Dartford Harriers "Diehards"

In the summer of 1998 having survived a reunion of my old work mates, plus a reunion of 'Old Boys' at Dartford Technical School (now Wilmington Grammar School) I decided that for my wife's 60th birthday I would try to find members of Dartford Harriers from the 1940's and 1950's.
With the help of Ed Stewpot on radio 2 and his "where are you now" program, I was put in touch with Molly Titshall, nee Baker, and Joyce Marchant, nee Wiseman, and both of these ladies attended our family barbecue in the August much to the surprise of my wife Rachel, nee Grindell.
The next day was our wedding anniversary and I convinced my wife to go out for a lunch in a very old pub near Harrietsham and we just happened to bump into another old team member Len Morris and his wife Joan, and would you believe that Len was carrying some very old photographs with him. I wonder why?
The obvious result of meeting old friends was the stirring of the nostalgia bug and the setting up of a small committee to find as many of the "Old Firm" from the 1940's and 1950's still in the Dartford area or even still surviving.
The end product of a lot of time and effort was our first reunion on the 24th September 1999 in the new headquarters at Central Park where we amassed SIXTY dearly missed friends from our youth with the tribute to Harry and Eva MAY looking down upon us. Wonderful.....
The photographs and trophies that appeared like magic were displayed on notice boards with newspaper cuttings and the trophies laid out with track suits and running spikes that had seen much better years. That night will remain forever with those that attended.
Our next reunion took place on Friday 23rd September 2000 with our numbers down to 38 due apparently to holidays, ill health and other commitments but not lack of interest. The evening again proved to be entertaining and very memorable for all concerned.
We may have rushed into our third reunion too quickly but we felt the need for continuity with perhaps consideration towards a lighter evening. So we brought our next reunion forward to Friday 22nd June 2001 and still managed to entertain 32 friends/Die Hards, to an enjoyable evening and with better weather.
We had to miss out 2002 due to unforeseen circumstances but we hope to be back again at the end of August or at the beginning of September this year and if only two dozen Die Hards can make it then it will be worthwhile.
We keep wondering if there is any merit in following on from our 1950's file and attempt tracing all those past members living maybe just around the corner. Not just for memory lane but possibly easing the search for club officials or maybe for coaching or even just for adding to the numbers in the supporters club with a £1 each month.
Most people stay in touch with at least one other from such clubs as Dartford Harriers so our plea to past members must include asking for any details known even if it means doubling up the records some times.
For most of the current "Die Hards" our support can only be via the £1 each month, but is there someone out there willing to take up the cudgel on behalf of Dartford Harriers and find out. Answers on a postcard please to Derek Wightman or myself.