Friday 6th November, 2026 at 3:52pm
All at Partick Thistle Football Club were deeply saddened to learn of the recent passing of Jags fan Dr. John Henderson.
Please read below a tribute to John and the story of his affiliation to Partick Thistle, as written by his son Grant:
In memory of Dr John Archibald Henderson, who passed away on 29th September 2026 aged 60 years.
John was a Jags fan throughout his life, raised into a Thistle supporting family most significantly by his dad Bill, older brother David, and alongside his twin brother Robert. Before John and Robert were born in 1966 the family had lived on Crow Road, but by the time of their arrival had moved out to East Kilbride. John and Robert were slightly too young to make it to the ’71 cup final victory, but proudly greeted Bill and big brother David’s return home from Hampden holding aloft a tin foil replica cup, swiftly made by mum Nancy a short time before! Thereafter followed many happy Saturday trips to Firhill by train to Central and hike through the city centre and up Maryhill road. There may have been one or two lifts over the turnstiles too…
Work eventually took John south to Wirral, Merseyside, and so trips to Firhill became more infrequent, with trips to Prenton Park, home of local Tranmere Rovers, instead more frequent. No one could ever accuse him of glory hunting! However, he kept a close eye on the Jags despite the distance, and was delighted that the last decade and a half of his life saw more live-action Thistle again, initially with regular family holidays to Millport (always designed to coincide with the fixture calendar), before his son, Grant, moved to Glasgow and picked up the Jags bug for himself. He was a keen and active Jags Foundation member to the end, proud to see his team safe in the hands of its fans.
It felt entirely appropriate that John’s funeral, on 23rd October 2026, was held 55 years to the day of that famous victory in 1971.
The thoughts of everyone at the club are with John’s family and friends at this difficult time.
Rest in peace, John. Once a Jag, always a Jag.
Check the original post https://www.ptfc.co.uk/ptfc-news/doctor-john-henderson/ – We encourage you to go and visit the team’s site.