Danny Futter (1953 to 1957) and Terry Futter (1955 to 1960)

Terry Futter with a cricket scorecard showing his double hundred and a specially made plinth marking a match-winning century

Terry Futter and his older brother, Danny, were a well-known, popular couple of lads at St Mary’s College in the 1950s, who both made the move to the new Grammar school when it opened in 1957.

The brothers, sons of Kath and Ron Futter, both attended St Joseph’s Primary School, Crayford, and were best known at St Mary’s for their sporting prowess either as championship-winning boxers or football, in Terry’s case and cricket, in Danny’s.

Danny Futter, front row, fourth from the left, was a fine cricketer.

Danny, two years older than Terry, was a fine opening, left-handed batsmen and Terry a very effective, nippy winger. Both boys represented the school on many occasions.

“My memories of St Mary’s are very happy ones,” said Terry. “It gave me a really good grounding and some lovely memories. The best times were when we moved to the new school and we used to play on that big new yard which for us was like winning the pools after the cramped conditions we’d been used to.”

Terry Futter, front row far right, with the 1958/59 2nd XI football squad managed by a young Neville ‘Spike’ Wilkinson

Terry left St Mary’s in the summer of 1960 with plans to go into the Civil Service but decided to study hairdressing at Erith College. After a two-year course in ladies and gents hairdressing, he qualified and landed a job in the west end and worked with - and on - many famous celebrities.

But the long hours eventually took their toll and, after getting married in 1968, Terry took a sales job with British Olivetti selling office machinery. Two sons, Aidan (born in 1969) and Gavin (born in 1971) followed and the Futter family settled in St Mary Cray.

Meanwhile, it had been Danny’s lifelong ambition to go into the priesthood which he did straight after St Mary’s, doing his training at Mark Cross, near Crowborough, in East Sussex before moving to St John’s Seminary at Wonersh, near Guildford.

Danny Futter, with his parents Kath and Ron on the occasion of his ordination to the priesthood

Danny spent six years in the priesthood before leaving and marrying his wife Alison. They had a family, and Danny retrained as a nurse.

Terry meanwhile heard on the grapevine that the resident hairdresser at Bexley Hospital was retiring and, with the role coming with a house nearby, Terry took it.

He was in this role for 15 years and thoroughly enjoyed it, but what made it so worthwhile for him was the sports and social side of life at the hospital in which he and Danny were both active participants.

“I was very involved in running the social club and played football and cricket and all manner of sports,” said Terry. “We had a very thriving sports set up and used to play other hospitals and sports clubs all over south east England.”

The two brothers used to open the batting together for the hospital’s team and Terry’s best memory is of scoring a double hundred and a century.

By the 1990s, Danny was working as a manager in social services for Greenwich Council and Terry went to work with him for the last few years of his working life, before retiring at 55.

Both Terry’s sons, Aidan and Gavin, went to St Mary’s and St Joseph’s School and Terry lives back in the family home between Crayford and Bexleyheath, just along from the family of 1971 joiner, Rob Pearce. The two families are great friends.

Danny, a fine man and a great sportsman, died on Boxing Day, 2019, aged 77. May he rest in peace.