‘Strict, but a heart of gold’: Tribute to ex-Shrewsbury Town vice-chair Patrick Newbrook

Patrick was an influential director at Gay Meadow throughout the 1970s and 1980s, during Shrewsbury’s finest ever period.

The corn merchant and hotelier in France was renowned throughout the town and county. His widow Vanessa spoke of how her late husband was a divisive character who could be strict, or a ‘miserable so and so’, but had a ‘heart of gold’, loved his football club and idolised his family.

He joined the Town board initially as vice-president in the mid-to-late 1970s, before stepping up to vice-chairman when Ken Woodhouse replaced Tim Yates in the top job in 1984.

Patrick, born in the Heathgates suburb of Shrewsbury in 1937, became synonymous with his trilby hat and red Jaguar E-Type, which would regularly overtake the team’s coach on the way to away matches around the country.

After he and Vanessa returned home from France 10 years ago, Patrick suffered a stroke and had been living with variable vascular dementia and died, unrelated to Covid-19, last Sunday.

“He was such a character and raised a lot of money for the football club. He always such a proud man and had lots of friends and lots of enemies,” said Vanessa, who was born in Babbinswood near Oswestry. The couple were together for 47 years and had a big family. “I told him I’d protect him from Covid and am happy I did that, but it wasn’t easy.”

They lived in Hanwood and The Mount before he left his role on the club’s board in 1989, when the couple moved to Dordogne in south west France.

They owned a hotel for 12 years in one of the country’s wine regions, set between mountains and valleys. He retired in 2002 but the couple remained in France for more than 10 years afterwards, before returning to England, where they lived at Copthorne before moving to West Felton. Vanessa admitted Patrick ‘did not take to retirement’ and the couple enjoyed gardening.

Patrick, who attended The Priory Boys School in the centre of town, watched his beloved Shrewsbury at Gay Meadow from childhood and would follow the club’s fortunes, both inwardly and from afar, including from France and in his final years. He would always know the Town score.

Vanessa recalled ‘discontent’ when players were permitted a holiday when Patrick did not believe one was warranted.

He tendered his resignation in 1989, admitting at the time he was ‘desperately worried’ about the way the football club was and worried and for its future.

“It’s been building up gradually. I don’t see eye to eye with some of the other board members and I am now out on a limb, so I have left by mutual agreement,” Patrick said at the time. He created Shrewsbury’s ‘200 Club’ raffle draw, which raised vital funds, and would organise lunches in gardens with marquees, which drummed up cash.

“He did it for the love of Shrewsbury Town Football Club, not for himself,” added Vanessa. “He had a heart of gold.”

Patrick, or Pat to his family, arranged for football-mad youngsters at Hanwood Primary School to receive free tickets to watch Shrewsbury at the old Meadow, when the team were in the Second Division in the 1980s, and Vanessa wondered if any of those recalled the experience. He also volunteered at the local Boys’ Brigade.

Working as a corn merchant, with his shed at Meole Brace, the Town director once sorted it, through the club, that a terminally ill customer was granted her lifelong wish of watching a tennis match at Wimbledon.

Vanessa said: “It is those acts of kindness that some people would not believe was Patrick, because he was so strict.”

On the pitch, throughout his tenure on the board of directors, Shrewsbury enjoyed their halcyon days, and mixed it with the top clubs of the second tier. Patrick was also a close confidant of fellow board members and businessmen Freddie Fry and Fred (Alfred) Williams and enjoyed football chat with fellow colourful character Dick Homden, who became Wolves chairman.

Patrick’s widow recalls the famous Division Three title secured in the battle with Elton John’s Watford: “I remember the promotion (to the Second Division in 1979), we were the on the phone waiting for the score from Elton John’s team (Watford), we won and he still called us anyway.”

He was able to catch up with good friend and Shrewsbury president Mal Starkey at a funeral a few years ago and was close with former Town goalkeeper Ken Mulhearn, who died in 2018, as well as legend Peter Dolby, who passed away the following year.

Patrick and Ken played cricket together at Shrewsbury Cricket Club’s London Road as well as the former Cathedral Cricket Club, in Frankwell. His other sport was rugby, a game he enjoyed hugely at school.

He remained an active man until his late years. Indeed, just five or six years ago, having had a pacemaker fitted, Patrick was driven around the famous Nurburgring in Germany. Vanessa said: “People would either say he was a gentleman or a miserable so and so. But he was adventurous right until the end.”

Despite living with dementia in his later years, he would religiously look out for Shrewsbury results and could effortlessly recall all facts and statistics from his period in the boardroom and early days as a fan.

Just a few months ago, around Christmas time, the Newbrooks were visited by their Iceland delivery driver Carleton Leonard, the Oswestry-based legendary former Shrewsbury defender of the 1970s and 80s. Patrick and Leonard chatted Shrewsbury, recalling all scorelines and anecdotes.

The former Town vice-chairman is survived by four children, Stephanie, Caroline, Richard and Beverley and six grandchildren aged between six and 16.

“He worshipped his children,” Vanessa said. “It will be hard for his grandchildren to come and visit with him not in his chair.”

Patrick’s funeral will be held at Emstrey Crematorium in Shrewsbury on Wednesday, April 14, with coronavirus restrictions in place.