Henry Delooze funeral arrangements confirmed for November 15, 2023

The funeral of Henry, who also had playing spells with Barrow and Rochdale Hornets, will take place at Walton Lea Crematorium in Warrington on Wednesday, November 15, at 2pm.

Henry's family say that all friends, former colleagues and teammates would be very welcome to attend.

He died on October 30, aged 82.

His playing and coaching career in professional rugby league spanned 16 years.

He signed for his hometown club Warrington in April, 1960, aged 18.

At the time he was an England under 19 amateur international who had been playing for Latchford Albion.

Henry made his Wire debut on January 21, 1961 against Featherstone Rovers at Wilderspool in a 13-9 loss.

His second appearance was in a memorable 11-7 victory over St Helens in October 1961.

Unfortunately, an ankle injury the following week against Blackpool Borough prevented Henry from establishing himself in the first team at that time.

He was a regular at loose-forward in the 1962/63 season, making 30 appearances for The Wire.

Henry Delooze (Image: Contributed)

Henry was denied an appearance at Wembley as a result of Warrington’s narrow 5-2 Challenge Cup semi-final defeat to Wakefield Trinity.

The following season, Henry was back in the A team and part of a successful side that completed the double, winning the Lancashire County Challenge Cup and the Lancashire Combination Cup.

Henry failed to hold down a regular place in the first team and his opportunities were limited over the next two seasons.

Warrington were having problems in winning the ball from the scrums, so Henry was given a go as hooker on April 4, 1965 at Workington.

The experiment failed – Henry lost the first 10 scrums and he reverted to the back row as The Wire were beaten 6-0 in atrocious conditions.

His final appearance in primrose and blue was on September 18, 1965 in the second row in a 16-10 loss to Halifax at Wilderspool.

He made 53 appearances for The Wire and over his five years at Wilderspool he scored eight tries and kicked 17 goals for 58 points.

He has the heritage number 615.

His former teammate Jim Challinor, who had become player-coach at Barrow, paid a transfer fee of £1,000 to sign Henry in October 1965.

Henry was back at Wilderspool on February 5, 1966 when Barrow defeated Warrington 10-5 to record their first league win at Wilderspool for 14 years.

He received a standing ovation from the Warrington crowd at half-time when he landed a magnificent 55-yard penalty goal to level the scores at 5-5.

Henry made 50 appearances in two years for Barrow, scoring 10 tries and kicking 74 goals for 178 points.

The highlight of his Barrow career was playing in the 1967 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley. Barrow lost 17-12 with Henry kicking two goals, but he did meet the Queen who handed out the medals.

In September 1967, Rochdale Hornets paid Barrow £2,500 to sign Henry.

He gave eight years’ service to the Hornets, playing in the 1971 BBC 2 Floodlight Final and the 1974 Players No.6 Trophy Final. The latter was a 27-16 defeat to Warrington.

He also coached Rochdale Hornets from November 1975 for 12 months.

Henry was an active member of the Warrington Players Association for many years.

Until the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, he still attended matches through the Warrington Wolves Foundation’s “Buddy Up” scheme.

Additional reporting by Neil Dowson, Warrington Wolves