TREVOR BARTON MBE
1943 to 2025
Leigh Leopards are devastated to learn of the passing of Trevor Barton MBE at the age of 82 and pass on sincere condolences to his children Stuart and Sarah, stepdaughter Alisan and dedicated and loving partner Eileen.
Trevor’s favourite saying was “The secret of getting things done is to act,” and it was something he followed throughout his long and distinguished life. He was a giant of a man with many talents and boundless energy.
Born in 1943 in Blackburn, Trevor Halliwell Barton attended Queen Elizabeth Grammar School and then followed in the footsteps of his father William who was a Police Inspector in Blackburn Borough Police force. He joined the police at the age of 19, dedicating his life to the force and becoming a superintendent in specialist operations before finishing his career as Chief Superintendent of GM Police and retiring at 51. He then started his own specialist security company.
The children proudly followed dad into distinguished careers in the Police force while Alisan entered the architecture profession. Trevor was greatly proud of them all.
Trevor moved to Leigh through his police career in 1969 and immediately felt an empathy with the town and its people. He lived in Astley from 1978, and his children attended St Mary’s High School where he became the first elected parent governor. In 2007 Trevor married Anne, who sadly passed away in 2020. She was an inspiration not only to Trevor but to so many others.
Trevor championed the town and its people, and held key volunteer roles at many organisations, including Leigh Means Business, Leigh Miners’ Rangers Rugby League Academy, Wigan Borough Sports Council, Leigh Sports Trust, the then Leigh Centurions Rugby League Club, Leigh Spinners Mill, The Pelican Centre, the Rotary Club of Astley, Trust in Leigh, Lancashire Mining Museum, Wigan Borough Community Partnership, more recently the RAF Cadets in Leigh and numerous other charities.
Anne was extremely proud when Trevor received his MBE in 2009 in recognition of his championing sport, charity and the community. She spent weeks planning her outfit for their trip and, on getting in the taxi from the hotel to the Palace, told Trevor he had to be quiet so she could say to the taxi driver, ‘Buckingham Palace please’.
Trevor was a major force behind the magnificent Leigh Sports Village, perhaps the cream of his long and varied career. One of his proudest moments was guiding and introducing HM the Queen to guests on her visit to open the stadium in 2009.
In June 2009 then Leigh MP Andy Burnham said: “Trevor has made an immense contribution to life in our borough.
“I have worked closely with him since my election in 2001. He is a good friend who has volunteered thousands of hours to improve sport and community activities in Leigh, and his positive thinking makes him a joy to work with.
“I hope this recognition will give people a renewed confidence in the honours system.”
Trevor was a fiercely independent person, with skill and dogged determination to get things done. He became involved in local politics, standing as an independent councillor, his aim was to ensure that all members and parts of Wigan borough benefited equally. He had no time for those with self interest and allegiances that worked against the community. He was a giant of a man, not just in stature but also in presence and charisma
One of Trevor’s greatest visions was to help and support the youth of the town. His dream of starting a junior rugby league club to support and give opportunities to the young people came to glorious fruition at Sutton Park with a clubhouse and facilities that rank among the finest in the country.
Trevor took immense pride in the magnificent self-funded artificial pitch and facilities that each Sunday morning as many as 700 boys and girls would be playing Rugby League, coached by dedicated and talented volunteers. He was proud when players such as Frankie Halton, Louis Brogan and Andrew Badrock graduated into the fulltime professional ranks with Leigh Leopards.
Another of Trevor’s greatest achievements was his involvement in the Lancashire Mining Museum at Astley Green, one of the major heritage sites in the borough. He took over as chair of the trustees and helped transform a near derelict site into the vibrant community hub it is today.
He dedicated the second half of his life to helping and supporting others in the community of Leigh, providing young people with opportunity. Trevor didn’t like the term ‘equal opportunity’ – he would say we need to give people and especially the young people of the town ‘the opportunity to be equal’.
Trevor was a dedicated Leigh supporter and attended matches with Eileen up until the end of the current season, despite being in failing health. He dedicated many years to the club at a difficult time after the move to LSV in 2009 and the recurrent financial challenges the club faced at that time. He served as volunteer CEO for two years and joined the management board, also forming the Leigh Centurions Community Foundation.
