FRANK Miles, who died on Monday aged 72, was Hereford United's chairman during the most significant years of the club's history.

With the club facing bankruptcy, Hereford businessman Miles succeeded to the chair in the summer of 1969 and held office through the glory years of the early 1970s.

During that time, the club's financial position improved dramatically for a time as they became established as one of the great FA Cup Giantkillers, achieved election to the Football League and then moved up through the leagues to the old Division Two in 1976.

Miles' links with the club began when he played for the United Colts and then joined the Supporters' Club of which he became chairman until 1967 when he resigned for business reasons after three years in office.

He joined the board of directors in September 1968 and said on his appointment to the chair less than 12 months later: "This club is going to be run on business lines, and I can promise supporters that things will definitely begin to hum at Edgar Street within the next couple of months."

And hum they did with an appearance in the semi-finals of the FA Trophy in April 1971 just a precursor of the glory days to come.

The magnificent FA Cup run of 1971-2 paved the way for United to be elected to the Football League in June 1972 when Miles led his delegation of board members and their supporters to the Caf Royal to see Hereford replace Barrow after a second ballot.

Colin Addison, whom Miles had appointed following the departure of John Charles, led United to promotion in their first league season and his successor, John Sillett, continued the dream by taking the club to the Division Three championship in 1975-6.

But Miles, who had proclaimed that United would be in Division One within 10 years, was now to be disappointed as relegation followed immediately.

And with the club facing a further relegation back to Division Four in 1977-8, the eras of Sillett and Miles ended within a short period of each other.

In December 1977, shortly after the club suffered a humiliating FA Cup defeat by Wealdstone at Edgar Street, Miles stepped down as chairman, saying: "I am resigning because I think it is in the best interest of the club, which I have always put first ever since I was chairman of the Supporters Club."

Sillett expressed his admiration at the time: "He has been a wonderful chairman and has always backed me 100%. A manager cannot ask for anything more than that."

After leaving the board, Miles suffered financial problems and filed for bankruptcy in May 1982.

In later years, he returned to live in the city and, despite a long period of ill health before his death, he enjoyed meeting up with old friends and colleagues from a great period in the club's history. He was a welcome guest at the most recent reunion of the Giantkillers side in March this year.