Obituary: Football referee, author and Radio Calderdale founder Trevor Simpson dies aged 81

Trevor was born and raised in Kebroyd, Triangle and spent most of his working life in Halifax.

After joining the legal firm of Bearder and Son, solicitors from school, he spent 32 years working for them as the agency manager for Abbey National Building Society.

When the Abbey decided to open a full branch office in 1990, they offered Trevor the job of branch manager, where he worked for several years, before taking early retirement in 1995.

A keen sportsman, Trevor played as a goalkeeper in local football and was an avid Halifax Town supporter from the age of seven.

An injury in 1966 enforced his change of direction and he became a football referee after learning his craft locally.

He progressed through to the Football League where he spent seven seasons (1984-1991) officiating at the highest domestic level – all top clubs except West Ham Utd.

He also had two appearances in Wembley FA finals, various european and international matches and as a linesman at a World Cup qualifier.

He retained his activity in football working for The Professional Game Match Official Ltd. as a referee coach and later a referee assessor on the FA Premier League.

Trevor also completed 30 consecutive years as a referee and ambassador at the Dallas Cup International Youth Tournament in Texas.

His greatest interest outside sport has always been popular music. An avid record collector since his teenage years, Trevor possessed every No.1 record since the British charts began in 1952.

He was viewed by many as a worldwide authority on Elvis Presley, wrote numerous articles about him in various worldwide magazines and visited Graceland several times.

Trevor published five comprehensive volumes charting Elvis’s early career which have now sold-out.

He researched and wrote two local volumes of ‘Small Town, Saturday Night’ chronicling the 1960s music scene around Halifax. He was also part of the Halifax Music Heritage Trails.

Trevor was the founder of Radio Calderdale in 1981, the hospital radio service in Halifax.

During his time there he did regular shows and helped raise funds for the station.

Each year until 2020, Trevor broadcast on Christmas Day morning and took great delight in announcing the babies that had been born that day.

He also assisted with live commentary of FC Halifax Town’s matches from the Shay for several years.

For the past two years, he volunteered as a presenter at the online community radio station, Calder Valley Radio, where his weekly music show was adored by many listeners all over the world.

He cared passionately about the station, helping out with grants and fundraising initiatives, such as the hugely successful Elvis night in September 2023.

Trevor’s funeral will be held on Thursday, February 8 at 1.45pm at Halifax Minster, followed by a family committal.

The family wish for donations, in lieu of flowers, to go to Calder Valley Radio.

Trevor will be greatly missed by his wife, family, friends, music followers, football colleagues and many more.