Len Smith, 1934–2026 - The Hockey Museum
Source: https://hockeymuseum.org/len-smith-1934-2026-obituary
Archived: 2026-04-23 17:10
Len Smith, 1934–2026 - The Hockey Museum
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Len Smith, 1934–2026
Len Smith, 1934–2026
April 20, 2026
3 March 1934 – 25 February 2026
Len Smith, founder of Len Smith’s Sportswear Ltd and a renowned figure in British women’s and schools’ hockey sportswear, died on 25 February 2026, aged 91.
Born and raised in Twickenham, Len was educated at Dauntsey’s School in Wiltshire before studying textiles at Bradford University, thereafter becoming an Associate of the Textile Institute. On completing his degree, Len undertook National Service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), training as a fast jet fighter pilot on T 33 Shooting Stars in North America under the NATO training scheme – an experience that stayed with him for life and impacted his professional development. As Len himself recalled during a 1970 feature for Hockey Field magazine:
“Maybe coming from the skies of Canada and the USA, straight back to designing girls’ school and sportswear meant that I had a different approach and ideas from most other manufacturers, of what young people should look like on the playing field. Being a hockey player myself may also have made some difference. I felt that school and sportswear should and could look more attractive than most of it did.”
Len Smith on the wing of his aeroplane.
Returning to Twickenham in the mid 1950s, Len joined his parents’ tailoring business full time in 1956. At that time, it was a modest men’s outfitters supplying local schools and Scout groups. The trajectory of the company – and of women’s hockey kit in Britain – changed dramatically when Len was asked to design new kit for the England women’s hockey team. That commission led to the rapid expansion of the business into specialist sportswear, primarily for women, and ultimately to its emergence as a nationally and internationally recognised supplier.
Detail of Lorna Clark’s England Touring Team blazer from 1970, produced by Len Smith’s and held in the collection of The Hockey Museum. Pin badges from Lorna’s tours decorate the lapel.
The Len Smith’s label stitched into the lining of Val Robinson’s England Touring Team blazer, held in the collection of The Hockey Museum.
Len Smith’s of Twickenham became especially renowned between the 1960s and 1980s and is remembered with affection by generations of hockey players. The company’s hockey skirts, offered in an unusually wide range of colours, styles, and fabrics, became iconic and several examples exist in the collection of The Hockey Museum. Len’s designs reflected his belief that school and sportswear could be both functional and attractive – an approach that set his company apart at the time.
Alongside mail order growth, the business operated two shops on Twickenham High Street – one selling to boys and men and the other to women and girls – eventually consolidating and relocating to larger premises in Heath Road. As the company diversified into school uniforms and equipment, its customers grew to include girls’ independent schools across the United Kingdom and national teams in hockey, lacrosse, and netball worldwide.
Former England international player Katie Dodd fondly remembers playing in a Len Smith skirt during her schoolgirl days:
“It was the beginning of a long association – I still remember the navy blue wrap-around pleated skirt with a flat panel at the front and button attachment”.
Katie also reflected on the long association that Len Smith’s had with the All England Women’s Hockey Association (AEWHA) and particularly the annual England women’s international fixture at Wembley Stadium:
“For many years from the late 1960s the advert on the back page of the Wembley programme was Len Smith’s, which also reminded us how many other international teams round the world were also wearing their kit.”
A Len Smith’s advert from the back page of a Wembley programme.
A pivotal professional and personal partnership began when Joy Dubery – a former PE teacher and England lacrosse reserve – joined the company as a sales representative. Len and Joy married on 28 February 1973, forming a formidable team that helped drive further growth. The move to the company’s final premises at 1–15 Heath Road, and the later involvement of their youngest son Chris marked another period of expansion before Len Smith’s Sportswear was sold out of the family in 2008.
Beyond business, Len was deeply committed to Rotary. He served successively as Club President, District Governor, and National President in 1989, before becoming one of a small number of World Trustees of the Rotary Foundation in the early 1990s. His presidential theme, “SMILE,” reflected his optimism and outward looking energy.
A lifelong aviator, Len continued flying long after his RAF service, owning his own aircraft and competing in Royal Aero Club air races for over 20 years. He also played club hockey for Sunbury.
Len made a lasting contribution to women’s hockey through his design work. In the late 1960s he created the new England women’s kit, including the distinctive tracksuit bearing a badge designed by goalkeeper Beryl Marsh, skirts for newly introduced England U21, U18, and U16 teams, and the cardinal red blazers worn by AEWHA touring sides, including the team that competed at the 1971 World Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand.
Len Smith is remembered as an innovator and family man whose influence reached far beyond Twickenham. Above all, he is remembered with warmth by those who wore and admired his kit, worked alongside him, and benefitted from his creativity and lifelong enthusiasm for sport.
The All England Women’s Hockey Association’s (AEWHA) England team tracksuit badge designed by goalkeeper Beryl Marsh. Artwork in the collection of The Hockey Museum.
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Len Smith, 1934–2026
Len Smith, 1934–2026
April 20, 2026
3 March 1934 – 25 February 2026
Len Smith, founder of Len Smith’s Sportswear Ltd and a renowned figure in British women’s and schools’ hockey sportswear, died on 25 February 2026, aged 91.
