Bamber Bridge Football Club have paid tribute to club stalwart and former chairman Arthur Jackson who has died aged 95

​Arthur Jackson died earlier this month at the age of 95.

The club are due to mark his passing ahead of kick-off for Saturday’s Northern Premier League fixture against Stafford Rangers at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium – weather permitting.

At last week’s away game against Warrington Town at Cantilever Park – the players wore black armbands.

A committee member for nearly half-a-century, Jackson served as chairman of the club for 15 years from 1977 before stepping down in 1992.

His tenure at the helm coincided with the club’s rise from playing on park pitches in the Preston and District League to having a stadium of its own and competing in the highly-regarded Northern Premier League which is just a few steps below the Football League.

Despite being in existence in some form as a football club since the early 1950s, Bamber Bridge’s path to becoming the premier non-league outfit in the Preston area began in the 1970s when they merged with neighbours Walton-le-Dale FC.

It was in 1988 when the club moved to its present home at Irongate, with Jackson being a driving force in raising funds to buy the land from the Central Lancashire Development Project and the subsequent building of a clubhouse.

A manager at a local paper mill, it was Jackson’s idea to start collecting waste paper and cardboard from the neighbourhood.

Former player Dave Spencer, who would go on to follow in Jackson’s footsteps and become a chairman of the club, said: “The previous chairman to Arthur was Wilf Carling and they both worked at the paper mill which was situated where the Capitol Centre is.

"Together they came up with the idea of buying a wagon and collecting waste paper, because nobody was collecting waste paper back in those days.

"People would put their waste paper on the wagon and Arthur with his contacts at the paper mill would get a good price for us when it was weighed in.

"We would literally ride around the estates and houses in Bamber Bridge and Walton-le-Dale and collect the waste paper. We would advertise obviously but we probably used to run the collections two or three times per week.

"We would be getting £500 a month and as a club we never really looked back from there.”

The collections lasted for several years and ultimately led the club to building the original clubhouse which remains a huge source of finance to this day.

"I think we bought the land for about £22,000 – South Ribble Council more or less gave it to us, but all we could do was put a football pitch on it,” said Spencer.

"And then we had to raise another £25,000 to build the clubhouse.

"But Arthur was a real driving force behind the club’s rise up the leagues and having its own ground. He was the chairman in the late 1970s and 1980s and had the vision to progress the club.”

After stepping down as chairman in 1992, Jackson became club president In 1997, which was a position he held for six years.

In 2014 following the death of the club’s then president, Dennis Allen, he became president once more – a position he held until his death.

Prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Jackson’s was usually present at all of Brig’s home and away games throughout the season.

However, he began to suffer with ill-health although he still managed to watch plenty of the club’s games – from his bedroom window which overlooked the pitch at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium!

"He’s watched games many times from his bedroom window when it was too cold to go out,” said Spencer, who revealed that Jackson was a keen gardener and would ensure the patio outside the clubhouse was well maintained and full of flower baskets during the summer.

"We always looked for him from our seats in the stand and gave him a friendly wave.

"He had a gate at the front of his garden which allowed him to walk into the ground.

"I always remember when water was tight, we didn’t have a big tank or reservoir, so he would get his hosepipe out and water the pitch from his house.

"I don’t think the utility company would have been too happy about it.

"He was a character was Arthur. He was originally from Kendal and I think he used to run pubs there before working at the paper mill.

"He knew a lot of people and as a person he was great. He was actually one of my dad Arnold’s best mates.”

In 2021, he received a long service award from the Lancashire football Association.

Married to the late Margaret, he leaves a daughter Angela and son Andrew.

Spencer added: "I think the club is planning on some sort of a tribute before kick-off against Stafford – either a minute’s silence or applause.”

Brig honours under Arthur Jackson’s reign on the committee:

Preston and District League Premier Division Champions - 1980-81, 1985-86, 1986-87, 1989-90; Guildhall Cup Winners - 1978-79, 1980-81, 1984-85, 1989-90; Lancashire FA Amateur Shield Winners - 1981-82; Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy Winners - 1994-95.

North West Counties League First Division Runners-Up - 1992-93; Second Division Champions - 1991-92; Northern Premier League Premier Division Champions - 1995-96; First Division Runners-Up - 1994-95 League Challenge Cup Winners - 1994-95, 2016-17; First Division North play-off winners 2017-18; League President’s Cup Winners - 2004-05