Saying Goodbye to Stan…

The funeral of Stan Bowles was held at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Collyhurst, Manchester on Friday 22nd March,

There were a number of ex-players there including; Gerry Francis, Phil Parkes, Don Shanks, Tony Currie, Dave Webb, Andy Sinton and Chris Kamara.

A large gathering of QPR supporters were also amongst the congregation and there was a very conspicuous display of the R’s club colours.

I went along to attend the event to pay my respects, but I did not expect to get inside for the Service because of the great multitude present. I reckon there must have been around 300 in number.

The Church of St. Patrick though, is a massive premises. It is certainly the biggest church building that I have ever been inside, so fortunately everyone was able to get in without any problem.

There was even an upper gallery at the rear to take in any overspill, but in the end, this was not really needed although some people did view proceedings from there.

I am not sure if the Priest who conducted the Service was a football fan or not, but he sure did his homework! His research of Stan’s entire football career was spot-on and flawless.

He even managed to slip in that old joke that if Stan could pass a bookmakers like he could pass a ball, he would have been a wealthy man!

Following on from the Church Service there was a Committal at Blackley Cemetary a few miles further north of the Collyhurst district, which I understand was also well attended, but I was not there for that particular part of the ceremony.

A great send-off for ‘Stan the Man’. May he Rest in Peace.

Bernard Lambert (Kerrins)

Luckily Kerrins was wrong; not only was there room in the church for us, but also for dozens of R’s fans; it was a sea of blue and white shirts and scarves.

Apart from Bernard and I, other QPR fans I spotted were; Dave ‘AKUTR’s’ Thomas, Joe Hylton and the legendary Tommy Collins.

The ex-players included; Gerry Francis – the mullet now snowy white; Phil Parkes, Dave Webb, Andy Sinton, Chris Kamara and someone we reckoned was Don Givens? I must admit that if I saw Tony Currie, I didn’t recognise him?

I was standing outside when the hearse arrived. Apart from the usual floral tributes (Dad and Grandad), there was a nice light-blue & white bouquet from Manchester City, plus another two – ‘QPR’, picked out in white flowers and a blue & white hooped shirt with the No.10 in red; a very nice touch, that.

The Priest said in his address that Stanley had his happiest days at QPR and that was reciprocated in the fans’ turnout.

The Order of Service booklet was full of pictures of Stan in the hoops, plus a nice one of the stand named after him.

It was clear that QPR meant a lot to Stan (as he meant to us) and this has certainly been picked up by his family.

As someone who is not religious, the Catholic Requiem Mass only lasted about an hour, so in terms of length, it was just about right.

I understand that there was an address by Don Shanks at the Blackley Crematorium Centre Chapel, but I had assumed that it would be just a formality and didn’t attend.

Still, I wasn’t there for my own entertainment, but to say thanks and goodbye to Stanley and he was certainly given a great send-off.

Rest in Peace Stanley.

Steve Masters (steveqpr881)