Captain
David Brammer
David Brammer is the Men’s Captain for this year. He has set out below a brief summary of his background and interests to help our members get to know their Captain.
BACKGROUND
David is a North Staffordshire lad by birth but has lived in Shropshire since 1987. He has participated in sport all of his adult life and golf is his latest obsession.
CAREER
After graduating from University, David worked initially in sales and marketing, but returned to education in his mid-20s to study law at Chester, where he met his wife, Alison. Upon qualification as a solicitor, he worked initially in the public sector and then moved to work for a large corporate law firm in Birmingham. For the last few years of his career, David was a partner at a law firm based in Shropshire.
LIFELONG INTERESTS
Sport – throughout his life, David has enjoyed all forms of sport: including running, tennis, cycling, playing squash, football, and cricket. He is a qualified cricket coach, managed junior teams, and served as a team captain and board member for several years. David has also been a regular playing member of Shropshire Cricket’s Over 60’s first XI. Other interests embrace almost anything outdoors, with regular ski holidays, mountaineering and sea kayaking trips.
Volunteering – alongside his professional career as a lawyer, David has served the community as a School Governor and Chair of the Governing Body of Idsall School, as well as taking more recent and ongoing responsibilities as a Trustee both at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and at his old University, where he has been a Non-Executive Director and External Advisor of the Students Union. He also regularly volunteers at Severn Hospice.
Travel – David and his family have owned a property in Harlech, North Wales for over 20 years, allowing them to spend a significant amount of time there. He has also been able to visit Spain very regularly, as Alison’s parents bought a property there many years ago. Alison and David are also ‘bondholders’ with the Holiday Property Bond organisation and are steadily working their way through the HPB properties in the UK and Europe. David is particularly interested in visiting properties with access to golf courses! When they have time, Alison and David visit their three grown up children dispersed around the UK and Alison’s family in Gloucestershire.
GOLF
David played golf as a teenager at Wolstanton Golf Club in Newcastle-under-Lyme, but his busy professional and family life prevented any further serious golfing until retirement. He joined both Lilleshall Hall and Royal St Davids Golf Course in Harlech in 2020 and has been a keen competitive golfer since then, playing Seniors matches and competitions at both clubs.
ASPIRATIONS
David’s motivation in undertaking the roles of Vice Captain and Captain was based upon his enthusiasm and love for the sport of golf. He is committed to creating a positive environment at Lilleshall Hall as an inclusive and welcoming golf club, which embraces the modern game as it continues to evolve.
He intends to spend his year as captain playing all formats of golf. He will continue to support the Seniors Section, the Mixed Section and ensure that the Club is well represented in Captain’s matches against other local clubs.
He will welcome and encourage new members and engage with the existing membership to represent their interests as a non-voting member of the Club’s Board.
He is also an active member of the Club’s Social Committee and will work hard to ensure that all club events are a success. He has agreed with the Lady Captain, Mary Harper, to nominate Severn Hospice as their joint charity for the year.
Ladies Captain
Mary Harper
A Shropshire lass through and through. Born at the old Wrekin Hospital in Wellington, she attended primary school in Lilleshall, in the old school building before it moved to the current location, so becoming Lady Captain quite a number of years later feels like coming home to a new learning ground!
CAREER
In her early career Mary was an expatriate in Brunei for nine years working at the international school teaching reception children. On her return home to England she decided on a total career change and retrained in Human Resources. Going to university firstly her gaining her postgraduate degree and latterly her Masters degree in Employee Engagement. Mary worked mainly in retail for a FTSE 100 company. During her 24 years she undertook various roles; Human Resource project management for new stores, acquisitions and future developments. Her final role as Head of Human Resources for 500 retail stores in Great Britain and Gibraltar. Her last role before retirement was Head of People for Virgincare.
LIFELONG INTERESTS
Mary absolutely loves travel and recently completed her ambition to reach the white continent in Antartica making this her seventh visited continent. As you would expect, competitive sport is also one of her interests having played a myriad of school team matches, mainly netball, hockey and cross country. Since retirement she has played badminton and latterly taken up golf. It has to be said that she doesn’t play to lose… just ask her grandchildren!
ASPIRATIONS
Being a people person Mary is hoping to work collaboratively alongside Mr Captain, retain her sense of humour and champion a ladies section where both challenge and friendship meet!
Ladies president
Elizabeth Kenyon
Elizabeth Kenyon Joined club in 1976 as a total novice, encouraged by her dad who had been a member since early 60’s she progressed to being a member of the winning LHGC Handicap League team in the 1985 season.
She has served on the club House Committee and approximately 16 years on the Ladies Committee, including her appointment as ladies Captain in 2008. At present Elizabeth is in her 6th year as club delegate on the County executive. (SLCGA).
President
John Tomlinson
I am a Bridgnorth boy, living very near the football, tennis, cricket, and bowls pitches so always enjoyed my sport. I played tennis at every opportunity and in later life, especially enjoyed 5 a side football indoors, in the warm!
Career
First job at 14 was Paper Boy including a huge Sunday round. I then was a Christmas Postman before joining the Supplementary Benefits Commission in Wolverhampton. This led to a 47-year stint with the Dept for Health and Social Security, in various towns and cities throughout the Midlands.
Lifelong Interests
Lesley & I have been together since we were 16 and we have been lucky to have travelled extensively, indulging my other hobby of Video Photography. Our son Colin took up Golf as a career and until Covid we frequently visited him in Germany. I spent 2 years at night school, but life is too short to learn German!
Golf
When the lower reaches of Telford Sunday League football, in the depths of winter, was no longer fun, my neighbour persuaded me to take up golf. After 4 years waiting for 7 day membership, I broke 100 and was hooked!
In the early nineties I was Comps Chair then VC then Captain in 1995.
Aspirations
It is great to see our Club thriving and always moving forwards. To all those with the necessary skills I would say ‘Don’t ask what your Golf Club can do for you?’ but rather, ‘What can you do for your Golf Club?’. It would be great to see more of our talented people step forward & get involved.