Ebbsfleet United have been asked to pass on to our supporters the very sad news that our longest-serving fan – Alan Bobby – passed away last month at the age of 90.
All of us at the club extend our thoughts and sympathies to Alan’s family and friends, of which he made many down numerous years in support of the Fleet.
Alan was one of four generations of his family who have called Stonebridge Road home – the photo below shows Alan, his son Terry, Stuart and Theo all in attendance at Alan’s last home game at the start of last season.
Alan’s first home game at Stonebridge Road pre-dated the present club when as a seven-year-old in 1937 he watched a Northfleet United side containing future Football League champions Bill Nicholson, Ron Burgess and Freddie Cox win the Kent Senior Cup and Kent League Cup double.
Aside from the six years of closure for the Second World War and Alan’s period of national service, he had attended Stonebridge Road for some 75 seasons, a truly phenomenal record of loyalty and devotion to the club.
In April 2017, Alan was presented with a trophy to mark his status as the Fleet’s longest-serving supporter, a tribute of which he was incredibly proud and we’re told he took great delight in showing visitors to his home that much-deserved piece of silverware.
In addition to his weekly visits to our football home, Alan served as secretary to the Supporters Association in the early 1990s and his most cherished moment came in his 78th year when the club won the FA Trophy at Wembley.
Alan’s son Terry said, “My father’s health had been steadily deteriorating over the past year, he was admitted to a nursing home in September, but it was the Covid virus that took his life in the end.
“There will be a number of supporters at the ground who know him and our family, who are regulars on the terraces, and [via the club website] we would pass on the sad news to those friends he has made over the years.”
