Obituary, Dr George Stein, 1936-2011
George Stein was born in Poland in 1936. His whole family was sent by cattle truck to a Siberian labour camp in the Second World War; fortunately in the post war years they were able to relocate to England. In his youth George was an exceptional rugby player and represented England Schoolboys. He studied medicine at Birmingham University and moved to Sutton-in-Ashfield in 1965.
At the start of the 1970s, George joined the then Sutton-in-Ashfield Chess Club and was a leading figure at the club and in the Association throughout the decade. It's been said that when patients turned up at his New Cross Surgery his first question was not " What's wrong" but was "Do you play chess?" He guided the club through this period when chess was at its most popular because of the Fischer-Spassky match. Sutton ran ten teams, eight in the Notts League and two in the Chesterfield League with George acting as team co-ordinator. The club had so many teams it had to play at three separate venues mostly found through George's connections in the community. Some matches were even played in the day nursery attached to his house. At the same time, George was appointed as captain of the county second team and for the first time matches were played outside Nottingham at venues in Sutton.
Although George supported the club, he was unable to continue playing after he stood for election in Ashfield, first as a Ratepayer and then as a Liberal and served as a District Councillor for 14 years. He supported his wife Frances who stood for the Liberal Party in the General Elections of 1983 & 1987 increasing the Liberal vote by almost 10,000 from the 1979 election. Fran and George worked tirelessly and raised almost £1 million for the local Kings Mill Hospital. He was also a prominent member of the Rotary Club.
After the death of Bill Saddington, George was voted Life President of the Ashfield Chess Club. After a five year struggle against cancer George passed away at the start of March. A packed church paid tribute to his service in the community for over 40 years.
Neil Graham