Honorary Life Members awarded in 2025
As we move into 2026 athletes will wear the EAC vest with pride on the roads, country, trails, hills and on the track. The eagle eyed will also spot EAC officials and coaches where many of them have been for decades, trackside or on the field of play. They started their journeys as athletes or parent helpers and are still actively involved in ensuring EAC remain one of the top clubs in Scotland.
The award of Life Membership is the highest honour Edinburgh Athletic Club can bestow on an individual and is done so in recognition of a member who has made an extraordinary contribution to Edinburgh Athletic Club over many years, that is above and beyond what is expected of any member and 15 worthy recipients were awarded Life Membership in recognition of the outstanding commitment they have shown to EAC and athletics in Edinburgh in some cases for over 60 years.
Coaches
Anne Scott
John Scott
Kevin Maguire
Douglas Cameron
Alex Macewen
Eric Fisher
Enid Johnstone
Derek Cogle
Keith Ridley
-
Bill’s involvement with athletics started during his National Service in the RAF and at the end of his 2 years he had reduced his 440 yards time to a very respectable 49.1. It was while working at Ferranti that he got involved with coaching setting up sessions for colleagues, something the continued to do when he moved to Heriot Watt as a Physics lecturer.
When EAC was formed in 1962 following an amalgamation of smaller clubs in the Edinburgh area Bill was a member and his association with the club spanning an incredible 6 decades of involvement. He continued to compete for the club and post 1970 started to work with the best young talent coming into the club. During that period the success of the “Bill Walker stable” was legendary with the names including Norman Gregor, Peter Hoffman, Paul Forbes, Peter Little, and Ross Hepburn. The Scottish 4x400M club record set on the 6th of September 1975 at Crystal Palace by Peter Hoffman, Paul Forbes, Norman Gregor and Roger Jenkins all coached by Bill remains unbeaten.
Fast forward to 2024 when he finally decided to retire from coaching and his enthusiasm and passion for the sport had not diminished. Just as he had finished guiding one athlete to the peak of their performance another talented athlete would emerge demanding his attention and expertise. Over 60 years of committing up to 6 days a week to coaching over 1,000 elite performers, kids and athletes with a disability is a formidable legacy.
For many years he organised the annual athlete recognition dinner, the Lothian trials and until last year team managed the women’s team in the Scottish league. He headed up the Coaching and Facilities subgroups on the EAC committee and was at the forefront of the discussions to ensure that the new Meadowbank was fit for purpose. With his physics background he became very interested in electronic timing and photo finish and his expertise was nationally recognised. With his son Clint he worked on the photo finish/timing at stadia all over Britain. He was awarded Honorary Life Membership of Scottish Athletics in 2016.
Officials/Administrators
-
Helena has been involved with the club as ESH, EWM and EAC for 46 years and got involved when her children Caroline and Lesley joined ESH. Caroline was a 6 metre Long Jumper, winning Scottish age group and Senior medals and titles and Lesley was a sub 60 400M runner, both girls competing on a regular basis for the club with dad Peter a passionate and successful coach. Helena acted as Club Secretary, X-country secretary, and Match Secretary and is still an active Level 4 Technical Official with the club. She has officiated at four Commonwealth Games - Edinburgh, Auckland, Kuala Lumpur and Glasgow and at various international matches and GB matches and is a highly respected Track Official. She continues to support the club at league matches and is a highly respected track official in Scotland and the UK.
-
Alastair’s 30-year involvement with athletics started when his daughter Joanne joined Edinburgh Woollen Mill as a primary school pupil after she had won the 200m at the Edinburgh Schools and he was persuaded to volunteer.
He served on the cub committee as Membership Secretary for many years and qualified as a Track Judge, travelling to matches all over the country to support the club, in the McDonalds, YDL upper, Scottish and Women’s UK leagues.
He is a Level 4 judge and continues to support the club in the YDL, Scottish league, indoor league and Glasgow Jaguars in the National Athletics League. As a Level 4 Track Judge he has been Chief Track Umpire at both Commonwealth Games Glasgow 2014 & Birmingham 2022, officiated at the World Championships in London 2017, Para World Championships London 2017, European Para Championships, Swansea 2014, and was Chief Track Umpire at both European Indoor Championships Glasgow and World Indoor Championship. He has officiated at numerous UKA Championships & Diamond Leagues often as referee.
