From our CEO, Dave Ball:
It is with great sadness that I share that Pip Wilson, a great YMCA hero, died last week.
Pip was the General Secretary of YMCA Romford from 1987 to 2003. His influence went well beyond YMCA Romford, the National YMCA movement and indeed the international movement. Pip’s exuberant style, his love for young people and his practical theology that encouraged people to believe in their worth, will be hard to replace. There will be many thousands of people around the world who will remember Pip’s contribution to their own lives with appreciation, and I expect will agree with me that he was one of the great leaders of his generation. We at YMCA Thames Gateway Group will find a way to properly mark Pip’s passing.
On a personal level, I have no doubt that any success I have achieved in my professional life was in no small part due to the wholehearted acceptance of me by Pip in the early days of my career. There would have been few people who would have taken a risk on someone such as I. Pip was one such person and for that I shall be eternally grateful.
The reputation that our YMCA enjoys today is owed in significant part to the great contribution that Pip made over many, many years. As people around the world mourn Pip’s passing, I know I will speak for many when I say we are immensely proud that Pip was one of our own.
RIP Pip Wilson
