Bernie - A Leicester City Legend, RIP

[l444ry]

18 hours ago, The_77 said:

Instead of a minute’s applause, let’s have a minute of people screaming ARRRRRRGGGHHHJHHHHH at the top of their lungs. 
 

R.I.P. Bernie

Brilliant idea

[urban.spaceman]

13 hours ago, fleckneymike said:

I remember Scunthorpe away where some seats afforded you a view of a pillar and not much else. There was Bernie, behind a pillar and enthusiastically hurling abuse directly at the pillar as though it were a sentient being whilst completely unable to see the match. 
 

Prior to that I recall a misjudged half time segment with The Birch inviting Bernie onto the pitch. He’d driven past Bernie and thought it’d be interesting to interview him. As we can all now guess the interview was about as successful as you’d expect. The Birch quickly abandoned it and let Bernie just march up and down the pitch in his tartan flared trousers demonstrating to us all how to walk. 

I remember this?! When was it?!

[sishades]

Very sad news.....met him once, a true fan and yes a legend. RIP Berrnie

[lcfcfem]

22 hours ago, Jaspa said:

C'mon, he was decrepit these last few years and couldn't make it to games. Bernie lived a long life, saw some sights, drunk alot of booze and made the most of what he could.

 

From memory someone posted an article about his from an LCFC programme in the 70s/80s. His surname was something like Henton, he had a wife and was a City diehard even back then. An enigma, and a life lived.

He was absolutely not decrepit , and up until Covid we got him to the games.  He was a little deaf, a lot cleaner, but still enjoyed his pint and pie at the blues bar.  He never lost his love for the club. Ever. 

[1972 Fox]

An absolutely legendary supporter of our club.

 

RIP Bernie.

[lcfcfem]

19 hours ago, ElusiveEd said:

(My bold) Absolutely this.

 

At a guess I imagine there is no, or very little, in the way of Bernie's family around?

 

If the OP could post any details of his funeral maybe many of us could attend?

 

Dressed in blue or our LCFC gear of course

 

Just a thought.

Bernie did not have any family left.  His wife, Sylvia, passed away around 3 years ago.  I visited him in his nursing home and sorted out getting him to the football and back.  I will be arranging the funeral with the solicitors next week and putting together an LCFC send off for Bernie. He was my friend for many many years and I loved him to pieces.  I am loving all the stories on here, and unless anyone objects, I want to collate them off all social media platforms, and read a few out at his funeral.  I went along to his wife's funeral and there was only myself, my family and Simon who takes him to the matches, plus a couple of care home staff.  I want to try and make Bernies more of how Bernies should be.  I will put details up once I know more. x

[FoxInTheBirstallBox]

Had many encounter with our Bernie, one of my favourites is Doncaster away...

 

I saw the players getting off the coach, and as graceful as ever Bernie was right by the door of the coach, pushed past the barrier and just greeting the players with an arrrggggghhhhhhh 😂

[foxile5]

3 hours ago, l444ry said:

Brilliant idea

Oh it would be sensational. 

[The mullet of Phil Gee]

So sad to hear of Bernie’s passing.

 

What a character he was and nobody could ever say that he wasn’t passionate about Leicester.

I remember him from the late 90s when I used to catch the supporters coach from Loughborough. He’d turn up clutching an assortment of things including carrier bags full of old newspapers.

 

If my memory is correct, he was not on the coach when we played away at Derby in April 98. It turns out that he’d decided to walk to the match from Quorn, but had arrived late and had missed our 4 early goals.

 

I’m so glad that he got to see us win the league and cup.

 

Rest easy Bernie! Aaaargh!

 

 

 

[Raj]

3 hours ago, lcfcfem said:

Bernie did not have any family left.  His wife, Sylvia, passed away around 3 years ago.  I visited him in his nursing home and sorted out getting him to the football and back.  I will be arranging the funeral with the solicitors next week and putting together an LCFC send off for Bernie. He was my friend for many many years and I loved him to pieces.  I am loving all the stories on here, and unless anyone objects, I want to collate them off all social media platforms, and read a few out at his funeral.  I went along to his wife's funeral and there was only myself, my family and Simon who takes him to the matches, plus a couple of care home staff.  I want to try and make Bernies more of how Bernies should be.  I will put details up once I know more. x

Hopefully a pass along the King Power stadium for his funeral procession can be auctioned. Would be a fitting tribute.