He has progressed to becoming a Track Course Tutor and was elected Head of Discipline (Scotland) in 2013 and to the UK Track Peer Group in 2022. He was awarded Honorary Life Membership of scottishathletics in 2021 and is currently Convener of the Officials Commission and sits on the Board of scottishathletics. Alastair has shown huge commitment to the club over many years and is highly respected within the club, scottishathletics and UK athletics.
-
Moira has been involved with ESH and EAC now for over 23 years, since daughter Jayne, who went on to have a very successful career making the final of the Commonwealth Games in the High Jump in Glasgow, joined the club. She was Initially involved with the club by coming along on a training night and helping to put the bar back on the high jump uprights and progressed to helping the club by attending a course to gain her an Official’s Licence so that the club could gain points at League matches. She travelled all over the country, which she continues to do, in addition to organising the EAC and Glasgow Jaguars club officials for league matches always ensuring the club gain the maximum points available.
She has headed up the Events subgroup for many years arranging and coordinating “club events” including National League matches and despite technical issues with the “new” venue the SUPERteams heat at Meadowbank was a great success. She was also minute secretary for the club from 2007 – 2021 and was extremely proactive in ensuring the merger of City of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Southern and the change of the club to charitable status went smoothly, handling the administrative tasks with great professionalism.
Moira is a Level 4 Field official and attended the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 as a Gamesmaker, has officiated at many Diamond League Matches and Muller Grand Prix matches as a field judge, many UK/ British Champs as a field judge and field referee, World Athletics matches as field judge, the CWG twice in Glasgow 2014 and Birmingham 2022, as Final Call Room Manager and as a Field judge, and world para athletic championship matches indoor and outdoor.
Not only an official Moira has always been a keen “supporter” of the club and the athletes and travelled to Portugal and Turkey to support EAC when they represented the UK as British League champions in the European Club championship and sat on the jury of appeal in Turkey. Her love of athletics came from her school and country athletics days, but ESH, EAC and scottishathletics have been the beneficiaries of this passion. Her contribution to scottishathletics was acknowledged when she was awarded the prestigious Raymond Hutcheson Trophy for Services to Officiating at the 4J 2025 Annual Awards.
-
Brian has been involved with the club for over 22 years, initially as a parent volunteer and taxi driver to daughter Jayne. He responded to requests for help and passed the old Officials course. He is a UKA Technical Official (Field) Level 4 and (Timekeeper) Level 1 and starting as a Volunteer at London Olympics & Paralympics 2012, he was a Technical Official at Glasgow CWG 2014, European IPC Championships Swansea 2014, World Athletic Championships London 2017, World IPC Championships London 2017, Athletics World Cup London 2018, European Indoor Athletic Championships Glasgow 2019, Commonwealth Games Birmingham 2022, numerous Diamond Leagues and Grand Prix events in UK, numerous UK Track & Field Championships both Indoor & Outdoor, numerous UK Masters Championships both Indoor & Outdoor.
Throughout his officiating career he has supported the club’s participation in league fixtures wherever they have travelled in the UK and beyond at all levels from junior to senior athletes. From Lower YDL, National Junior Athletic League, Upper YDL, Scottish National Athletic League, UK Women’s Athletic League, Men’s British Athletic League through to the current National Athletic League with Glasgow Jaguars.
He has fulfilled many roles within ESH and EAC and continues to do so. He is currently Membership Secretary, Welfare Officer, an EAC Executive Committee Member and was formerly on the Board of Trustees and Meadowbank Facilities Sub-Group Member and Communications Sub-Group Member. Brian has and continues to devote hours of his time to the club and his roles within the club continue to be pivotal.
His work in ensuring Meadowbank is “fit for purpose” as a training facility, has been crucial and he continues to have aspirations that one day it can be a viable competition venue.
Brian was one of the recipients of an Eric Liddell Recognition Award and highlighted his long-standing dedication to athletics at the grassroots and club level, supporting officials, athletes and broader club infrastructure – all in the spirit of the values exemplified by Eric Liddell. He was also recognised as the 2025 scottishathletics volunteer at the 2025 Annual Award ceremony.
-
Jim has given over 25 years of service as an official to Edinburgh Woollen Mill and EAC, having got involved with officiating around 1999/2000 when his daughter joined the club and ran for the club in the YDL Upper league and Scottish league matches. He progressed to become a Level 4 Field Official and continues to travel to league matches to support the club and is a highly respected official in both Scotland and in the UK. He was selected to officiate at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and has also officiated at Diamond leagues and at UK Championships. He is still an active official and continues to support the club in league matches, alongside his valuable contribution as a Scottish and UK official.
