It is hard to imagine a more cheerful, sociable and popular figure than Michael Papantoniou, who died on 7 April aged 88. Entering a room, it would seem like he was friends with everyone, making quips, chatting generally about one thing or another and making time for all. His shuffling gait, heavy Greek accent and trademark beret added to the image of a charming character. He was a remarkably convivial man who put tremendous energy into all of his interests.

Michael never rose above division four level as a player himself. His style never changed, scrambling the ball back somehow or other, most unconventionally, and throwing in chat and jokes at unlikely moments. Red-faced juniors could never work out how they were beaten by this crazy man. Michael was more than proud of being the oldest active player in the league and indeed he played in the Minor Singles at the Closed Championships just six weeks before he died.

His legacy to the game is immense. His son Costas is ranked in the top ten Veterans in England whilst his four grandsons have all reached that level in junior rankings. Even more, his and his family’s support for their efforts on the table has been tremendous. Upon retirement from his restaurant business at age 44, he founded the Apollo club with Ray Raymond, which began in the Willesden League but transferred to the Wembley & Harrow upon the demise of the former League. Apollo, led by Costas, won the national inter-club Wilmott Cup three times running in the 1980s.

In the W&H League, Michael was a member of Kenton from the early 1960s until the 1980s and then played for Apollo at the John Billam Scout Hut in Preston Road, latterly moving to the Harrow Leisure Centre. Michael was elected a Vice-President of the League in 1997.

Away from table tennis, one of Michael’s interests was keeping bees and making honey. He was the longest-serving member of the Middlesex Beekeepers’ Association. "I want a garden with a house in it because I want to keep bees," he is reported to have told the estate agent, in typical fashion, when he began looking for a house. He said it was for him, his family and his swarm.

He was also a keen horticulturalist and spent endless happy hours tending a wide variety of plants and scrubs. Even table tennis visitors were always taken on a guided tour, with Michael pointing out and naming his favourites. More often that not, visitors were sent away with a pot of honey, too.

Not content with having a garden which most of us would find daunting, he also maintained a double allotment nearby, where he grew vegetables. For many years, he exhibited at the Brent and Harrow annual shows, winning several awards for excellence.

Michael was born in Cyprus in 1921 and came to England in 1938. He served with the British Army’s Medical Corps in the Second World War. He leaves a wife, June, a son Costas, a daughter Marianna and five grandchildren.

Allen Roper

The Wembley & Harrow TT League is sad to announce the passing of one of its Vice-Presidents Allen Roper, who died on 30 November 2008 aged 77. 

A fine servant of table tennis in north west London for many years as a player, organiser and administrator, he was the League’s Development Officer from 1994 until 2003, when he was made a Vice-President. As well as the W&H, Allen played for a while in the Uxbridge and Chalfonts Leagues. 

As Development Officer, he was very active at the League’s facility at the Harrow Leisure Centre after it re-opened in 1997, starting the Summer League in that year and introducing juniors to the Woolwich Junior League which later became the National Junior League. As a skilled craftsman, Allen took it upon himself to upgrade the facilities at the Leisure Centre – so far as the authorities would allow him. He would often bring along his tools to fix a table or repair the screens before getting down to some serious junior coaching. 

Allen started off at Wembley Cricket TTC but he and long-standing teammate Tony Foyle moved to Eastcote CA in the early 1970s when their third player left the team. They then played in Division 6 of a 15-division league. Ten years later, they joined Lowlands TTC where Allen remained for the next 25 years. Thanks to a good eye and some devastating pimples, Allen became renowned amongst opponents for his awkwardness across the table, combined of course with impeccable sportsmanship. In his later years he had moved up to Division 3.  

In 2004 he left the W&H Committee to develop the club he started at Hillingdon in 1999 and the following season he entered two of that club’s teams in the league. Through Allen’s tremendous hard work, the Club achieved Premier status, acquiring considerable funds through grant applications.

Meanwhile, Allen was active in the national game as a qualified County Umpire and a Level 3 Coach. Off the table, he was also skilled in the art of magic tricks but his greatest claim to fame was through his trade as a cabinet maker. A contract designing and making sets for Lord Snowdon led to dinner with his client and Princess Margaret, a commission for hand-made furniture at Kensington Palace and the job of a refit for the interior of the Queen’s train. A large number of mourners, from table tennis and beyond, attended his funeral. He leaves a wife and two children.