We are sad to report the death of Willie Coyle. Willie started his career as a teacher and later moved into school administration. For these services he was awarded the MBE in 2003. Willie has played for Scotland on numerous occasions. He has four Gold Cup wins to his credit, and has played for Great Britain in six European Championships and Olympiads. He was in the Scottish team that won the bronze medal in the Senior Teams in European Championships in Dublin in 2012 and played in the D’Orsi Bowl in Bali in 2013. We extend our sympathy to Willie's family and friends.
Details above from Lederer Trophy 2020.
From the Bridge Great Britain website:
Willie Coyle was widely considered to be Scotland’s greatest ever bridge player. In partnership with Victor Silverstone he played in the Camrose Trophy from the mid-1960s to the late 70s, winning six times and drawing twice. In the days before devolution, Willie played six times in the Great Britain Open team. In 1976 in Monte Carlo, he won a World Bridge Federation bronze medal in the fifth Bridge Olympiad. Willie won the Bridge Great Britain Gold Cup four times, three with a Scottish team and finally with an English team in 1993, beating a Scottish
team captained by Les Steel in the final. Initially a maths teacher, he became involved in school administration and performance measurement, earning an MBE for services to education in 2003
August 7, 2023