Aubrey was a core member of Bucks Tennis management committee for many years with special responsibility for the men’s county team. He also played an important role in establishing the Bucks Indoor Tennis Centre.
Aubrey first became interested in lawn tennis whilst at school. When he left school, he began playing regularly in a local public park with his friend Ted Reeve and then Marlow Tennis Club in the early fifties. In 1957 the pair moved to High Wycombe and then later to Gerrards Cross. When Ted was selected for the county team Aubrey followed the side from 1959 onwards, firstly as a spectator, then as a selector and finally as Match Secretary from 1975 to 1998. Inter-County tennis was still in its heyday in the early part of this period. There were regular weekly practices and at least half a dozen friendly matches in the build up to County Week, so the job was very demanding. During his 24 years as Match Secretary he organised nearly 200 matches as part of the preparation for County Week. Not only did he want his players to be match fit, but he also wanted to try various different partnerships and make sure that all suitable candidates had a chance to play for the county. Aubrey’s ability to get along with the players and remain calm at all times ensured that the team realised its full potential culminating with participation in Group 1 for the first time ever in 1983. The team was able to compete at the highest level a further six times during Aubrey’s reign. During this period, he was also in charge of the team for the Winter County competitions and became a keen supporter of the men’s over 35 side.
When he stepped down as team manager, Aubrey did not give up supporting the teams and he continued to attend County Week up to 2007. When he could no longer travel, he avidly sought out the results from all available sources and continued to compile his own individual league tables that allowed him to follow the progress of the Bucks teams. This was typically Aubrey!
Aubrey had a deep passion for Wimbledon and attended for 70 consecutive years between 1947 and 2016. He amassed a huge collection of programmes and used tickets which he carefully annotated with details. He also had a large collection of tennis books. When he moved into care in 2018 all these items were handed over to Richard Jones, a well-known tennis collector. Following a visit from Richard, Aubrey became the subject of wonderful articles in two British tennis magazines.
Aubrey was also meticulous in keeping copies of county score cards and this has proved invaluable. When not taking down scores Aubrey still found time to take hundreds of action and team photos of the Bucks players. These are much valued by those players today.
Aubrey lived a simple but remarkable life - he will be greatly missed. His legacy of tennis records and photos will long remain and this digital archive of some of his team photos and match cards is a small part of that legacy.
Further information about the matches included in the archive may be found in Ninety Years to the Top, a history of Bucks County tennis or in relevant copies of the Bucks County Handbook. Copies of the former may be obtained from Bucks Tennis and archives of the latter are available at the Kenneth Richie Library, Wimbledon or the Buckinghamshire Archives, Aylesbury.