WE are sad to report the death this week of two ex-Hammers, Ron Tindall and Jimmy Andrews (pictured left).

Ron, who passed away in adopted home of Perth, Western Australia last Sunday aged 76, joined the Hammers from Chelsea in November 1961, in the deal that took Andy Malcolm to Stamford Bridge.

He made 13 league and one cup appearance at centre-forward that season, scoring three goals, but was unable to add to his first team tally. His commitments with Surrey county cricket club hampered his first team chances at Upton Park under Ron Greenwood. Tindall scored more than 5,000 runs and took 150 runs for Surrey in the late 50s and early 60s.

Born in Streatham, South London in 1935, at the age of 16 Ron was playing first team football with Camberley Wanderers. He joined Chelsea’s youth system in 1953 and over eight seasons turned out on 174 occasions for the club, scoring 69 goals in a prolific strike partnership with Jimmy Greaves. After a short spell with the Hammers he spent a season at Reading (36 apps, 12 gls) before seeing out his playing days as a central defender with Portsmouth (162 apps, 7 gls).

In retirement Tindall coached Portsmouth for a couple of years after which he emigrated to Western Australia, where he had a big impact on the coaching ethos of the game through a decade-long stint as State Director of Coaching.

One of the most knowledgeable and respected coaches, his achievements were recognised in 2008 with the Order of Australia Medal for service to sport “particularly the development of football and through the education and development of sports coaches”.

Between 1977 and 1987 he held the dual role of State Coach and Director of Coaching, a period which included time as an assistant coach with Australia’s Olympic team.

He was also a Development Coach with the Department for Recreation and Sport for 12 years, founded the Coaching Foundation of WA and helped set up the football programme at the West Australian Institute of Sport. Ronwas inducted into the Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and Football West's annual State Premier League Coach of the Year award is named in his honour.

Jimmy Andrews, who was the oldest living Hammer at the time of his death, had been suffering from Alzheimer’s for six years. Jimmy, 85 last February, had been in a home in Cardiff since November 2011.

A flying Scottish left-winger, Invergordon-born Jimmy joined the Hammers from Dundee for a fee of £4,750 in November 1951 and over the next four years he made 114 league and six cup appearances, scoring 21 goals.

In 1956, he left to join our East London neighbours Leyton Orient (36 apps, 8 gls) in 1956 and then played for QPR (82 apps, 15 gls) from 1959 until he retired in 1962.

After hanging up his boots, Jimmy earned a good reputation as a coach and managed Cardiff City (where he succeeded fellow ex-Hammer Frank O’Farrell) from 1974 until 1978.