Ed was passionate about sport. Whether playing or watching it, sport was what he loved doing most. But he also really enjoyed helping others take part and get involved in the sports he liked the most. He worked with children in schools and in clubs, as well as with adults in clubs, helping them develop the same passion as he had.

It was always a bit of a family joke when people asked Ed which sports he did as it was easier to list those he didn’t do. He tried most sports but as the years went by it gradually distilled into sports that involved a ball, and some form of bat, racquet or stick.

At various times he represented both school and club at cricket, tennis, squash, hockey, football, rugby and badminton. But his two main loves were cricket and tennis. In cricket he played at Club level for Street End starting with the juniors and ending up in the Saturday or Sunday senior team. His was equally comfortable batting, bowling or behind the stumps but his most notable cricket achievement was his first and only century was for Street End Seniors only a couple of weeks before he died. 

He was also a founding member of the Canterbury CC U19s team. Principally a social team, it was made up mainly of ex Langton boys 1st XI who wanted to carry on playing as a team once they left the School. Ed’s last ever match was on the night he died and was for Canterbury U19s away to against Bexley. A match in which he scored the winning runs with his favourite shot, the reverse sweep. 

Tennis was his equal passion and played more tennis several times a week all year round. He could and did play tennis all year round and in all weathers; on courts being swept clean of snow or awash with rain, or on court on holiday in searing 40-degree heat. It was with Polo Farm that his love of the game and talent first took root and developed under the guidance of his long-suffering coach Nick Wibberley. He started with the juniors and just as with cricket ended up playing senior matches. He also played at Bridge Tennis for many years which culminated in his winning the men’s singles tournament. In later years he became a key member of the Sadie Bristow Foundation working with children in Schools and as an ambassador for the Foundation.

He played club squash for Canterbury SC and was often approached to play county level, but such was his wish to remain playing a range of other sports (and possibly his GCSEs) he declined and subsequently stepped back completely from competitive club squash. In addition to cricket, tennis and squash he also played football for Chartham for many years and was one of their most successful goalkeepers often maintaining a clean-sheets leading to the team winning many tournaments. He later transferred to Canterbury Juniors FC for a few years and then moved ultimately to Woodnesborough where he remained until the team folded and with it, Ed's football career. He also played junior rugby at Canterbury but as much as he loved it, it never seemed to quite gel as a game in which he felt he could make some form of mark.

Eds ‘second’ home in addition to Polo Farm was, without doubt, The Langton. To say it played a huge part in his life would be an understatement. It was at the Langton he really found his feet and himself. Most of his strongest friendships were made at the Langton, helped by the fact that so many friendships overlapped his club sport. As his Langton career unfolded so did his commitment, affection and involvement with the School. For Dr Ken Moffat, Langton Head, Ed was possibly the most popular boy in the School and was ”all a Langtonian should be”. 

Whilst his academic achievement was creditable, it was Langton Sport where Ed came in to his own particularly in Sixth Form. He played many sports at all levels for the Langton. It started off, typically for most boys with football and Ed hovered on the edge of the A team for most of his junior years until it tailed off just before sixth form. He also loved rugby and played for Langton but sadly his build was all against him, coupled with a pathological desire not to get hurt. He played Squash for the School and was part of the teams that won the Kent Cup more than once and was a key part of the Schol tennis team. In his senior years he took up hockey for two seasons where he kept goal. 

However, it was cricket that became his main Langton focus, and he was never happier than on the pitch or in the nets with his mates. Langton cricket gave him a core of friendship with so many people that carried on into Canterbury U19s, right up to very end.

Whatever sport he played, he was always determined to enjoy it and rarely got upset if he lost. He played with a high level of sportsmanship and a very strong sense of fair play. If he ever did get upset on the court or pitch, it less to do with losing and more often than not where the others had cheated or not played fair.

It was through his sport that he was able to develop his love of helping others. He also loved coaching juniors in the Canterbury Tennis Summer Camps at polo Farm and also buddy hitting with children and adults. A big part of his life for a significant period was working with the Sadie Bristow Foundation and he thrived on visiting schools to get younger children interested and engaged with sport, especially tennis. There were was a strong feeling that his destiny in time would have been to become up a PE teacher and highly likely it would be at the Langton.  

Away from sport there was little time for much else, especially once the school workload ramped up with GCSEs and later with A Levels. As with most teenagers, he also loved spending time with his friends, either in person or shouting at them on his X Box; much to the irritation of his sister. All else that was left was spent either sleeping or eating or in front of the TV watching terrible television or sport.

Ed loved life and was simply a really nice lad.