Many of the new Club recruits in the 1930s were schoolboys from the Wallasey Grammar School, as the Grammar Schools actively promoted participation in sport. The annual athletics meeting between the Wallasey Grammar School and the Old Wallaseyans was a good recruitment ground for the Club as a good number of the Old Wallaseyans were themselves members of the Wallasey Athletic Club, and they encouraged the youngsters to join.
The photo shows Ramsey Hewson in 1939.
After leaving school, Ramsey joined the services of the British American Tobacco Company in Liverpool and worked as a junior clerk. At school Ramsey had been interested in electronics and had been part of a group of radio hams. This interest led him to arrange to spend his wartime national service in the RAF as a wireless mechanic, when for a couple of years of his commission he was stationed in North Africa.
On being demobbed, Ramsey returned home to Wallasey and recommenced his job at BAT, where he stayed until retirement in 1980. Ramsey married Beryl Hallam in 1951 after spending a couple of years courting her down at the Wallasey Athletic Club. Beryl started coming down regularly to the Club in 1949, and was to become a founder member of the Ladies section as well as the first Ladies Captain, as Ramsey was down there so often it was the only place she could see him.
The photo shows Ramsey Hewson (extreme right) at the start of the Marathon Relays in Sefton Park.
Ramsey started out in athletics as a sprinter cum jumper who later took great enjoyment in cross-country running. Although never a star performer Ramsey was regularly training and competing, and could always be relied on to be available for the team. On many occasions when others were otherwise disposed, Ramsey would be asked to turn out in order for the Club to finish a team. He was been the Club's long jump champion in his time, but probably the highlight of his career was winning the Christmas Handicap in 1946, when he just managed to hold off the fast finishing Tony Simpson, John Arkless and Denis Kelly (when three seconds covered the first four runners).
A serious achilles injury suffered in 1957 all but finished Ramsey's athletics career. After a very long lay-off to recover, he was able to resume training but was never again able to partake properly in competition.
The photo shows Ramsey Hewsonrunning in the 1950s.
Wallasey AC's loss of an athlete became Wallasey AC's gain of an administrator. Up until the death of AG Nicholson in 1955, Wallasey AC had been well represented at local and national level. As a result of his bad injury, Ramsey was asked to "go along" and represent the Club at County and Liverpool and District meetings. This was the start of a long and successful career as an athletics administrator. He was persuaded to take a more active roll by these associations, and has been the Treasurer of the L&D CC Union since 1972 until now; was President of the Merseyside CCA for 3 years; was elected President of the Northern CC Association in 1989; and at various times has been a Vice President of the Cheshire CCA, West Lancs CCA, the Northern CCA and ultimately the English CCU. During this time Ramsey has given unselfish support to athletics and at the same time has been able to project the profile of Wallasey AC.
Ramsey is still an active member of Wallasey Athletic Club, and in his capacity as treasurer, a roll he has fulfilled for more years than he cares to remember, can be found every week at the Club collecting subs. It is this conscientiousness that has helped to turn a penniless Club that was on the verge of folding in the late 1980s and early 1990s into the thriving Club of its Centenary year.
Now that the Wallasey Athletic Club is thriving again, it for to the present membership to take over the baton from Ramsey and secure the Club's future and reputation. Ramsey has been a faithful servant to athletics and the Wallasey Athletic Club, and is genuinely admired and respected by all, for this.
The photo shows Ramsey at the club's centenary display at Earlston Library in 2006.