Andy Francis passed away at the end of last week. He was admitted to Southport Hospital early in the week and then diagnosed with liver cancer. He was 72 and leaves his wife and two children.
A native of Bedfordshire, after spells in Australia and at Edge Hill, he spent most of his working life as a lecturer at Liverpool Poly, then John Moores University. A tribute from a colleague can be found here.
He was a very keen philatelist.
His quiz career began in the 1979 Charity League as a founder member of the Ropers Arms team, taking over as team secretary in 1982, a post he held for most of the next fifteen years, resuming in 2016.
Ropers Arms won the Ormskirk Division One title five times between 1989 and 2003, being undefeated in 1994-1995.
Success continued after the team moved to the Greyhound with a runner up position in three recent seasons.
The team made appearances on TV shows as well as winning the Radio Merseyside Quiz 'Heads You Win' in 1985, seen below receiving the trophy with Andy on the right.
Andy regularly topped the Ormskirk Individual Averages in the 1980s with scores close to or above 15 playing the traditional rules.
He was a member of the Ormskirk team which won the MQL President's Trophy for the first time in 1989.
Andy's greatest TV performance was to win a series of Fifteen to One in 1989. He also finished a close third in the Fifteen to One Champion of Champions in 1997 to Mal Collier, also from the Ropers Arms (watch on You Tube).
I quote from one of the many tributes received by the League 'Andy was a lovely man. Very good quizzer, modest and gentlemanly with it.' He will be missed.