Tributes have been paid to International Umpire, administrator and Table Tennis England Vice-President Diana Jermyn, who has died at the age of 85.

Known as Di, she was born in August 1939 in Ealing, just a few days before the outbreak of the Second World War.

During her long career in table tennis, she was involved in the sport in Hampshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cornwall.

Di first came to the sport in her 30s and her early representative roles were in Hampshire, as the Gosport & Fareham League Secretary from 1974-82 and the County TTA Secretary from 1978.

She went on to be General Secretary of the North Herts League from 1987-2002 and, upon moving to Cornwall, was Mid-Cornwall League General Secretary from 2008 onwards.

She became Secretary of St Austell TTC in 2007 and represented Cornwall on National Council from 2009-2020.

Other national positions included becoming a Vice-Chairman of the then English Table Tennis Association (ETTA), without departmental responsibility, from 2003-04, when she was also Membership Committee Chairman and part of the Management Committee.

She also, at various times, served on the Calendar Working Party, the Tournaments Committee, the Tournaments Approval Panel and the Umpires Selection Panel.

As an umpire, Di qualified at County level in 1979, becoming a National Umpire in 1981 and an International Umpire in 1984. She was also a Level 2 Tournament Organiser and a Club Coach.

As a player she represented Bedfordshire, Hampshire and Cornwall in the County Championship.

Di was one of the Umpire Managers at the World Table Tennis Championships in Manchester in 1997 and the World Veterans Table Tennis Championships in the same city the following year. She was a Table Manager at Euro ’94 and an umpire at the Commonwealth Championships, Isle of Man, in 1985.

Having had two daughters in a previous marriage, she wed another noted table tennis umpire and administrator, John Jermyn, in 1989. John, who became an ETTA Vice-President in 2000 and an Honorary Life Member in 2004, died in 2007.

Di also received national recognition, earning the Maurice Goldstein Merit Award in 1998 and becoming an ETTA Vice-President in 2013.

Former ETTA Chairman Alex Murdoch and his wife Val knew Di and John well from their time in Hertfordshire.

They said: “We have known Di for around 40 years in her capacity as a player, league administrator, umpire and tournament organiser.

“Initially with John, then since his death, Di continued to support local and national table tennis. She was given a number of awards for service to the North Herts Table Tennis League.

“Even after moving to Cornwall, she came back to Letchworth and stayed for the weekend helping with a number of ETTA Grand Prix tournaments held by the league, happy to help putting up the tables the day before including checking nets and court sizes, plus on the day providing excellent food for the players.

“She played in the VBL with Val Murdoch and Sue Felstead so the six of us had great weekends enjoying the VETTS social evenings.

“She will be missed by us in North Herts and the table tennis fraternity as well, her contribution to our sport was fantastic and always willing to help and get her fingers dirty.”

Table Tennis England Hon Past President, Doreen Stannard, also knew Di for many years.

Doreen said: “Di was dedicated to table tennis. We were together at a lot of big tournaments and she was great fun to be with. She was the life and soul of the party and game for any mischief possible!”

Allan Brook, Chair of St Austell TTC, said: “Di was a stalwart of the club over the last 20 years. She was always there to open up and lock up and was a great welcomer and encourager.

“She enjoyed her table tennis and competed in the mid-Cornwall league and she did an awful lot of work in the area to help and encourage table tennis.

“We’ve had phenomenal growth over the last year, but the club wouldn’t be here if she hadn’t been around – she helped to keep it going, particularly during the pandemic.

“It’s a blow to the club but we’ve got a lot to thank her for and she’ll be very fondly remembered.”

Di was a staunch member of the local Methodist church in Cornwall. She is survived by two daughters, Sarah and Claire, from her previous marriage, and by three step-children from her marriage to John – Anita, Richard and Brian.

The funeral service will be held at Glynn Valley Crematorium on Wednesday 9 October at 12.30pm, followed by a Celebration of Life at Mount Charles Methodist Church at 2pm. Please dress colourfully to celebrate the richness of Di’s life. Donations in lieu of flowers, for the British Trust for Ornithology. Click here for further details about the service.