01.11.1949 – 09.06.2021

The Hockey Museum is sad to advise of the death of one of its volunteers, Nadean Burden (previously Withers, née Toes).

Nadean was a feisty, direct Yorkshire woman who came to London as a newly qualified PE teacher to work in an inner London comprehensive school in the early 1970s. She joined Wimbledon Ladies’ Hockey Club where she was a stalwart of the 1st XI for many years and played for Surrey 2nd XI. She became firm friends with Judy Smith and Evelyn Somerville who are now our museum’s Librarian and Oral History lead.

Later in her working life she re-trained as an IT consultant, working as a trainer in the use of computers, a skill which was extremely useful to the museum in the early days of its new home in Woking as she was able to teach less computer-literate volunteers how to use the museum’s cataloging software. She also took on the responsibility, firstly of our enquiries service and then as the lead volunteer in charge of our video collection.

In the later years of her life she developed a persistent cough and breathing difficulties and whilst attending hospital to investigate the problem caught Covid last winter. This resulted in further spells in hospital and although she recovered from Covid her already damaged lungs had become too weakened and she died at home on 9 June.

Her lively, forthright, passionate and friendly personality will be much missed, not only by her friends at THM but also by her many friends at Sutton Green Golf Club where she was Ladies’ Vice Captain and especially by her second husband David to whom she had only been married for less than two years.

Her funeral is on 24 June at 3pm, by invitation only, due to the restriction in numbers because of the size of the chapel at Woking Crematorium. It will be live streamed.

The Pink Panthers c.1977; a touring, festival team which regularly featured Nadean (standing, third from right) along with The Hockey Museum stalwarts Evelyn Somerville, Judy Smith and Katie Dodd (all pictured).

By Judy Smith & Evelyn Somerville