Keith Willson celebrates 75 years with Bearsted Football Club having made his debut as a 14-year-old

Dedicated volunteer Keith Willson celebrated 75 years with Bearsted Football Club at the weekend.

Willson, 89, was presented with a silver salver at the Bears’ home game against Holmesdale, while a cake marking his milestone was shared with spectators.

He’s held a host of roles at the club since making his first-team debut on Bearsted Green, aged 14.

After 24 years as a player, he’s been the groundsman, a linesman, a first-aider, club secretary and a committee member.

These days he takes the money on the gate at Honey Lane, a job he’s fulfilled for about 10 years.

“I’m coming up 90 in September,” said Willson, who lives at the Royal British Legion Village in Aylesford.

“I sit in my little box and take the money.

“I get a lift to the ground from my good wife, Gloria, do my duty, and then one of the players takes me home.

“Everyone at the club works hard. There’s a real camaraderie.

“None of us get paid - it’s a labour of love.

“I must have been the gatekeeper for 10 years or so.

“Before I had my little box that I operate from, I was sat out the main gate with an umbrella.”

Willson was posted overseas with the RAF from 1959-61 but his parents used to send him copies of the Kent Messenger so he could follow Bearsted’s results.

It’s the only time he’s had away from the club since pulling on his boots as a teenager.

“I was 14 when I made my debut,” he said. “We only had the one team then.

“I played because we were short and after that, I just carried on.

“I was bit overawed as everyone was older than me.

“I just mucked in and played my own game. I couldn’t tell you the score.

“I started off playing left-wing and as I got older, I went back further and further, so I was left-half, left-back and even goalkeeper.

“I don’t think