Vice-President of the Club for the rest of his life.

Dil Bahra

Jas Missan (standing, 4th left) after the London XI vs India match, Surbiton Hockey Club, June 1967. India were both Olympic and Asian champions at the time.