Henry Redman

I heard yesterday that Henry Redman of the Brookside Boys club had sadly passed away.

For those who didn’t know Henry, he was a man who will probably be best remembered for his tireless community youth work and close association with the Brookside Boys club that he founded over 40 years ago.

I met Henry a number of times over the past year, mainly at the club with my fellow councillor Ernie Butler, who was working closely with Henry and Dick at the club investigating ways to raise the funds it needed to avoid closure and to secure its long term future.

Henry struck me as a formidable character, a charming ‘old school’ gentleman, with razor-sharp intelligence and a tenacious attachment to the principles he founded his club on. He put every ounce of his energy and time into maintaining this facility for the youth of Borehamwood. It was at the very heart of everything he did.

His Forty plus years of dedicated work for the Brookside Boys Club and the many thousands of lives that his immeasurable contribution to public service touched, is a tremendous legacy, which thanks to his efforts will live on for a long time to come.

I extend my deepest sympathy to his family, friends and of course the boys at the club both past and present, for their tragic loss.