[2] He then tried a season as a semi-professional at Gravesend & Northfleet (now Ebbsfleet United) but returned to win another County League title with Whitehawk in 1964.
After Lewes joined the amateur Athenian League, he switched to Newhaven and then concentrated on officiating, which he was encouraged to take up by the Sussex referee Frank Wood.
Two years later, in April 1989, he handled the Final of the Full Members' Cup (a short-lived tournament for sides in the top two divisions) in which Nottingham Forest overcame Everton 4–3.
Many referees who have handled this game have shortly after graduated to the FA Cup Final[citation needed] and he got his chance at the end of that season (1989–90).
[6] On the international scene, he was referee for a number of club ties but his most notable match was a World Cup qualifier in April 1989 in which Portugal beat Switzerland 3–1.
This gave him a few more months at FIFA level before the world body reduced its own retirement age to 45 and, along with many other referees, he had to stand down at the end of 1991.