Some clubs are remembered for what happens on the field.
Bridgenorth is also remembered for the people who kept the place running when the game wasn’t the focus.
Doreen Carey and Thelma Squires, sisters from the Lack family, were central to that story. Their father Jack Lack was Bridgenorth’s first trainer, and their brothers Kevin and Mervyn played in the post-war era, with Kevin widely regarded as one of the greats, winning nine Best & Fairests. But Doreen and Thelma built their legacy in the work that rarely gets noticed. They cooked for football dinners, ran the kiosk, supported the dances, washed guernseys, and sold raffle tickets. They remember saveloys cooked in an urn outside and Friday night afternoon teas set up for spectators. Often they didn’t see much of the match because they were too busy making sure everyone else could.
They were there for away trips before the Batman Bridge, catching the boat to George Town. They were there for the fierce rivalry games, especially Exeter, never shy about giving a bit back when Bridgenorth copped it. And they were there after finals, when the clubrooms filled up, the singing started, and the whole place felt like one team.
Even now, their pride hasn’t shifted. They still turn up each week, still watch the young ones closely, still talk about Bridgenorth as a generational club where families stay and kids grow into the jumper. In 1990, the club made them Life Members, deserved recognition for decades of service.
Doreen Carey and Thelma Squires didn’t just support Bridgenorth.
They shaped the culture that keeps people here.
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