[lcfcfem]

25 minutes ago, The mullet of Phil Gee said:

So sad to hear of Bernie’s passing.

 

What a character he was and nobody could ever say that he wasn’t passionate about Leicester.

I remember him from the late 90s when I used to catch the supporters coach from Loughborough. He’d turn up clutching an assortment of things including carrier bags full of old newspapers.

 

If my memory is correct, he was not on the coach when we played away at Derby in April 98. It turns out that he’d decided to walk to the match from Quorn, but had arrived late and had missed our 4 early goals.

 

I’m so glad that he got to see us win the league and cup.

 

Rest easy Bernie! Aaaargh!

 

 

 

He did go to the match but got arrested outside the ground even though we were pleading with the police to let him go. I’m pretty sure the club got him out but not in time for the match. 

[Bob666]

16 hours ago, Lesta2014 said:

Touched me this has, been a standard thing seeing him at games from such a young age. He truly loved leicester city! RIP Bernie

RIP Bernie.  A rite of passage for my sons seeing Bernie at matches.  Always a passionate fan - sad to see him in a wheelchair last season.  Hopefully he was able to sing "we hate Nobbingham"  one last time last Sunday 

[Buzzell]

To whoever that left the bunch of flowers and the Jester hat on Bernie’s seat today, lovely touch.

 

[FoyleFox]

[sm1]

On 12/02/2022 at 08:17, lcfcfem said:

Bernie did not have any family left.  His wife, Sylvia, passed away around 3 years ago.  I visited him in his nursing home and sorted out getting him to the football and back.  I will be arranging the funeral with the solicitors next week and putting together an LCFC send off for Bernie. He was my friend for many many years and I loved him to pieces.  I am loving all the stories on here, and unless anyone objects, I want to collate them off all social media platforms, and read a few out at his funeral.  I went along to his wife's funeral and there was only myself, my family and Simon who takes him to the matches, plus a couple of care home staff.  I want to try and make Bernies more of how Bernies should be.  I will put details up once I know more. x

Kudos to you, you are a true friend.

RIP Bernie, gone but never forgotten.

[Strokes]

Absolute Legend. His spirit will be missed.

[kushiro]

@lcfcfem Thank you so much for everything you've done. What a gem you are. Good luck putting all these memories together.

 

@Bluetintedspecs  How right you are - there but for the grace of God go all of us. Every morning on my way to work here in Sapporo I pass people who make me think how lucky I am - people who, for whatever reason, have fallen off the rails of regular society. They make me think of all the times when, had the fates been aligned just slightly differently, I too would now be leading a life far less stable than the one I am.

 

Well, here we go. I was thinking of starting a new thread as this is gonna be a long post (bear with me), but maybe it's best to keep all the Bernie stuff in one place. There's a story I'd like to tell.

 

In the clipping from an old programme that @Cardiff_Fox and @kyleolly posted, it says Bernie's first match was a '6-2 win against Leeds after the war'. I wanted to see if I could find details of the game - and here's the story:

 

Bernie's Adventures (Part 1)

 

It's August 21st 1948. The start of a new season, and an historic day for Leicester City FC, for when they run out against Leeds, they have a fox on their shirt for the first time. In the summer, the directors had decided to adopt this new badge, and from that day forward, the club would have a new nickname.

 

 

 

Despite finishing only 9th in Division Two the season before, there was huge optimism among the City fans. Season ticket sales had doubled from a year earlier, and manager Johnny Duncan was hoping this would be the year they got back to the top flight following relegation just before the war. As you can see from this Leicester Evening Mail report, fans were arriving early.

