Kathleen Kelly, who died in November, was married to Mill Hill Village Cricket Club stalwart and past club President Ted Kelly (2009-2012) for over 50 years, writes Phil Smith. They met early in 1973 in the Royal Engineer pub (now a block of flats) on Sanders Lane, where Kath worked part-time as a barmaid.

Kath joined the army as a young lass from Scotland and had been posted to Mill Hill Barracks, now the site of the Millbrook estate. The pub was right outside the barracks and changed its name to the Railway Engineer for political reasons (in the 1980s the barracks became a target for the IRA) before finally closing for good a few years ago.

Kath and Ted married later in 1973 and went on to have three wonderful children together. The two boys, Dean and Edward, both represented the Village: Dean predominantly at football, playing in the 1st XI for many years, Edward at cricket. Daughter Angela is the spitting image of Kath, as is Angela’s own daughter. Kath leaves eight lovely grandchildren, some of whom are already young adults.

Kath was a welcome fixture at Mill Hill Village Sports Club for over 40 years. She cooked a wonderful club Christmas dinner on more than 30 occasions. They were splendid occasions and we used to draw quite significant crowds, not least because she was cooking.

She provided excellent post-match fare to the footballers for many long years after matches and up until the Covid pandemic was providing fantastic cricket teas to the home teams at our Burtonhole Lane home. Her food was always exceptionally good quality and everyone - opposition and Village players alike - used to love playing at the Village. Our teas were declared the best in the league almost weekly.

Kath brought a quiet calm to the kitchen but was also engaging company in the bar as well. She quite liked a tipple and liked to sit with the players after the games. She was seen as a kind, motherly figure to all the young players who came through the doors of MHV and I rarely saw anyone treat her with anything other than kindness and respect. Everyone was always delighted to see Kath and there will be thousands of past and present members across both sections of Mill Hill Village Sports Club who remember her fondly and no doubt reminisce over the good times and great food they shared while she was looking after them.

MHVSC wants to hear your memories of the remarkable Kath Kelly. Share your tributes, including any photos you may have, by emailing info@millhillvillagecricketclub.com or posting them as a comment on our Facebook page here