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Errol
Carnegie (1953 - 2004)
Born into a family of
6 comprising of 2 sisters and 3 brothers, Errol was the middle
child; as a family man Errol’s children were also involved
in judo.
Errol lived all of his
life in East, London; he grew up and went to school in Forest
Gate, where after school he and several of his friends joined
the local judo club.
Errol started Judo when
he was 11 years old around 40 years ago in the early 1960's. He
was taught and deeply inspired by John Ryan (Great Britain’s
1st Olympic Medalist 1964), who became a major influence and mentor
in his life both on and off the judo mat.
Errol practiced judo
with John Ryan, Colin Gilbert and Patsy Walker at Newham Judo
Club, where his judo flourished and he soon became a national
and international player.
In 1988 the BJA awarded
Errol a trophy in recognition for his outstanding international
performance.
Errol also took part
in Great Britain’s strongest man contest Screened on BBC1,
coming in joint second to Geoff capes.
After a successful international
career with the Senior Great Britain Judo squad,(“highlight
was his much talked about gold medal for the GB European teams
1982 – Where GB was competing in the final against the much
favored Italians, the score was level with only Errol left to
fight, during the contest Errol was thrown for a wazari but magnificently
fought back and threw the Italian champion for ippon”.)
He concentrated his
efforts on teaching. Following the death of his former sensei
(John Ryan), Errol took over and has been teaching judo at Durning
hall Forest Gate London E7, for over 25 years. With much of his
time dedicated to working with children with social exclusion.
Errol has inspired and influenced many students who now owe him
a debt of gratitude for turning them away from a life of crime.
Errol training and conditioning sessions was hard and grueling
but dedicated to finesse and accuracy.
For over 19 years Errol
played a significant role in the community in coordinating players
of all abilities to represent the borough at the now called Heathrow
youth games.
Although not a high
profile sensei Errol was highly respected through out the judo
world. Errol’s dedication and commitment to the sport was
a testimony to all who knew him, he was a great ambassador for
the sport both on and away from judo.
Errol was a complete
Rastafarian; he was a true believer who dedicated his life to
the faith. Errol love outside of judo was his family and a passion
for his religion and reggae music, of which he shared both of
them over his last days.
A few word to conclude:
He was a Man of principal,
Inspirational, Influential, Positive, Cantankerous, a Good Leader,
but yet he was a humble man who was Firm and very Passionate about
his beliefs.
The
funeral date has been set for Thursday 30 th December 2004 .
The church service is to take place from 11.00am at the Woodgrange
Methodist Church, Woodgrange Road, Forest gate, London E7 0QH.
The service is to be conducted by Chief Awesi’ogun of Ife.
The
burial service is to take place from 13.00pm at West Ham Cemetery
, Cemetery Road Forest gate London E7.
The
after service is to take place from 16.00pm at the Magician Club
21~ 23 Sedgwick Street , Homerton Road Hackney E9.
For
additional details log on to www.studio55.co.uk or contact Lionel
Hibbert on 07904 467 253
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