 

 

Somewhere in the queues was 14 year old Bernard Henson, waiting expectantly to see his first Leicester match. We don't know which part of the ground he stood in, or what his reaction was when he first entered the ground - perhaps he had the same sense of wonder as so many others when they see that expanse of green for the first time. It would have been in perfect condition that day, the club having just spent a huge sum to upgrade the playing surface. 

 

However impressed he was by the scene at Filbert Street, the match itself must have made a far deeper impression. City took the lead after only two minutes:

 

 

But then:

 

 

Then in the 12th minute, Leeds went ahead:

 

 

Next:

 

 

It was 2-2 at half time. The reports above are from the late edition of the Evening Mail, which went to press before five o'clock, too early for a description of the second half. But there in the stop press column you see the final score - Leicester City 6 Leeds United 2. 

 

In Monday's paper there was a summary of the second half:

 

 

'A definite promotion stamp', the report says. It would be a historic season, but in a way no City fan could possibly have imagined. 

 

You can imagine Bernie Henson almost flying home on his bicycle after the match, his head already full of glorious memories, knowing that he'd discovered a passion that would stay with him for the rest of his life.

Edited 16 February 2022 by kushiro

[lcfcfem]

19 hours ago, kushiro said:

@lcfcfem Thank you so much for everything you've done. What a gem you are. Good luck putting all these memories together.

 

@Bluetintedspecs  How right you are - there but for the grace of God go all of us. Every morning on my way to work here in Sapporo I pass people who make me think how lucky I am - people who, for whatever reason, have fallen off the rails of regular society. They make me think of all the times when, had the fates been aligned just slightly differently, I too would now be leading a life far less stable than the one I am.

 

Well, here we go. I was thinking of starting a new thread as this is gonna be a long post (bear with me), but maybe it's best to keep all the Bernie stuff in one place. There's a story I'd like to tell.

 

In the clipping from an old programme that @Cardiff_Fox and @kyleolly posted, it says Bernie's first match was a '6-2 win against Leeds after the war'. I wanted to see if I could find details of the game - and here's the story:

 

Bernie's Adventures (Part 1)

 

It's August 21st 1948. The start of a new season, and an historic day for Leicester City FC, for when they run out against Leeds, they have a fox on their shirt for the first time. In the summer, the directors had decided to adopt this new badge, and from that day forward, the club would have a new nickname.

 

 

 

Despite finishing only 9th in Division Two the season before, there was huge optimism among the City fans. Season ticket sales had doubled from a year earlier, and manager Johnny Duncan was hoping this would be the year they got back to the top flight following relegation just before the war. As you can see from this Leicester Evening Mail report, fans were arriving early.

 

 

Somewhere in the queues was 14 year old Bernard Henson, waiting expectantly to see his first Leicester match. We don't know which part of the ground he stood in, or what his reaction was when he first entered the ground - perhaps he had the same sense of wonder as so many others when they see that expanse of green for the first time. It would have been in perfect condition that day, the club having just spent a huge sum to upgrade the playing surface. 

 

However impressed he was by the scene at Filbert Street, the match itself must have made a far deeper impression. City took the lead after only two minutes:

 

 

But then:

 

 

Then in the 12th minute, Leeds went ahead:

 

 

Next:

 

 

It was 2-2 at half time. The reports above are from the late edition of the Evening Mail, which went to press before five o'clock, too early for a description of the second half. But there in the stop press column you see the final score - Leicester City 6 Leeds United 2. 

 

In Monday's paper there was a summary of the second half:

 

 

'A definite promotion stamp', the report says. It would be a historic season, but in a way no City fan could possibly have imagined. 

 

You can imagine Bernie Henson almost flying home on his bicycle after the match, his head already full of glorious memories, knowing that he'd discovered a passion that would stay with him for the rest of his life.

