Roly Haughton was one of the main instigators of the junior football set-up in the Isle of Man during the mid-1970s.

Quite literally hundreds of youngsters benefitted from his and Terry Vincent’s input into the junior football scene at Peel, but Roly was also involved in the establishment of the first island under-14 league in 1973/74.

The initial trophy was presented to the junior league by the late Kenny Burns, a semi-professional with Tranmere Rovers, and long-time manager of Ramsey AFC. Coincidentally, Ramsey were the inaugural winners.

Roly compiled a column in the local paper that rounded up the scores and action from the TSB-sponsored league. A Division B was added in 1984/85 as the junior movement continued to blossom.

At that time he worked as a compositor/paste-up artist at the old IoM Examiner, IoM Weekly Times and Manx Star in Hill Street, Douglas from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, having originally worked at the Starline printing company (on the site of the current main Shoprite outlet in Peel) when moving over to the island with his wife Meryl and young family from Manchester.

He also worked for a short period with the IoM Courier in the early 1970s and later for the Peel City Guardian when run by Ian Faulds in the late 1980s.

Although Roly never played league football in the island, he was a longtime supporter of Peel and an avid fan of Manchester United.

As well as devoting his time to the junior side of Peel (and junior local football on generally), Roly also served on the senior committee at Peel for 10 seasons between 1987 and 1997 and was made a life member in 2001.

He attended most of the home games at the Douglas Road groiund and, when he took up residency in the sheltered housing complex named Mylchreest Court, he was allocated a flat nearest QEII School from where he had a good view of Peel’s ground enabling him to watch games from the warmth and comfort of his room.

A friendly, jolly character, Roly (above) passed away peacefully on Thursday, January 4 in Noble’s Hospital aged 91, after a short illness, surrounded by his family.

He was extremely proud to annually present a junior football award in his name, and he appreciated the honour of having a room in the Kelvin Dawson Hub named after him.

Roly’s funeral is this Friday, January 19 at midday in Peel Methodist Chapel. Afterwards there will be a celebration of his life at Peel football club.