The grandchildren of a ‘lost’ Barnes football team have joined forces with volunteers hoping to revive the club.
After the Richmond & Twickenham Times reported on Monday (July 26) that a new group of trustees are trying to bring back the former league, two women came forward to share their stories.
Cousins Jan Kilsby and Julie Burgess contacted the paper with the news that their late grandfather, Leslie Kilsby, had founded Barnes FC.
Before this, little was known about the club, with the last records showing it was active in the 1930s-1960s.
READ MORE: Football enthusiasts fundraise to revive Barnes FC
However, the pair sent in stories from the R&TT’s archives about the life of Mr Kilsby, who also formed the Barnes Albion team during the inter-war years.
Mr Kilsby, a “well-known local personality” lived at 2 Dorset House, Stanton Road, Barnes before he died aged 65.
He was revered for various community ventures, including Barnes flower stall which he began at 18-years-old, as well as a greengrocery van that served the area.
In his later years, Mr Kilsby was instrumental in fundraising for Queen Mary’s Hospital, which cared for wounded servicemen, raising a total of £500,000 (approximately £22 million today).
Jan Kilsby, who was fostered by her grandfather, said: “As a family man he was open-hearted, kind and giving, he adored his family. He touched so many lives yet asked for nothing back.
“He and my nan loved sport. Football was his passion alongside horse racing. He was a businessman more importantly a community man, he served it well.
“He has one surviving daughter, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren and great-great-great-grandchildren who would have adored him today as much as we did.”
The cousins said they were “thrilled” to help the fledgling club, and as of Wednesday (July 28) became trustees of the new team.
In a statement on social media Barnes FC said it was a “great day for the club”.
“We proudly announce that granddaughter of founder of Barnes Fc, Mr Leslie Prescott Kilsby, Jan Kilsby and Julie Burgess joined the club as committee members,” it read.
The team are currently in the process of fundraising for the club's initial costs such as kit, a coach and footballs.
You can donate to their fundraiser here: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/re-establishing-barnes-football-club
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here