This is brilliant.  Thank you so much.  I will certainly use some of this if you don't mind.  I have a meeting tomorrow to finalise the date and time to say our goodbyes to Bernie.  I don't need the thank you's though as he has been a friend for so long and I just adopted him I think lol.  My kids was very scared of him at first, and I would buy Bernie a drink and have him sit with us (you can imagine how he was in both sight and smell, bless him), but they also learned to love this guy who was super intelligent, and his knowledge of our club was amazing, and I think he adored me as much as I adored him.   I moved out to Dubai for a few years and Bernie would send me letters full of cut out newspaper articles on anything LCFC related with loads of kisses all over them.  I used to send him things back like arabic dates and trinkets, which I think he actually hated!  The envelopes would be covered with shxt on the villa, and we hate forest captions.  I am surprised they ever made it to the UAE as you could only just see the address under a load of scrawlings.   He would come into a pub at the matches and I would go and give him a hug and a kiss and I heard people nearly choking on their beers, but I didnt care.  He was and always will be Leicester City.  

[kushiro]

40 minutes ago, lcfcfem said:

This is brilliant.  Thank you so much.  I will certainly use some of this if you don't mind.  I have a meeting tomorrow to finalise the date and time to say our goodbyes to Bernie.  I don't need the thank you's though as he has been a friend for so long and I just adopted him I think lol.  My kids was very scared of him at first, and I would buy Bernie a drink and have him sit with us (you can imagine how he was in both sight and smell, bless him), but they also learned to love this guy who was super intelligent, and his knowledge of our club was amazing, and I think he adored me as much as I adored him.   I moved out to Dubai for a few years and Bernie would send me letters full of cut out newspaper articles on anything LCFC related with loads of kisses all over them.  I used to send him things back like arabic dates and trinkets, which I think he actually hated!  The envelopes would be covered with shxt on the villa, and we hate forest captions.  I am surprised they ever made it to the UAE as you could only just see the address under a load of scrawlings.   He would come into a pub at the matches and I would go and give him a hug and a kiss and I heard people nearly choking on their beers, but I didnt care.  He was and always will be Leicester City.  

Feel free to use it - and the sequel below - any way you want. Love that bit about the envelopes - if you still have any and know how to post them on here it would be great to see. 

 

Well, here's Bernie's Adventures Part 2:

 

In that feature in the club programme it says Bernie used to cycle to places like Grimsby, Hull and Sheffield in the early 50s. It's impossible to know which specific matches he went to as we played in those cities several times after the war. But next it gives us this little nugget of information: he once hitch hiked to Edinburgh to see Leicester play a friendly.  This is an occasion we can pin down for sure.

 

On February 16th 1957, Leicester played Hibernian at Easter Road in a 'Challenge Match' - a glorified friendly basically. Why on earth would any Leicester fan make a 600 mile round trip to see a friendly? And hitch-hike? In February?? Well, it was a very special time. 

 

We were in the middle of one of the most amazing sequence of results in our history. In the previous twelve League games we'd won ten and drawn two. Since the turn of the year there had been a remarkable series of games at Filbert Street - 5-0 v Sheffield United, 7-2 v Bristol Rovers and 4-3 v Grimsby Town. 

 

But then on February 9th, it looked like the run was coming to an end. Liverpool came to Filbert Street, and inspired by legend Billy Liddell, were leading 2-0 at half time. Then in the second half City stormed back to win 3-2. Press reports of the game speak of fans 'going wild with delight, throwing caps in the air'. No doubt Bernie was among them. The win put us six points clear at the top of Division Two, with Stoke City 2nd and Forest in 3rd. Liverpool were only 9th. We'd been promoted three times before, but never had we been in such a commanding position.

 

The City must have been buzzing with excitement - but then there was a frustrating wait of two weeks for the next game. The following Saturday was the Fifth Round of the Cup. We'd been knocked out in Round Three, 2-0 at White Hart Lane, so we were free to play the scheduled League game at Barnsley - except they were still in the Cup so we were left kicking our heels. Unless, that is, we could hastily arrange a friendly match...

 

Connections with Scotland were still strong, and manager Dave Halliday, a Scot himself, had recently signed three ex-Hibernian players - Pat Ward, Tommy Macdonald and John Ogilvie. All three were key members of the squad that season. Hibs had been knocked out of the Scottish Cup and were in a similar dilemma. Phone calls were made, and City arranged to travel to Edinburgh on the 16th. 

