Former Town players rally round for teammate
Former Huddersfield Town players taking part in the Alzheimer’s Memory Walk at Beaumont Park are from back, from left: Terry Gray, Mark Lillis, Dick Kozywicki and Keith Hanvey. Front (left): Roy Ellam, Steve Smith and Geoff Hutt headed balls worse than me,” he said.
He added: “I remember playing on cold and damp nights when I thought ‘Oh my god I have got to head that ball.’
“I once headed a ball and it caught me wrong and I couldn’t see for a few minutes. I had a little tunnel of vision.
“I didn’t know what had happened to me.
“Somehow I played on but I don’t know how I got through it.”
Terry Gray, who played in midfield for Town from 1972-1979, was joined on the walk by his wife Josie and their grandchildren Shauna, 14, and George, eight.
Terry has witnessed first-hand the devastating impact of dementia on a person and their family.
“My wife’s mother was affected by dementia for a couple of years. It is a dreadful disease and affects everybody in the family.”
Alongside Steve Smith was his daughter Lisa who said dementia had robbed her dad of his memory and his independence.
Lisa said: “So many people are suffering and are hidden away. We need to raise more awareness and to raise money for more research.” She said it was important to open up about the disease so that it wasn’t such a stigma.
“Most people are scared to,” she said.
Most people were supportive of Lisa when she spoke about her dad’s dementia - but not everyone.
“A few people said shouldn’t say anything.
“But most people said thank you and told me their stories about their own relatives.”
Rob Stewart, a Town fan who organised the Memory Walk to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society, said: “I was inspired to organise the walk by former Town players like Steve Smith who is living with dementia.
“Today is a show of solidarity by former Town players, their families and Town fans.
“We want to defeat dementia and the charity is being supported by thousands of people across Yorkshire who share our aim.”