Ron Atkinson pays tribute to former Kettering Town FC director Terry Gray
Tributes have been paid to a former Kettering Town FC director, Terence ‘Terry’ Gray, who has died aged 82.
Terry was a prominent local businessman and community figure who served at the club during the 1970s and 80s.
He was instrumental in bringing a young Ron Atkinson in as a player-manager in 1971, a move that led to the team becoming Southern League Division One North Champions in 1972/73.
Atkinson, who was signed by Cambridge two years later, went on to manage many top-level clubs, including Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and Aston Villa, but still holds Kettering dear to his heart.
He said: “Terry was a wonderful person and was part of a fantastic and very effective board at Kettering. In fact, that was as good a board of directors as I have had, anywhere I have been, including at Manchester United.”
Terry’s son William added: “The football club was just one of many aspects of Kettering life in which he was involved. He was a well-known and well-loved member of the local community, both through his varied social interests and his long-running business, which helped many local people get on to the property ladder and build a strong financial footing. Above all, it is his thoughtful personality, wit and charm that everyone who knew him will remember.”
Born in 1942, Terry grew up in Albion Road, Kettering and attended Park Road Primary School and Kettering Grammar School.
At the age of 16, he joined the internationally-acclaimed Kettering-based clothing manufacturer Wallis & Linnell.
He quickly rose to the position of works and general manager and by the age of 20 he was in charge of five branches, in Woodford, Cottingham, Brigstock, Gretton and Regent Street, Kettering.
The company, run by brothers Jeffrey and Jack Linnell, specialised in waistcoats and Curzon suits, but changing trends at the start of the ‘Swinging Sixties’ saw its popular products evolve into hipster trousers.
Terry left in 1963 to pursue a career in finance, joining Tony Barlow’s AA Barlow & Company in Kettering. The pair began to grow the business and perfected the idea of the original endowment method of house purchase.
In 1966, when Tony passed away, Terry took control of the business and renamed it Barlow Gray & Company. He went on to run the firm for more than 40 years, expanding it further into insurance and investment management, and moving offices within Kettering several times until ultimately locating in London Road. It was during this period that Terry became particularly active in the Kettering social scene. In 1966, he married Nathia Civil, the daughter of local celebrity Reg Civil – a fact unbeknown to him when they initially met – and the pair socialised regularly at venues in the town including Wicksteed Park, the Cornmarket Hall and the Royal Hotel.
He became the youngest member of the board of directors at Kettering Town FC in the early 1970s. His role placed him at the heart of the decision-making process during a transformative and very successful period in the club’s history.
Terry was involved behind the scenes when the club brokered the first football shirt sponsorship in 1976. The deal, which promoted Kettering Tyres, was quickly banned by the FA and although the club briefly got away with changing the Tyres to ‘T’ and claiming it stood for Town, it relented when faced with a fine.
He also proudly played a part in the installation of the ‘K’ and ‘T’ shaped floodlights at Rockingham Road.
That post-Atkinson period saw Derek Dougan, who the board had signed as player-manager and also business manager, lead the team on an unbeaten run of 32 games, but he departed in 1977 and the board reshuffled, with Terry’s close friend Tom Bradley becoming chairman.
The club enjoyed one of its most significant moments in history on May 19, 1979, reaching the FA Trophy Final at Wembley Stadium.
After ending his role as director in the mid-1980s, Terry remained a strong supporter of the club and, in 1985, he invited Atkinson back for a charity match. Held in support of the Children’s Society, the event saw a Manchester United side – including George Best – grace the Rockingham Road pitch.
A celebration of Terry’s life will be held on December 10 at St Leonard’s Church in Loddington, the village where he and Nathia built their family home. Nathia passed away in 2017. Terry died peacefully on November 12. They are now both sadly missed by children Zoe, Tanya and William.