Born and raised in Twickenham, Len was educated at Dauntsey’s School in Wiltshire before studying textiles at Bradford University, thereafter becoming an Associate of the Textile Institute. On completing his degree, Len undertook National Service with the Royal Air Force (RAF), training as a fast jet fighter pilot on T 33 Shooting Stars in North America under the NATO training scheme – an experience that stayed with him for life and impacted his professional development. As Len himself recalled during a 1970 feature for Hockey Field magazine:
“Maybe coming from the skies of Canada and the USA, straight back to designing girls’ school and sportswear meant that I had a different approach and ideas from most other manufacturers, of what young people should look like on the playing field. Being a hockey player myself may also have made some difference. I felt that school and sportswear should and could look more attractive than most of it did.”
Len Smith on the wing of his aeroplane.
Returning to Twickenham in the mid 1950s, Len joined his parents’ tailoring business full time in 1956. At that time, it was a modest men’s outfitters supplying local schools and Scout groups. The trajectory of the company – and of women’s hockey kit in Britain – changed dramatically when Len was asked to design new kit for the England women’s hockey team. That commission led to the rapid expansion of the business into specialist sportswear, primarily for women, and ultimately to its emergence as a nationally and internationally recognised supplier.
Detail of Lorna Clark’s England Touring Team blazer from 1970, produced by Len Smith’s and held in the collection of The Hockey Museum. Pin badges from Lorna’s tours decorate the lapel.
The Len Smith’s label stitched into the lining of Val Robinson’s England Touring Team blazer, held in the collection of The Hockey Museum.
Len Smith’s of Twickenham became especially renowned between the 1960s and 1980s and is remembered with affection by generations of hockey players. The company’s hockey skirts, offered in an unusually wide range of colours, styles, and fabrics, became iconic and several examples exist in the collection of The Hockey Museum. Len’s designs reflected his belief that school and sportswear could be both functional and attractive – an approach that set his company apart at the time.
Alongside mail order growth, the business operated two shops on Twickenham High Street – one selling to boys and men and the other to women and girls – eventually consolidating and relocating to larger premises in Heath Road. As the company diversified into school uniforms and equipment, its customers grew to include girls’ independent schools across the United Kingdom and national teams in hockey, lacrosse, and netball worldwide.
Former England international player Katie Dodd fondly remembers playing in a Len Smith skirt during her schoolgirl days:
“It was the beginning of a long association – I still remember the navy blue wrap-around pleated skirt with a flat panel at the front and button attachment”.
Katie also reflected on the long association that Len Smith’s had with the All England Women’s Hockey Association (AEWHA) and particularly the annual England women’s international fixture at Wembley Stadium:
“For many years from the late 1960s the advert on the back page of the Wembley programme was Len Smith’s, which also reminded us how many other international teams round the world were also wearing their kit.”
A Len Smith’s advert from the back page of a Wembley programme.
A pivotal professional and personal partnership began when Joy Dubery – a former PE teacher and England lacrosse reserve – joined the company as a sales representative. Len and Joy married on 28 February 1973, forming a formidable team that helped drive further growth. The move to the company’s final premises at 1–15 Heath Road, and the later involvement of their youngest son Chris marked another period of expansion before Len Smith’s Sportswear was sold out of the family in 2008.
Beyond business, Len was deeply committed to Rotary. He served successively as Club President, District Governor, and National President in 1989, before becoming one of a small number of World Trustees of the Rotary Foundation in the early 1990s. His presidential theme, “SMILE,” reflected his optimism and outward looking energy.
A lifelong aviator, Len continued flying long after his RAF service, owning his own aircraft and competing in Royal Aero Club air races for over 20 years. He also played club hockey for Sunbury.
Len made a lasting contribution to women’s hockey through his design work. In the late 1960s he created the new England women’s kit, including the distinctive tracksuit bearing a badge designed by goalkeeper Beryl Marsh, skirts for newly introduced England U21, U18, and U16 teams, and the cardinal red blazers worn by AEWHA touring sides, including the team that competed at the 1971 World Tournament in Auckland, New Zealand.
Len Smith is remembered as an innovator and family man whose influence reached far beyond Twickenham. Above all, he is remembered with warmth by those who wore and admired his kit, worked alongside him, and benefitted from his creativity and lifelong enthusiasm for sport.
The All England Women’s Hockey Association’s (AEWHA) England team tracksuit badge designed by goalkeeper Beryl Marsh. Artwork in the collection of The Hockey Museum.
Related Posts
Len Smith’s Sportswear and Designs on Further Clothing Research
19/05/2023
Joyce Cole, 1926-2026
18/02/2026
David Henry Jones, 1940-2023
20/03/2024
Barbara West, 1913-2014
15/12/2014
Jaswindar (Jas) Singh Missan, 1941-2019
01/05/2020
ARCHIVE
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2024 News Items
2025 News Items
2026 News Items
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Continue to explore hockey's fascinating history and heritage across other areas of our website.
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