As always, we would like to thank everyone that has contributed over the last 12 months to the Indy R’s website, the Facebook page and our match day Vox Pop videos.
At the beginning of the month, Alan Hayes reported for ‘Get West London’ that tragically 19-year-old R’s fan Alice Brooks had died after collapsing in the intu Uxbridge car park:
‘The QPR fan received a tribute from striker Charlie Austin on Saturday, as he dedicated his winning goal to Alice who had died hours before.
She had collapsed in the multi-storey car park of intu Uxbridge shopping centre on Tuesday, November 25 at about 4pm. Paramedics worked on her and she was transferred to hospital in a critical condition. She died in the early hours of Saturday.
After the game, Austin gave an interview which was later posted on the QPR Facebook page in which he dedicated the goal to Alice and another ‘Hoops’ fan who had died during the week’.
That other R’s fan was Malcolm Oakley of course.
These former players sadly passed away in the last 12 months; Norman (Jimmy) Golding, Clive ‘Chippy’ Clark, Johnny Poppitt, Andy Malcolm and George Talbot.
News came through on Monday night that Clarke Carlisle had suffered serious injuries, thought to be life threatening, after a collision with a lorry.
However, since then his wife, Gemma, has been quoted as saying that he is: “very poorly” but “alive and stable”. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at this time and wish him a speedy recovery.
On a much happier note, there was that magical day in May when over 40,000 of us witnessed one of the greatest days in our history in the most dramatic of circumstances.
Finally, may we wish Rangers fans everywhere a very Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous New Year.
Steve Russell for the Independent R’s
(The Christmas card and postcard are both from my collection. The postcard dates back to over 100 years ago and depicts Elgin House School playground in the Goldhawk Road)