The tribute below is from Dartford Cricket Club Chairman Harry Bright.
PAUL STANFORD – Dartford Cricket Club
Prolific opening batsman, former Captain and Chairman who demonstrated great resolve in later life.
In September 2023, Dartford Cricket Club lost one of its longest serving stalwarts at the age of seventy-five. Paul Stanford first played cricket for Dartford in the early 1960’s and by the time of the introduction of Kent League cricket Paul had become one of the renowned batsman in the county, regularly scoring over one thousand runs a season.
Over the years Paul held many positions within the Club. Aside from being the nominated driver for Don Wykes, Paul and was a very impactful General Secretary for a number of years which was a pathway into his subsequent lengthy tenure as Chairman. A constant regular during Cricket Weeks (in 1974 Paul scored a fifty in all five cricket week matches) Paul stood for all that was good in club cricket during those days where he would frequently be seen with a pint in hand during the post-match banter with opposition friends.
Off the field Paul was the husband of Pam; the father of Helen and Ed; a grandfather and a great-grandfather. Paul was a passionate supporter of his family and in later years he much enjoyed watching his grandson Jack play cricket for Dartford 1st XI.
Paul also had a successful professional career in the City where he became widely recognised as one of the UK’s leading surety underwriters. Paul followed the same approach to business life as he did to cricket. Everything was played with a straight bat and fools would not be suffered easily!
Sadly, Paul was faced with a life threatening health scare in 2013 that led to complicated surgery with a low survival rate. Thankfully, Paul recovered although he was to spend the rest of his life confined to a wheelchair. It was typical of the man that, with the supreme dedication and support of Pam, Paul faced these new challenges of his life with typical fortitude and courage.
Paul was simply a special individual. He will be fondly remembered by all that knew him.