Leigh Leopards owner Derek Beaumont said: “Losing Trevor is akin to losing Mr Leigh again. In the sport of Rugby League, we are always looking for the substitute, the next best in; it’s a pathway, a conveyor belt and it’s rather apt to start my tribute to Trevor referring to such a description. You see, to me, as a thirty-year-old getting involved in Leigh Centurions as it was then, Trevor was in his late fifties, older than I am now and someone I highly respected and looked up to. Tommy Sale was Mr Leigh, but Trevor was definitely the next one in and after Tommy’s passing in my mind that was then Trevor’s title, one he had earned with distinction, dedicating his life to the town. He wouldn’t have minded being next one in, or Tommy’s substitute, as the most important part of Trevor’s vision that I saw was that continual production of talent, and he was no different playing a part in that.
“Trevor was a giant of a man with a personality and presence to match it. He had a handshake that dwarfed most but wasn’t intimidating; he simply commanded respect but was always willing to earn it by his actions. My first involvement with Trevor was when he was pioneering the Leigh Sports Village. People wrongly thought I didn’t like Trevor, something that hung around for a period but he knew that wasn’t the case, and that whilst I didn’t necessarily agree with him on everything, nor him with me, I had the utmost respect for him. I was fighting for a great deal for the club, and he was fighting for a great stadium for the town. He was right and nothing was going to stop him, and I am so glad that proved to be the case. He deservedly received an MBE, something he was extremely proud of.
“He devoted his life to the town and in particular Rugby League and junior Rugby League, always boasting that Leigh Miners Rangers Juniors were the biggest and the best in the country. Whatever Trevor did you always knew he had the best intentions of the town and its folk at his heart. He devoted time to steering the club in a time of trouble and worked as hard as anyone can describe me as doing for its survival and betterment. When I took over the club I could understand his nervousness. I am very much my own man, so it needed a break for me to implement my ideas, and Trevor was never against that or obstructive. He wanted what was best for the club not what was best for him.
“When we successfully bid for a place in Super League he was very quick to congratulate me and was buzzing with the news. He never wanted for anything from the club and never requested as much as a ticket from it. When we decided to make a bid for an Elite Academy myself and Mike Latham, who were leading on the process, decided we needed to set up an academy board that would ring fence the monies me and my wife had agreed to support the application with and to oversee the success and strong operation and implementation of the bid and its business plan. We both immediately agreed that there was only one person to chair such a board and that was Trevor and he was delighted to accept the position. Unfortunately, the bid wasn’t successful and therefore the board never continued. Trevor remained supportive and insisted we should keep trying. His vision and dream, if you like, was to see the junior clubs in the town connected to the professional club with a pathway for local talent to represent their hometown team in the magnificent focal point of our town, Leigh Sports Village, a venue that it could be argued would not have materialised without Trevor.
“When I was increasing my investment in the club to get to Super League with a team that could remain in Super League and plotting the rebrand, I was advised by my accountants that when writing off loans to sponsorship I should strengthen my shareholding to protect what I was doing. I had never been concerned by that. I had a majority shareholding, and I never wanted to take shares from people who held a part of the club. They were worthless as the club wasn’t going to make profit without sponsorship from a benefactor. As part of that process all shareholders were written to, of which one was Trevor Barton. Most people had voted by proxy in support of the work I was doing and investment I was making so the mandatory meeting was to be a formality at my accountants’ office. I attended as required and when I arrived, I was advised that one shareholder had turned up with a lady that wasn’t eligible to be present should I wish to object. I was advised this was Trevor and his lady Eileen. I wasn’t sure what to expect with Trevor attending as I always wondered what his real opinion may have been about my leadership of the club. We had met and discussed this a couple of times and always got on well but what was he here?
“I have always stated one person’s £100 may be worth less than another person’s £1 in terms of the commitment that means to forgo it. Trevor was there because he valued the cash that he had placed to acquire the shares that gave him the right to be present. He duly asked questions that were valid, and worthy of answers and we spent a couple of hours chatting which he found extremely useful, especially hearing some facts and figures of my contribution to the club by my accountant. He was overwhelmed and only too happy to sign in favour. Whilst it wasn’t necessary for the shareholding, I got a great deal of satisfaction from his signing to support. I learned shortly after that I should have taken our chat off to a café or pub to avoid the cost of two accountants observing it!
