Former vice president and director pass away
Portsmouth Football Club were saddened to hear about the deaths of two prominent figures in the club’s history.
Sir Alfred Blake died recently in his South Carolina home, aged 98. He was born in Gosport and went on to become Lord Mayor of Portsmouth in 1958, having previously been a local councillor.
Knighted by the Queen in 1979, it was in his role as Pompey’s life-vice president in 1972 that Sir Alfred introduced John Deacon, who went on to become owner, to the club.
Sir Alfred was a guest of Milan Mandaric on the night that Pompey beat Burnley 1-0 to clinch a place in the Premier League and was a regular at Fratton Park for many years.
Local businessman Peter Faulkner recently died at the age of 93 following a long illness. He became a Pompey director between 1971 and 1976, in a bid to strengthen the ties between the club and non-league neighbours Waterlooville, where he was chairman.
When they merged with Havant in 1998, Peter was elected vice-president, a position he held until his death.
The club send their deepest condolences to the family and friends of both men and we will pay our respects with a minute’s applause before kick-off on Saturday.