Ivan Usher Memorial Stand

Beverley Football Club Ivan Usher Memorial Stand

There are few people in Beverley who don’t know or who have not heard of the death in 2017 of the popular teacher, fitness centre owner and local sportsman Ivan Usher.

It was Ivan’s dream to see a spectator stand built at Norwood Park so that local people could watch football in comfort – a fine memorial to a man who inspired so many to take up sport. The recent refurbishment of the football pitch has meant that the ground is now of exceptional quality and the installation of the stand will be the finishing touch to this project.

The £17,000 cost of the stand was met by the outstanding effort of many local people as a way of saying ‘thank you’ and by generous donations from local businesses, Beverley Town Cricket & Recreation Club, Beverley Catholic Club, East Riding of Yorkshire Council plus many other fund raising efforts by family, friends and former pupils.

Ivan was born in Beverley and was a pupil of Beverley Grammar School where he was captain of the football and cricket teams. He was on the books of Hull City and Nottingham Forest as a young man and he played as a semi-professional for Bridlington Town – he also enjoyed playing cricket and tennis.

Ivan trained to be a PE teacher at Loughborough College before joining Longcroft School in 1958 and many local people have memories and stories about him as there PE and geography teacher. He retired in from teaching in 1998 and he set up Usher’s Gym which later became Usher’s Fitness Centre.