“My youngest son plays for the Miners and Trevor was proud that he did. I had originally chosen Golborne for him to avoid any conflict given my position at the professional club. I didn’t want to choose over East and Miners but when Rocky’s team disbanded it was his own choice and that’s where he wanted to go. Trevor was ever present and to his dying day was still helping the community by asking for old kit to be taken to him upstairs so he and Eileen could facilitate its use to others. He always looked out for those less fortunate and to give everyone in our town a chance to be their best and engage in the greatest game of all.
“In my last conversation with Trevor he had talked about the club getting down and holding coaching sessions and being more involved; it was what he wanted to see. I suggested that there would be more to gain with our coaches holding coaching sessions to the coaches to gain more traction. He so wanted that to happen, but it never properly has. He did get to see the club get its award of an elite academy and to see players signed on the pitch and the bringing together of the past players linking to the youth of the town. I know that made him proud. He also got to see the club cement itself as a grade A club and third on performance with three playoff finishes from three and two semifinals. I know he was very proud of that and the recent Challenge Cup win. But I also know he would swap all that for what would make him prouder which would be to realise that dream of the club integrating and empowering the junior section he always called his own.
“I want to honour Trevor’s commitment to our town and grass roots Rugby League in particular at Miners Rangers by ensuring that his wishes are fulfilled. From 2026 we will host the Trevor Barton Memorial Day which will be a day where the club sets up a workshop for all the local youth talent to engage with the club. Coaching sessions for the coaches, workshops on strength and conditioning, doctors, physios, sports massage, nutrition, business skills, player welfare, marketing and design. Every aspect of being involved in professional Rugby League, not just as a player but the careers available if that doesn’t work out or if you have an interest in the sport but not playing. We will even see if we can add in some referee workshops as well. I am sure Trevor will have supported that. If my hope is right that we become a dragonfly soaring above then there will be no wings spread wider than Trevor’s on that day, looking on what he never gave up on achieving having finally materialised. It will take some effort and some planning, but nothing compared to what Trevor himself put in and we owe him that and that will empower our people in this town and that is something we were one million percent unconditionally in agreement on. RIP Trevor Barton MBE.”
Leigh Leopards chairman Mike Latham said: “I have known Trevor for many years and he was always supportive of the club and greatly enthused by the progress we have made in recent years. He was delighted when we finally achieved our long-held goal of attaining an academy licence with the prospect of giving so many opportunities to future generations whose ambition is to play for Leigh.
“He was also greatly proud of the growing infrastructure in the club, with its reserve team, women’s team, scholarship teams and the LDRL and wheelchair team.
“Only last Friday Trevor called me and asked if I’d call to see him. I visited him and Eileen at his home that evening. He was clearly unwell, but we chatted for more than an hour and his passion for Leigh and the club was so evident.
“He congratulated us on achieving a high IMG rating, which he said was a remarkable achievement. He recalled Derek taking over the club in 2013 during dark days. The club, he recalled, had run out of money and couldn’t afford to pay the players ahead of a home game against Batley. That was the start of Derek getting back involved.
“Trevor admitted that at the time he had reservations over the future but those he said were soon dispelled. He paid tribute to the huge commitment and investment made by Derek in the club and spoke of its hugely positive effect on the mental health and wellbeing of the town and its people. He felt in many ways that he and Derek shared similar values and beliefs.
“He was so proud of the Leopards and the achievements of the last few years.
“He and Eileen intended going to Sutton Park on the Sunday just as normal. He spoke about his pride in seeing 700 boys and girls playing Rugby League. We had a wide-ranging discussion about many things and fixed up another meeting this week. Sadly, that wasn’t to be, but I’m so glad I got the opportunity to sit with Trevor. Looking back, I think he may have known his days were numbered but his voice was still strong, his passion for Leigh so evident. Eileen has been a rock to him in his later years and will have an empty void in front of her now. She is a lovely, caring person and I know he loved her dearly, because he told me so.
“I remember taking the Challenge Cup to Lancashire Mining Museum at an open gala day two years ago. The pride Trevor had that day, a glorious summer’s day, thronging with people and the cup on display in front at one of the places he loved dearly. He was a great support to me; someone I could always talk to and someone I greatly respected. When they created Trevor, they threw away the mould. People like him come along once in a lifetime.”
