George Hutchins

See memories of George sent in by Derek Corlett below the words from Evan Wm Jones

9th April 2024

How do you put into words 70 years of Friendship ?

We first met on our first day at the Liverpool Collegiate Grammar School in September 1955 albeit he went into 3A & I went into 3B. Our paths through the School then switched in our second year onwards he in the Bs (modern Languages & Sciences) & I in the As (Classics) onward.

We started in the under 12 Football team together & went through all age groups to the First & Second XIs (he captained the Second XI) 7 years later. Our first game in the under12s was at King School, Chester where standing next to me as we were getting changed he declared he had forgotten his boots - he borrowed a pair, scored 2 goals & never scored again for 2 years ! Whilst I was a somewhat uncompromising Left Back & Centre Half he was an Inside Left with an almost magical left foot - notice there were no wing or centre backs or number 6s or 8s in those days ! 

As we started growing up we struck up a firm friendship based initially on our love of football - he an Evertonian & me a Liverpudlian not that that has ever mattered - & we started for a time going together to Goodison one week & Anfield the next standing in the Boys’ Pens until eventually our respective loyalties did take over & we only watched the Derby matches together including him being with us on the Kop the day Everton beat us 4-0 !

As we reached puberty & the awareness of the opposite sex took hold so we progressed from watching the Girls Hockey Teams at Holly Lodge to joining the Cavern, Mardi Gras, Grafton etc in their real heydays of the late fifties & early sixties in pursuit of, what shall I say, other delights. This was done in the company of the “Pinehurst Crew” - as he had introduced me to the other lads he had grown up with on Pinehurst Avenue not far from where I grew up on Belmont Road - Malc & Rod, Tommy, Ian & Frank, David & Norman, Robert et al - we are still meeting up now every 3/4 months to reminisce, & it is strange how we can still remember in detail all things that we did then or should not have done, but cannot remember what we did yesterday. But more importantly it showed the loyalty that George had to the friends he’d grown up with from being a baby 80 years ago in particular with Malc, Tommy & David or as in my case 70 years ago & he remained loyal to Everton despite probably the majority of the rest of us being Liverpudlians.

We both left the Collegiate to go to University in 1962, he to Leeds & I to Leicester & strangely our respective University Scarves mirrored each others same colours but different combinations. Graduation saw us start both our working careers & our marriage lives with George being my Best Man when I married my now deceased first wife Carol in 1965. Whilst George had met Margaret & soon after they married & went on to have two Daughters who in turn have gone on to give them their Grandchildren. Margaret, his Daughters & Grandchildren have always been the integral part of his life & interests ………. together with his golf, Everton & his European holidays.

George went on to have a very successful career in the Littlewoods Stores & Mail Order organisation reaching Director level indeed he had a very close working relationship with the Moores family. Despite reaching such a Senior position in the Company he retired at a relatively early age & unlike many of us did not move into Consultancy or take up the other Employment opportunities he was offered but went on to enjoy a long, full time & happy retirement.

Whilst we had a degree of continuing social contact in our early married lives this stopped when my working life took me away from the North West for over 10 years but we were always in contact via the telephone & emails when that form of communication became established.

Then at the turn of the new Millennium we both joined the Collegiate Old Boys Association & we never failed to attend the annual AGM & Dinner at the Atheneum Club where we met up with others of our peers from our years at the School, generally having a table of 12 or 13 members from our era. During this time the “Pinehurst Crew” also started meeting once or twice a year for a drink & a meal & this has continued onto the present time.

We used to meet at our old staging ground of the Richmond Pub in Williamson  Square in Town & then on for an Indian at the Spice City Restaurant - lockdown restricted us for awhile & when we recommenced George had been struck down with Pulmonary Fibrosis & was restricted by the need to cart his oxygen tank about with him - almost as if he knew this might happen he only literally lived next door to The Railway Pub in Meols so we started meeting there for a drink & an excellent pub meal - our most recent meeting being in December 2023 when we had our full compliment of 8 including George in attendance.

Fortunately he lived long enough to celebrate his 80th Birthday in February  of this year but unfortunately after a short period in hospital time finally caught up with him in early April but he passed peacefully  surrounded by his Family.

I will miss him !

Below are two photos taken 60 years apart :-

First one taken December 1963 at my then Fiancee’s 21st Birthday Party.

Second one at our latest Get Together in December 2023 with the same 5 of us still together plus 3 others from the Pinehurst Crew.- 2 of them also COBs (Ian & Norman).

Evan

The funeral of fellow old boy, George Hutchins took place on 7th May 2024 at Landican Cemetery.

George joined Collegiate in 1955 and on leaving School progressed to University before joining the Littlewoods organisation where he eventually became a Director.

Although we both started in 1955 we were never in the same form but we did represent the School soccer team in our first two years. George was a very talented inside left in those days and became an automatic first choice in our successful team.

Not being academic I left Collegiate to start my career in Insurance at the age of 16 but we both retired at the ripe old age of 50. Since leaving the next time our paths crossed was whilst playing in the Old Boys golf events in 2000. Since then George has supported our regular lunch meetings and our Annual Dinners at the Athenaeum in Liverpool.

We are most appreciative of his attendance at these events and his absence will be sorely missed.

I estimate that some 70 people attended the service today and a good number of his fellow scholars were present to pay their final respects.

Derek Corlett 1955-1960