ANOTHER link with Keighlians' Yorkshire Cup-winning team of 1948 has been removed with the death on Friday of Geoffrey Clapham.

Though he was part of the squad for twin cup and shield success that year he didn't make the line-up for the cup final at Skipton where Keighley famously beat Otley.

Brother Edgar, who died aged 48 in 1967, was also in the team, scoring one of the tries in the shield win over Sheffield at Otley.

The brothers were members of a long-est-ablished Keighley family, who were ironfoun-ders and gas engineers with works in Lawkholme Lane before moving to Eastburn. A gifted sportsman Geoffrey represented Keighley Boys GS at cricket and rugby union. The school at that time supplied virtually the entire Keighley side, skippered of course by sportsmaster Gilbert Swift.

After demob from the forces he embarked on a career as a PE teacher at Princeville secondary modern and Waverley schools in Bradford, latterly turning to maths. His teaching career lasted 35 years before he took early retirement in 1982.

He married Mollie, who he met playing tennis in Devonshire Park, Keighley, in 1948 and moved to Shipley to be nearer work. He played in the Bradford cricket league for 25 years, firstly with Keighley CC but mostly with Saltaire, opening the batting with the second X1 for donkey's years and scoring over 6,000 runs.

Three times he appeared in Priestley shield finals, on the losing side twice but a winner in Saltaire's first appearance in 1955. He died aged 78 after a long illness, leaving a wife and son, Tim. A funeral and cremation takes place today at Nab Wood, 1pm.