Kent sport has lost many good people during the COVID pandemic and at Star Meadow in Gillingham on Saturday night, one of them will be remembered by the people who knew him best.

Laurence Plummer – Plum to nearly everyone who knew him – was the man behind the rise of Holland and Blair from Medway park football to the SCEFL Premier, and on Saturday evening, the people who knew and played for him will gather at the club’s base to celebrate Plum’s life and to officially launch the “Laurence Plummer Foundation” in his memory and honour.

“Saturday night is going to be a great night,” Blair boss Simon Halsey admitted to KSN. 

“It really started for me and the players last Saturday for our Cup tie as it was our first home game since COVID, and we lost Plum!”

“We’ve got some new players in the squad, but Saturday’s game was ideal to express for the players – old and new – what it was like to be part of the FA Cup and who most of us had to thank for the Club being there, as Holland and Blair as a club had come from being a “pub-side” in the Rochester and District League all the way through to where we are now.”

“The boys came out to “You’ll Never Walk Alone” which was another tribute to him as he was a big Liverpool supporter, and when we scored our first goal (in a 3-0 win) the lads went and celebrated in front of the tea-bar that Plum’s wife runs for the club to let her know that he may be gone but will never been forgotten, and everything that he wanted to build won’t be stopped and makes us even stronger for us to carry on, winning games of football to get money in the bank and developing the club to what his vision was.”

“It’s very important that we as a club don’t let him be forgotten – which is not going to happen!”

“That really started last Saturday and will carry on this week after our game at Canterbury. Hopefully, we’ll come away with a win and then go back to the club and spend the evening in his memory as well as raising money for the new Foundation that has just been set up in his memory and honour.”

“It’ll get people around the club telling stories and sharing memories about him. There’s a lot of people around the club a lot longer than I have who know more of what he’s done for the club, but as a local, I knew about his achievements even if I wasn’t surrounded by it.”

“There will be some great memories I’m sure about how hard things were, but he still stuck to the task and kept the club going. It’s amazing what he did really, it truly is!”

Plum was a very modest and very private man, and as Simon conceded, would have hated the very idea of a tribute evening.

“He would have hated it,” the Blair boss said with a hint of laughter in his voice. “He would not have wanted it in any shape or form. When we named the stand after him, we literally had to twist his arm behind his back to have a picture taken in front of it – he was just a man who… it wasn’t about himself, it was all about the Club…”

“The foundation will keep his legacy going. We had a golf day recently that raised over £5,000 and we’ve all just got to keep the memory of him going…”

The Laurence Plummer Memorial celebration will be held at Star Meadow, Darland Avenue, Gillingham from 6.00pm this coming Saturday (August 14).

The Laurence Plummer Foundation aims to support young people from Medway & Kent in participating in Sport with a particular focus on helping those from deprived and low-income backgrounds. The Laurence Plummer Foundation offers small grants to individuals, sports clubs, youth groups and schools to help improve participation and assist with young people making the next step in their sport.