​Bench unveiled in memory of Selkirk cricket fan George Oliver

​A bench in memory of late Selkirk cricket fan George Oliver has been unveiled at the club’s Philiphaugh home ground.
By John Smail
Published 20th Jun 2023, 17:51 BST
Updated 20th Jun 2023, 17:52 BST
Anne Oliver on a new bench at Selkirk Cricket Club's home ground in memory of her late husband George, with daughter Joyce, grandsons Blaine, left, and Fraser Gillie and Blaine’s wife Rachel and their children Michael and Katie (Pic: John Smail)Anne Oliver on a new bench at Selkirk Cricket Club's home ground in memory of her late husband George, with daughter Joyce, grandsons Blaine, left, and Fraser Gillie and Blaine’s wife Rachel and their children Michael and Katie (Pic: John Smail)
Anne Oliver on a new bench at Selkirk Cricket Club's home ground in memory of her late husband George, with daughter Joyce, grandsons Blaine, left, and Fraser Gillie and Blaine’s wife Rachel and their children Michael and Katie (Pic: John Smail)

Oliver died last June at the age of 95 after supporting his home-town club for almost nine decades.

He attended his first match as a ten-year-old in 1936 and rarely missed a home fixture over the following 85 years.

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Father-of-two Oliver always sat in the same place on the ground’s southern boundary wall, just a short distance from his family’s home in Ettrickhaugh Road, and the new memorial bench has been sited on that exact spot.

Its unveiling was jointly carried out by Oliver’s widow, Anne, and club chairman Neil Gentleman, watched by members of the Oliver family, friends, neighbours and Selkirk players.

​A Souter born and bred, Oliver played cricket while a pupil at the town’s Knowepark Primary School and would often help out at net practice.

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Related topics:SelkirkPhiliphaugh