Vale Bill James

It is with considerable sadness that we share the news of the passing of Bill ‘Gunna’ James on 18th November 2020. Bill was a life member of the club. 'Gunna' gained his Bronze Medallion in 1966 and was a strong swimmer involved in competition as an athlete, team manager and official across the decades. He was part of the reel team that guided Stuart Fox to Australian Titles in the Open Belt in the early 90’s and was integral to the development of the Anglesea IRB team when this form of competition was in its infancy.

As his nickname suggest 'Gunna' was involved in everything! Having a house in Murray St only 100m from the Club, he was the default go to person if, and when things went wrong or an extra set of hands were needed. Gunna started the Anglesea Water Polo team who competed against a range of other surf clubs. The stories will last forever! Everyone who encountered him would have their own unique story of 'Gunna' and there does appear to be a certain irony that we are now enjoying an unobstructed view from the Clubhouse to the beach given Gunna’s attempts to achieve this some 20 years ago. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bill’s family and in particular to his children Kadi and Will and his much loved grandchildren.

He will be sadly missed.