 

Bernie, now aged 23,  had no doubt had City on his mind all week, and that adventurous spirit made up its mind. He just had to get to Edinburgh. It was too far to cycle, so he decided to thumb it. 

 

The Leicester Evening Mail on the Friday tells us the weather forecast for the following day - 'Fog at first. Bright periods and showers. Cold'.  So, unless he went up on Friday, we can imagine Bernie setting off before sunrise in freezing temperatures, standing by the side of the road, the thumb of one hand in the air, the other hand perhaps holding a sign saying 'Edinburgh'. He's cold, but he's happy. A free spirit spending his time doing exactly what he loves doing best. 

 

Bernie wasn't the only City fan making the journey that day:

 

 

It was an exciting game, with the three ex-Hibs players all in the City team. Just like the Liverpool game, we came from behind to win 3-2, with two goals from Ian McNeill, yet another Scot.  This is the match programme:

 

 

The crowd was estimated at between 10,000 and 15,000, press reports saying it would have been higher if there hadn't been a similar friendly match across town at Tynecastle, where Hearts played Bolton Wanderers, another early Cup casualty looking to fill an empty weekend (they won 6-3).

 

So Bernie was faced with another hitch-hike home. In the dark. He'd have learned soon enough, perhaps from the radio, perhaps from a Sports Paper, that rivals Stoke had lost at Rotherham, leaving our position at the top of Division Two even stronger. 

 

After that, we coasted home, Champions of Division Two by seven clear points from Forest. Liverpool made a late run but missed out in third, Stoke faded to fifth. 

 

Bernie had seen us win the same trophy three years before, after which we went straight back down. This time would be different. 

[worth_the_wait]

7 hours ago, kushiro said:

On February 16th 1957, Leicester played Hibernian at Easter Road in a 'Challenge Match' - a glorified friendly basically. Why on earth would any Leicester fan make a 600 mile round trip to see a friendly? And hitch-hike? In February?? Well, it was a very special time.

Excuse me! 

 

I went to see Leicester play at Hibernian in a friendly in 1979-80.  Mid December I think.     We were doing well at the time in the 2nd Division, and I just got inspired to go.

 

Caught the train up there.   I think it was in the days when there was an overnight train at 23.55 back to Birmingham, so basically you could get a cheap "day return" up there (even though you didn't get back until mid morning the following day).  Happy days.

 

For the record, we lost 3-2.  About 8,000 were there.  George Best was playing for them in the latter days of his career, but you could still see he was a class act.  So much skill

 

Jock Wallace was in his 2nd year as our manager, but was still idolised up at Rangers.  So a load of Rangers fans had come across to the match that night to cheer us on.   I remember there being a bit of trouble on the way back to the station, with Rangers and Hibs fans having a bit of fisticuffs.    I kept my blue scarf tucked in, just in case the Hibs fans thought I was a Rangers fan!

[fleckneymike]

Bernie marching up and down filbert street on the pitch with the Birch would’ve been between 97 and 00. I suspect more 97/98 as I think I observed the debacle from up in the Carling stand,  but I could be wrong. He 100% got another write up in the program so I any collector still has their programs from that era you’ll find a price on him in there.  Think it even featured a map of all the places he walked too. 

[lcfcfem]

Bernies funeral details.  Do I need to do a separate thread?  And how do I add it as a pic??? Thanks. 

Bernie Funeral Notice4.docx

[Sambiasso]

2 minutes ago, lcfcfem said:

Bernies funeral details.  Do I need to do a separate thread?  And how do I add it as a pic??? Thanks. 

