Les Jenkins

All at the club were deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of Les Jenkins after a long battle with cancer. 

Les, a dedicated Clyde fan for more than 70 years, first went to see The Bully Wee in the 1955 Scottish Cup Final at Hampden against Celtic – a game that ended 1-1 after Archie Robertson iconically equalised for Clyde direct from a corner kick in the 87th minute.  

He rode the trolleybuses to games at Shawfield as a teenager, and followed his heroes – namely Harry Hood – all around the country during a series of highs and lows in the early 1960s that included two promotions, two relegations and a victory in Europe. He kept newspaper cuttings of every bit of Clyde news he could get his hands on and regularly sent letters to the manager telling him what team to pick. 

Later in life, when Clyde moved to Broadwood, Les attended games with his children, his son-in-law and grandchildren, as well as his friend Bob Forrest. He was in attendance when Clyde scored that other famous win against Celtic in 2006, and he watched a VHS copy of it (remember them!) on repeat again and again… and again. A poster of it also adorned the door of his study.   

After retiring as a history teacher in Coatbridge, Les became a keen public speaker and gave numerous talks to local history societies. However, no matter the topic, fellow members came to wait in anticipation to see how he would shoehorn in a little bit about his beloved Clyde.   

Despite struggling with mobility later in life, Les still managed to overcome transport hurdles to get to their present home at New Douglas Park on a few occasions at least. Even when this was no longer possible, he followed the results on television as best he could – preferably using Teletext if he could get it to work. It made his day (and year!) when Clyde performed their post-January heroics during the 2023/24 season to stay in League Two.  

Les kept himself busy in his latter days by making notes on the content of Clyde’s programmes, which he subscribed to right up to the end. He made various contributions to the programme over the years, including letters and articles on those aforementioned trolleybus trips, his favourite season (1963-64), and a tribute to former manager, Davie White.  

The last game he witnessed was that magnificent 6-1 triumph against Peterhead on the last day of the season – a fitting end for a great man and a loyal fan.

The thoughts and condolences from all at the club are with Les’ son Chris, and the rest of his family and friends at this sad time.