Lawrence Churcher passed away recently at the age of 102. He was one of Pompey’s oldest supporters and lived a remarkable life.
Posted to HMS Eagle at the start of World War Two, he landed in France in May 1940 to help get ammunition to the front lines.
He was sent to a railhead outside Dunkirk, where the German blitzkrieg forced the British troops back to the beaches.
The retreat prompted the Allied forces to launch Operation Dynamo – the biggest evacuation in military history, with more than 338,000 soldiers rescued by civilian boats.
Mr Churcher was later awarded the Legion d’Honneur – France’s highest gallantry award – in recognition of the part he played in the huge sea-based phase of the Normandy invasion.
Believed to be the last Royal Navy veteran of the Dunkirk evacuation, he had signed up on his 18th birthday – one year before the outbreak of war.
But it was 10 years earlier in 1928 that he was first bitten by the Pompey bug, when his older brother took him to a game at Fratton Park, believed to be the opening day 1-0 victory over Huddersfield.
Born on August 17 in 1920, he came into the world less than two weeks before the side faced Swansea Town in their first ever Football League fixture.
The club had been elected into Division Three (South) after the previous 21 years were spent competing in the Southern League.
It meant that he lived through Pompey’s entire Football League existence up until now, during which time there would be 11 Wembley appearances in four different competitions.
Seven of these visits came in the FA Cup, while there were also a couple of trips in the EFL Trophy and one for the Community Shield. Plus, we cannot forget the London War Cup final against Brentford in 1942.
Lawrence was 18 and already serving King and country when Pompey beat Wolves 4-1 to lift the FA Cup in April 1939. By the time they defeated Cardiff to lift the silverware again, he was 87.
Trophies might not have been consistent during his lifetime, but they mounted up. There were those two cup triumphs, a couple of top-flight titles (1948/49 and 1950), one Division One championship (2002/23), a trio of third tier success (1923/24, 1961/62 and 1982/83) and the dramatic League Two title that was secured three months short of his 97th birthday, ensuring the Blues joined a select band of clubs to have topped all four professional divisions in England.
There was also that EFL Trophy penalty shoot-out win over Sunderland in 2019, which he attended, and a 10 promotions in all.
Life is full of ups and downs, though, and Lawrence was a sprightly 38 when the club suffered Football League relegation for the first time.
There would be seven in all during his lifetime, with the most recent coming back in 2013, with our naval hero now aged 92.
While away fighting in Europe, he could not have comprehended that one day, Pompey would be competing on the continent amidst the freedom and liberty he had so staunchly fought for.
And when his life sadly ended on August 10 – just shy of his 103rd birthday, Lawrence Churcher left Pompey in the same third tier of English football that he had found them.
But just like his own colourful life, the history of Portsmouth Football Club had been anything but dull.
We will remember Lawrence, as well as former Pompey skipper Brian Snowdon, with a minute's applause ahead of Saturday's game against Cheltenham.