Bernie Funeral Notice4.docx 390.52 kB · 0 downloads

Funeral Notice

“He’s One of Our Own”

MR BERNIE HENSON 

One of Leicester City’s most memorable and dedicated fans will take his final journey on

Wednesday 9th March 2022 at 14.45 hrs

Loughborough Crematorium
Leicester Road, Loughborough, LE11 2AF

Everyone is welcome
The wearing of Leicester City shirts and colours is encouraged

We will be meeting up after the service at one of Bernie’s favourite watering holes, to raise a glass or two in his memory - Ring of Bells Public House, LE11 4JP

Bernie did not have any living relatives, so it is up to us, the Blue Army lads and lasses, to give Bernie a good send off

We are not collecting donations, but you may wish to donate to a charity of your choice in memory of Bernie

Any questions please contact:  [email protected] 07454769772

[lcfcfem]

[kushiro]

Bernie's Adventures Part 3 

 

December 1962

 

You might have seen the reports this weekend of the guy who traveled all the way from Chile to see Blackburn play, only for his hero to be ruled out by injury and the game then being called off due to snow. It's the sort of adventurous spirit Bernie would have understood, and it's the kind of disappointment he must have experienced numerous times in his lifetime of watching City - the distance of course being much shorter, but going the Bernie way (walking, cycling or hitch hiking) it's possible the energy expended was even greater.

 

Especially in the winter of 1963, it's a problem he would have faced repeatedly. We know Bernie's passion for Leicester was as strong ever that season - according to a post on the Bernie thread on the Bentley's Roof forum, he cycled all the way to Sheffield for the FA Cup semi-final victory against Liverpool. That game took place a month later than scheduled thanks to the severest cold spell anyone could remember. For seven successive weekends between late December and mid February, Leicester's scheduled game was postponed.

 

The first of that sequence was at Forest on December 22nd, the game being called off very late due to fog, with the Leicester Evening Mail describing 'bitterly disappointed groups of City fans turned away from the ground', the reporter saying he hoped they'd get home 'before darkness made traveling conditions impossible'. This would have had a special meaning for Bernie, pedaling back down icy A roads. Back in Nottingham, Forest fans were left to contemplate the mist rolling in from the Trent (though they'd have to wait another 15 years for the melody to set that image to). 

 

Speaking of which, it was an historic day for football chants. 40 miles away at Highfield Road, the game against Colchester was also affected by fog. The match got underway, but when conditions worsened, the referee took the players off, hoping for visibility to improve. Coventry manager Jimmy Hill took the opportunity to introduce a song he'd just written - Play Up Sky Blues - to the crowd, conducting the fans from the touchline. The chant was rapidly taken up (and has been with us ever since), while the fog hung around long enough for the game to be abandoned. 

 

At that time, chanting hadn't really taken off for fans of Leicester (or any club) - though the 'cha cha cha' clapping rhythm was spreading (another thing that crossed the Atlantic from Chile - thanks to the 1962 World Cup). On match footage from that time, all you can typically hear is a general murmur of excitement, punctuated by shouts from individual fans who happen to be standing close to effects mic. 

 

And this is where our hero really takes the stage - for if we rewind a couple of weeks from that Forest match, City were playing at Wolves. You might recall the thread on here recently featuring footage of the game. Well, if you listen carefully, just before we score our first goal, you can hear a voice shout out 'Come on Leicester!!!!!!'

 

It's right here at 2 minutes 5 seconds - I've set it to start just before that. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5O1kPboyJk&t=1m58s

 

It's got to be him, hasn't it??? 

 

It's the same gruff tone you can hear shouting the same thing at 0.29 in this Bernie clip:

https://twitter.com/NoContextLCFC/status/1492103516478976005?cxt=HHwWisC5vcSPgrUpAAAA

 

I can't prove it. But perhaps it doesn't need proving. Perhaps it's enough not to categorically disprove it. Just to have it there as a tantalizing possibility - that we have on film from 60 years ago the true Bernie spirit, giving his all in the Leicester cause. The timing is exquisite - as the voice rings out across Molineux, we string together a gorgeous sequence of passes resulting in Dave Gibson's emphatic finish (Gibson was Bernie's favourite player) - setting up a 3-1 win that kicked off the Ice Kings winter.

 

If you're heading for Molineux today, sing your hearts out for the lads. And for Bernie.