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Floreat
Prescotia |
The
Website for former pupils of the Prescot
Grammar and Prescot Schools |
© The
Prescotian 2000 - 2010 |
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| Stuart
Duncan |
| Dear
Trevor, I have
some sad news to report I'm
afraid - apologies if you have
already heard.
I
believe you have recently been in
touch with Stuart Duncan but I
don’t know if he mentioned
that he was terminally ill. I'm
not certain of Stuart's dates at
Prescot, but I think he was in
the upper sixth in 1972, the year
I joined. With such an age
difference(!) I don’t
remember Stuart from my school
days, but I recently
re-discovered him at his cousin's
birthday party when we spent a
very pleasant evening reminiscing
about PGS and the staff.
Unfortunately
earlier this year, Stuart was
diagnosed with Idiopathic
Pulmonary Fibrosis and despite
initial hopes for a lung
transplant, his health declined
so rapidly that a transplant
became no longer viable. Stuart
died in Willow Brook Hospice on
Saturday morning, he was 54.
Stuart’s
immediate family put their all
into nursing him, maintaining
round the clock care for him in
the last couple of weeks, with
help from friends who travelled
from the UK, San Francisco and
Brisbane just to help - clearly
he made a lasting impression on
the people he met.
I
would also like to take the
opportunity to mention and thank
Willow Brook Hospice for their
care and support, though words
fail me to describe their
contribution. Willow Brook is a
good place.
The
funeral will be at 2pm, Tuesday
20th October at St Helens
Crematorium..
With
very best wishes,
Damien
Walker
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We
would appreciate any memories
that you may have of Stuart
Duncan Conact
Us
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My
thoughts are with Stuart's family
and close friends. I can remember
him from my days at PGS and he
was a very likeable lad. [Robert
Neil]
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Sad
to hear the news about Stuart,
even though I had never met.
Regarding Willowbrook, I am a
past president of The Rotary Club
of Prescot and on the 7th
November this year we will be
holding our annual Bonfire and
Ariel Firework display at
Whitakers Garden Centre in
Prescot. Profits from the event
are to be split between
Willowbrook and Zoe's Place. Are
you able to give the event a
mention on the website? Tickets
are available from my office. [Mark
Salmon]
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This
is sad news. Stuart and I were
quite close friends at PGS,
altho' we lost contact
afterwards. I was sorry that
Stuart was not among those who
were around at the time of the
flurry of reunions about 8 or 10
years ago now. Damian has
Stuart's dates correct. He was
the year ahead of me, so he
started in '66 and did A levels
in the summer of '73. He was same
year as John Parkinson, Andrew
Rigby, Ade Ceasar, Peter
"Bill" Ball, Phil
Welsby, Alan Jolleys et all. His
father died while he was at PGS,
quite early on in the second or
third year I think, and as far as
I remember he was an only child -
or did he have an older sister?
Can't remember. He lived at Crank
with his mum - Dora (?). We were
keen Saints supporters and a
bunch of us - Alan Crickmore and
a few others would stand at the
on the terrace at the far end,
usually not far from Fred Webster
and Bill "Sparky"
Watts. He did a maths degree at
Royal Holloway London, and then
if memory serves he spent some
time at Baton Rouge university in
Louisiana. Our paths diverged
somewhat after that and we were
never in contact again, and now
its too late . . . Count
blessings. [Peter
Chadwick]
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| I
was saddened today to hear of the
passing of Stuart Duncan, another
of the Great Intake of '66. That
first morning, just five weeks
after England won the World Cup,
Billy Gray led 1 Kappa along to
our form room, and I found myself
sat next to S. Duncan, from the
amusingly named village of Crank,
near Rainford. Ahead of him sat
D. Duncan. Two boys with the same
surname caused a little
confusion, so much so for one
master that he thought Stuart's
name was Duncaness, a nick name
that stuck for some time. Stuart
was an enthusiastic, if not
extremely talented fullback, and
entered the trials for the school
football team. When the squad
went up on the noticeboard, there
it was, "Duncan", and
somehow, Stuart convinced Dave
Duncan – rudely known as Jug
thanks to his ears – that
he, Stuart, was the selected
Duncan. It took Dave – an
very talented goalkeeper, striker
and cross country runner, despite
his 10-a-day habit – until
the following year to make the
school team, as he was overlooked
by an inept Monty (Geography) for
the rest of the year. Under Jimmy
Dewsnip, order was restored.
During
his time at PGS, Stuart ran a
team in his home village, called
Rainford North End. Any of you
who know Rainford will know that
the north end of the town is very
close to the south end of time,
so I can only assume that Stuart
had some affinity with Preston
North End... Anyway, the team I
played for trundled out there a
couple of times to play them over
the year's, Stu in his role as
organiser/manager/captain/fullback.
I
recall Stuart as one of the nice
guys of our year, and it sounds
like he continued in that role
for his whole life. Fifty four is
far too soon to go, another
reality – and mortality
– check for all of us. Bye
Stu, all the best. Wouldn't be
surprised if he was organising a
team up there right now... [Paul
Gerrard]
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