Number comes up for popular president!

Folkestone Invicta's much-loved president and former player Bill Hewson was presented with a shirt bearing his old number by current members of the play-off chasing club's squad to celebrate his 94th birthday.

The Invicta stalwart is pictured collecting the shirt at the Fullicks Stadium on Saturday before Neil Cugley's side beat Redhill 2-0 in Ryman South in their quest for promotion.

A centre-half in his playing days, the Invicta president won the East Kent League in 1938 with the club before going on to play for the RAF on 21 occasions. Also a talented club cricketer who played for Folkestone Cricket Club, he celebrated his birthday in typical style at the weekend by sponsoring the match ball!

The birthday celebrations for the club's president followed Invicta honouring the memory of striker Paul Sykes in front of his family and friends, a decade after his collapse while playing for the club and tragic death a few hours later.

After holding a minute’s heartfelt applause before kick off, officials later hung two framed portraits in their popular Stripes Bar and Wilf Armory Lounge of Sykes who collapsed during a county cup semi-final at Cheriton Road against Margate on April 12 2005.

Aged 28, he died a few hours after the match was abandoned and after the best efforts of paramedics and Invicta physio Dave Williams to revive him before he was rushed to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

His widow, Carly Sykes-Blowers and members of her late husband's extended family, were Invicta’s guests for the match to mark the tenth anniversary and see portraits become permanent fixtures at the stadium.

Sykes enjoyed a successful career at several other Kent club including his home town side Dover Athletic, Dartford, Welling United and Margate before signing for Folkestone during the 2004-05 season.

Image courtesy of Don Linkin

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