Brooks Mileson

Brooks John Joseph Mileson (13 November 1947 – 3 November 2008) was an English businessman and the owner of now dissolved Scottish football club Gretna as well as being a philanthropist to 70 non-league clubs.

The eldest son of parents who were both members of the Salvation Army, Mileson and his four siblings were born in Pennywell, an estate in Sunderland, England. All the children were committed Christians who were given a good education, brought up in a poor household. Told he would never make the sports team after breaking his back in a quarry aged 11, Mileson took up running. He won the bronze medal in the 1967 English cross country junior championships – then immediately stopped: "It was the happiest day of my life. I hated every minute of running, but I had something to prove."

Starting out from school and working in the construction industry, after the then Durham-based Mileson was made redundant in 1982, he set up his first construction firm, before branching out into insurance. Although estimates of his wealth varied, he was said to have sold two companies for £17m and £48.6m, with the highest tabloid estimates at over £75 million, according to a profile in The Sun.

Towards the end of his tenure at Gretna, Mileson was reported to be heavily in debt, with his personal bank account reported to be overdrawn by almost half a million pounds. Mileson was posthumously declared bankrupt in February 2010, after a businessman who was owed £1.85 million by Mileson made an application to Carlisle County Court.

Mileson was a devotee of grass-roots football, and made donations to several football trusts, including Carlisle's United Trust, Dundee United's Arab Trust, Ayr United's Honest Men Trust, Dundee's Dee4life Trust and Berwick Rangers's Supporters Trust. Mileson was made an Honorary Vice President of the Supporters' Trust for the support and guidance he provided during their takeover of the club. He was also the president of Whitby Town, and sponsor of the Northern League.

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