Our History
“I would not have missed any of it, even the darkest days, for the world" David Elleray
The Ashford & Weald branch of the Referees Association was formed in 1948 just after the Second World War with Peter Paine and Bill Manklow being founder members.
Bill was Mr Football in Ashford and ended up being connected to the branch for
over 50 years and in that time served as secretary, referee appointment officer, chairman and then finally president.
Following his death in 2004 “The Bill Manklow Shield” was created in his memory and the criteria for this award which is presented annually is based on refereeing service and refereeing contribution to the branch.
Bill Manklow's position of president was taken over by John Fenning in 2003 (John sadly passed away in June 2020) during his time as president he continued to look over and guide the branch.
Prior to becoming our president John became our Chairman in 1971 and he held this position for 9 years before becoming the Chairman of the Kent Referees association.
His position of Branch Chairman was then taken over by John Roffey in 1980 who held the position of Chairman for some 28 yrs before retiring from football when he moved away to Bournemouth in 2008 to remarry.
John however still maintains his membership of the branch and keeps in regular touch with members.
Geoff Stanborough took over as Chairman of the branch in 2008 and is supported by a strong committee, which has many years of refereeing experience.
Don Amos has completed over 50 years service
Ian Milbery (Elected President of the Ashford in September 2020) has completed over 40 years refereeing service.
The branch membership back in the early 1950s was 12 members and has steadily grown to around 50 members.
The Ashford & Weald branch of the Referees Association was formed in 1948 just after the Second World War with Peter Paine and Bill Manklow being founder members.
Bill was Mr Football in Ashford and ended up being connected to the branch for
over 50 years and in that time served as secretary, referee appointment officer, chairman and then finally president.
Following his death in 2004 “The Bill Manklow Shield” was created in his memory and the criteria for this award which is presented annually is based on refereeing service and refereeing contribution to the branch.
Bill Manklow's position of president was taken over by John Fenning in 2003 (John sadly passed away in June 2020) during his time as president he continued to look over and guide the branch.
Prior to becoming our president John became our Chairman in 1971 and he held this position for 9 years before becoming the Chairman of the Kent Referees association.
His position of Branch Chairman was then taken over by John Roffey in 1980 who held the position of Chairman for some 28 yrs before retiring from football when he moved away to Bournemouth in 2008 to remarry.
John however still maintains his membership of the branch and keeps in regular touch with members.
Geoff Stanborough took over as Chairman of the branch in 2008 and is supported by a strong committee, which has many years of refereeing experience.
Don Amos has completed over 50 years service
Ian Milbery (Elected President of the Ashford in September 2020) has completed over 40 years refereeing service.
The branch membership back in the early 1950s was 12 members and has steadily grown to around 50 members.
bring respect to your game
racism and discrimination does not maintain a place in our starting 11.
We hope this website will be of interest to users. Ashford (Kent) & Weald Referees' Association accept no liability and offer no warranties in relation to it and its content,
to the fullest extent such liability can be excluded by law. The material contained in this website is provided for general information purposes. All images and contents on this site are copyright and must not be copied or reproduced without permission. These website pages may contain technical inaccuracies and typographical errors. (c) Ashford (Kent) & Weald Referees' Association. Site created and maintained by R Howlett - [email protected]
to the fullest extent such liability can be excluded by law. The material contained in this website is provided for general information purposes. All images and contents on this site are copyright and must not be copied or reproduced without permission. These website pages may contain technical inaccuracies and typographical errors. (c) Ashford (Kent) & Weald Referees' Association. Site created and maintained by R Howlett - [email protected]