It is with sadness that we have learnt of the death of former Hendon defender Dexter Adams. He died after a short illness on Saturday 31 January aged 89.

Along with Laurie Topp and Bill Fisher, Dexter Adams was one of the mainstays of Hendon in the 1950s. He joined Hendon in January 1948 from Northampton Polytechnic FC, and made his debut in a 3-2 win over Barking at Claremont Road on 28th February 1948. He soon established himself at centre half, although he also played right-back on occasions. He was a strong tackler, but could also play the ball out of defence to set up attacks. He guested occasionally for professional clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, but turned down many offers to play professionally.

He won 20 England Amateur caps, and made his debut in a 6-3 win over Ireland at Coventry in February 1951. He also played for the Middlesex County team and made 10 appearances for the Athenian League side. He was also in the 1956 Great Britain Olympic squad for the Melbourne Olympics.

He captained the 1955 Amateur Cup Final team, although not fully fit. In a league match against Leyton a few days before the final, he played with 10 reserves. A crowd of 3,000 came, mainly to see if he would be fit for the final. Playing in the final presumably put behind him the memory of having a penalty saved in the 1951 semi-final at Highbury against Pegasus. He sportingly recalled: "I took the kick but Pegasus goalkeeper Ben Brown made a terrific save and Hendon went out of the Cup. My only consolation was that Ben was awarded an England cap after this match - I like to think that his save from my penalty helped him to win this."

Apart from the 1955 Amateur Cup final, he also was in Hendon teams that won two Athenian League titles, the Middlesex Senior Cup in 1957–58, the Middlesex Charity Cup four times, and got runners-up medals twice in the London Senior Cup and once in the Middlesex Senior Cup.

Persistent knee trouble caused his retirement in 1958, having made 308 appearances in which he scored 14 goals. He became coach at the club in 1959, and took the team to their first amateur cup success. He also coached the 1960-61 championship winning team, but left the club at the end of that season, appropriately at the same time as Laurie Topp. He was became manager of Barnet in 1962, and saw them into the professional game in 1965 when they joined the Southern League. He managed Barnet until 1970, and was widely respected in the game.

Dexter leaves his widow Sheila, with whom he had been married for 62 years, and three daughters. His funeral will take place at Peterborough Crematorium on Tuesday 17 February at 3pm.

He had little contact with Hendon FC in recent years, and was living in Lincolnshire.

(Peter Lush)