It is with great sadness that we announce the death of our highly respected and much loved Trustee Anthony Ratcliffe who died suddenly on 29th October. He leaves behind his wife Roxane, son Rupert, daughters Rachel and Becca, and grandchildren Yasmin, Raffael, Caspian, Xavier, Diana and Genevieve.
Anthony, who joined the Foundation in 2009, was everything you could wish for in a Trustee – wise, kind, totally committed and full of ideas on how the charity could flourish in a challenging environment. A member of the Finance and General Purposes Committee, the Property Sub Group and the Gala Dinner Committee, Anthony didn’t do things by halves and was a real inspiration to his fellow Trustees and staff who had the utmost respect and affection for him.
Having founded his own property investment company in Mayfair in 1970, Anthony had vast knowledge and experience and was the first port of call whenever the Foundation needed business or building advice on any of its grounds. Throughout his time as a Trustee his insight and big picture vision meant that the charity invariably made the correct decision. He was always supportive of staff and on those occasions when his guidance was sought, his response was never less than prompt and invariably bang on the money.
Anthony was also a networker par excellence. Indeed, it was his introduction to Nigel Goodman in 2010 that led to Nigel’s emergence as Chairman of the Gala Dinner Committee. Under the latter’s dynamic leadership, the Dinner went on to transform the Foundation’s fortunes by raising over £2million at a time when the sources of external funding were becoming scarcer.
A keen Sheffield Wednesday fan despite his upbring in Kirkham Lancashire, Anthony fully understood the power of sport to transform lives and was a passionate supporter of the Foundation’s projects, particularly Keep on Playing Sport (KOPS) which was targeted at sixth form males who had never been selected for teams earlier in the school lives. Perhaps it resonated with his own experience at Kirkham Grammar School as a teenager.
On a personal level, Anthony was great company, humble, engaging, empathetic and infectiously upbeat. As one of the senior statesmen on the Trustee board he always went out of his way to integrate newcomers, a quality which endeared him to everyone. He will be sorely missed.
LPFF CEO Alex Welsh said,
“Anthony’s contribution to the Foundation and its work was immeasurable. Putting his finely honed business acumen and his impeccable networking at our disposal he took the charity on to another level, for which we will always be grateful”.
