ERIC Thomson, who has died at the age of 84, did more than anyone to raise Haslemere Hockey Club to the lofty plateau it occupies today.

He would insist that he was one of several people working behind the scenes – and that was true – but it was his drive, vision and administrative prowess that was the primary reason for the club’s meteoric rise.

Twelve adult teams – the men’s 1st XI in the Hants/Surrey Regional 1, the club’s highest standard yet – and some 400 junior players all enjoy top-class facilities at Woolmer Hill which boast two artificial pitches, The Edge sports hall, an athletics track and a communal clubhouse.

In the early 1990s, Eric helped establish the Haslemere Sports Association and Woolmer Hill Sports Association, organisations which forged closer ties between the town’s sports clubs, and he set about co-ordinating the push for new facilities. It was for this voluntary service to sport in the town that he was awarded an MBE in the 2011 New Year’s Honours.

He was typically self-effacing when interviewed by the Herald about his honour. “Woolmer Hill has seen some big changes since 1989, but these changes are not just down to me and a lot of hard work has been carried out by a lot of people. I am only one of them.

“Unfortunately, the honours process only allows an award to be given to one person, but rather than just praising my efforts, I feel my MBE rewards sport in Haslemere and the people at Woolmer Hill in general.”

Eric Thomson, a lawyer, moved to Beech Road in Haslemere with his wife, Joanne, in 1966. He quickly joined the hockey club – older members remember him as a formidable player – and continued to play competitively until 1993, at the age of 60.

Back in the 1960s, the club had the use of two poorly-draining grass pitches and an inadequate pavilion. “You could put your foot through it,” Eric remembered.

He retired in 1987 and the powers of oratory and persuasion honed in his profession served the club supremely well when he became involved in its management.

Hockey was on the up after the Great Britain men’s hockey triumph at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and Eric was instrumental in gaining funding for the first multi-sport artificial pitch at Woolmer Hill – a shared project with the neighbouring secondary school.

This opened in 1992 and the same year Eric convinced Waverley Borough Council that a new pavilion was needed. He was again the chief co-ordinator and designer for this major project and the impressive clubhouse was opened in 1995.

The Woolmer Hill Sports Association now united Haslemere’s hockey, football, cricket, rugby and athletics clubs under one umbrella. Later, Eric and his colleagues formed the Haslemere Sports Association, a registered charity that advanced further schemes at Woolmer Hill.

Approaching the millenium, he helped HSA secure a £1.7 million grant from Sport England to build an indoor sports hall, which opened as The Edge in 2000.

Just one year later, another £122,000 grant was secured from Sport England towards a sprint track for the Haslemere Border Athletic Club, and in 2003 Eric helped persuade the Football Association to fund Woolmer Hill’s second artificial pitch.

The original artificial pitch was resurfaced in 2005. Floodlights were installed and an extension enabled more spectators to watch the matches.

The HSA also helped fund new nets for Haslemere Cricket Club and began to support young athletes with its Create A Star initiative.

Through all these projects, Eric raised funding, secured planning consent and and negotiated the minefield of complex application forms and legal frameworks.

Haslemere were fortunate indeed to have both Eric Thomson and the late Nick Chilton at the heart of these ambitious projects. They were very different people, but together formed a formidable, indomitable partnership. There was no problem that could not be overcome. Failure was not an option.

Eric could speak to anyone and that was probably the secret of his success. Whether it was negotiating with council officers, contractors or solicitors, or trying to convince the Gregarians Hockey Club to become Haslemere Ladies, he generally won his case. His powers of persuasion were legendary.

As a character, Eric Thomson was unique and it is difficult to imagine Haslemere Hockey Club without him.

A classicist and graduate of University College, Oxford, he could throw quotations at you all day. For years, he submitted match reports to this newspaper, sometimes in verse form. The Herald normally fights shy of contributed verse, but Eric’s artful odes were hard to resist. Fiendishly clever, they were often prefaced ‘with apologies to James Boswell, WS Gilbert, Samuel Taylor Coleridge etc’ and while aiming gentle barbs at the players in impeccable metre, also contained an accurate assessment of what had actually happened on the pitch.

By the time of his MBE, he had stepped back from front-line administrative duty, but continued to take a keen interest in the development of the younger players. He followed the ‘Development’ side (4th XI) home and away and, up until the end of last season, was submitting hand-written reports for the ‘New Developers’ (no typewriter or computer), posted first-class to arrive without fail on Tuesday morning.

Eric was held in huge affection and respect by Haslemere Hockey Club. The passing years did nothing to loosen the connection he had with the members and players, even the very youngest. Right to the end, he was urging those youngsters to become better players and to get the best out of the superb sporting arena that is Woolmer Hill.

Eric Thomson leaves his wife, Joanne, three daughters, Jane, Fiona and Louise, and three grandchildren, Genevieve, Katie and Harry.

There will be a private family funeral and a thanksgiving service will follow, the date to be announced.