Remembering the Forgotten Burnley Trio

In the archives of Burnley Leisure and Lancashire County Council, names like Gerard Vinton, Paul Foster, and Roger Frost are often remembered for championing the work of Afrasiab Anwar, Claire Newton and others in driving Burnley Youth projects forward. Their contributions were real and recognised.

But behind the headlines and award ceremonies, there lies a forgotten trio whose vision and dedication built the very foundations upon which much of Burnley’s youth and community development success was achieved: Adam Bruckshaw (Nugent), Paul Bright, and Waheed Rashid.

Between them, they forged partnerships that reached from the Prince’s Youth Trust to Burnley Football Club, from the Lancashire Football Association to national football networks. Their fingerprints remain on a host of outstanding initiatives:

The Burnley Soccer School, a launch that placed the town firmly on the national football development map.

The groundbreaking ‘Kick it Out’ initiative in partnership with FA Charther Standard youth Football Club’s.

In-house children’s sports courses at St Peter’s Leisure Centre, expanding local access to structured activity.

Groundbreaking community interventions such as Sporting Chance and Strike 4 Life, where disaffected young people’s lives were not only redirected but positively transformed.

Perhaps their greatest strength was their insistence on Youth Voice and authentic research. It was this trio who facilitated youth-led findings that shocked the borough with stark truth: “it is easier to get hold of cannabis in Burnley than a pint of milk.” It was this trio who, in the aftermath of the Burnley and Oldham disturbances, identified the enduring problem of parallel lives across communities—a phrase that still echoes in discussions of cohesion, integration, and race relations today.

And yet, as official narratives celebrated others—Steve Rumbelow, Mick Carteledge, Foster, Vicky White, Darren Wright, Newton, Grimes, and Afrasiab Anwar (today MBE)—it was the quiet, skilled work of Bruckshaw (Nugent), Bright, and Rashid that underpinned the most effective initiatives ever delivered under Burnley Leisure and Active Lancashire.

Forgotten? Perhaps by the system. But not by history, nor by those whose lives were changed by the projects they designed, led, and fought to deliver.

The Dale Blues put it on record: the legacy of the Burnley Trio deserves recognition.