With thanks to Bill Mann

My November 1958 Chronicle tells me that Henry had that year moved on to be Director of Physical Education and Recreation at Aberdeen University. He had joined The Academy at the start of session 1938/39 as the Assistant to Coleman Smith, although he had been appointed a year before, being head-hunted when he was still in only his second year as a student at the Jordanhill College of Physical Recreation. As the Chronicle states "He had thus only just time to give us a bare taste of his promise as a coach and his personal virtuosity in the main games of winter and summer when the War removed him from us as a Second Lieutenant in the HLI." When he returned in 1945 he was a Captain and had seen service in France and Germany and had a received a Mention in Despatches.
Henry was a very talented cricketer playing for a couple of decades for the Minor County, Devon. While a student at Jordanhill he had made a major impact playing for West of Scotland Cricket Club and, I am told, headed the amateur averages in at least one season before the War. He continued playing for West after the War, joining Accies as a cricketer in 1950 thus playing for Accies for nine seasons before he departed for Aberdeen. In five of these seasons he topped the batting averages - and there were some other quite good players about at the time! He was also a fairly useful off spin bowler and a neat slip fielder. On one occasion he played for a Scotland XI at the Grange, but it was not a "cap" match. Indeed in the days Henry was in his prime it would have been most unusual for a non-Scot to be capped for Scotland. As you know this happens all the time now. Otherwise I am pretty sure he would have played for Scotland on a number of occasions. Henry also played for the 1st XV, but only I think for a couple of seasons in 1945/46 and 1946/47. Presumably his commitment to rugby at school would prevent him being available for a lot of the time. I remember him as being a very speedy winger and a regular scorer of tries.

When Henry retired from Aberdeen University, in the early 1980s, he worked for a couple of years at New Anniesland as the Club's "Administrator". This would be about 1983 and 1984. Then he also served for a number of years as Chairman of the Cricket Section and he continued till his very last years being a regular attender at New Anniesland in both summer and winter

From the Aberdeen Press and Journal.

FUNERAL OF FORMER VARSITY SPORTS DIRECTOR
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09:00 - 07 February 2006

The funeral of the former director of physical education and recreation at Aberdeen University will be held on Friday.

Henry U'ren held the post between 1958 and 1975. He died on Sunday at the age of 90.

Mr U'ren was born and raised in Plymouth. He studied at Jordanhill College in Glasgow before becoming a teacher at Glasgow Academy.

He later moved to Aberdeen to take up his post at the university, which he held until his retirement in 1978.

He and his wife then returned to Glasgow.

Last night Mr U'ren's widow Cathie said that sport had been her husband's main passion in life.

"He distinguished himself as an athlete when he was a young man. Sport was his life. He enjoyed his time in Aberdeen very much and enjoyed his work at the university."

She said her husband had played cricket for Aberdeenshire as well as overseeing the building of the Butchart Recreation Centre at the university.

Mr U'ren was also a keen violinist and served in the Army during World War II.

He is survived by his wife, his son Graham, 59, and his daughter Linda, 54.

This article was originally posted on 13-Feb-2006, 18:53 by Hugh Barrow.
Last updated by Hugh Barrow on 13-Feb-2006, 19:44.