Lewis Birchall
21 December 1941 – 16 January 2022
The following obiturary has been submitted by fellow alumnus Rod Thorpe (Physical Education 1961- 1964).
It is with great sadness that we have to report that Lew Birchall died in January and his friends share his loss with his loving family.
In 1960, Lew won the English Schools Long Jump with a distance now recorded as 7m22, a distance that was not beaten by a wind legal jump until 1984. He decided he would come to Loughborough, but before he arrived he had a serious injury that ended his long jump career.
Anyone who knew Lew you would not be surprised by the fact that he told the family. “I went to Loughborough with a love of athletics and I left with a love of teaching,”.
He was a positive person. He was passionate about Physical Education. He taught at Walton High School, Lancashire for 29 years, never losing that passion, even after taking more senior roles in the school.
Fellow alumni who had the privilege of sharing time with Lew more recently, enjoyed sharing views on Physical Education, Loughborough and many other topics. These discussions were made possible because for the last 23 years, Lew had organised an annual reunion for all those who spent their 3 years between 1961 and 1964 in the Quorn Hall of Residence.