STANLEY WHITEHEAD of Lower Hopton WMC has died at the age of 85.

His funeral will be next Thursday, August 17 (details later).

Stanley played 18 games for Yorkshire, winning half of them, and was the first bowler to win a cash prize of £100 in a Yorkshire competition when he beat Bernard Sigsworth in the 1965 Websters Brewery Handicap. He won numerous other competitions including the Mirfield Merit in 1962.

Stanley was an avid reader of the Examiner, describing it as the best paper for bowls, and he never missed a copy since 1952.

He was also very proud that he held a copy of every edition of the now defunct Bowlers World.