South Wales Cricket Association
Established 1926
Obituaries
BRINLEY JOHN
Llangennech C.C. Life Member
Former Treasurer South
Wales Junior Cricket League
Former Umpire South Wales
Cricket Association
Brinley John, who died in November 2022 at the
age of 94, was best known as a founder member of the South Wales Junior Cricket
League.
It was his idea in the autumn of 1972 to
establish an organised league structure for junior cricketers and at an
inaugural meeting he was elected treasurer of the league, a role he performed
for 44 years.
In his role as Treasurer Brinley ensured that
the finances of the league remained extremely healthy by maximising all
opportunities for grant aid, sponsorship and council support. He was vigorous
in the chasing of any of these when they were slow responding to his letters of
appeal and he was equally tenacious in chasing clubs who were late in paying
subscriptions or fines.
Brinley John played for Llangennech after returning
from National Service. He was known as a solid opening batsman who never gave
his wicket away and was exceptionally quick between the wickets. He boasted
that his fellow players could only scored the runs they did because of him at
the other end pulling them along. He was also an excellent fielder in the deep
and some bowlers would insist that only he should field in a particular
position for them.
While still involved in coaching youngsters and
his work with SWJCL Brin did a 4 year stint on the SWCA umpires panel 30 years
ago. He always said that he enjoyed officiating division 5 matches as much, if
not more, than division 1.
Over the years Brinley’s contribution to
cricket was recognised locally and nationally. He received numerous awards at
sporting functions in Llanelli but his proudest moment was the receipt of an
OSCA from Cricket Wales in 2015 under the ‘Leagues’ category.
He was delighted to attend their presentation
at Sophia Gardens and enjoy the hospitality offered to the award winners and
their nominees. Following this came the invitation to the national NatWest OSCA
ceremony at Lord’s and being wined and dined at the home of cricket.
Brinley had many other interests. He was
heavily involved with social activities for his own club, helped to form a
youth club in the village and supported the new Community Hall’s varied activities,
playing short-mat bowls there. Always a keen gardener, he had a large plot next
to his house and he grew vegetables which he exhibited, and won prizes for, at the
Pontarddulais show.
Well into his eighties he was given the
opportunity to be an extra in a Welsh language, gangster style dark movie,
based in Carmarthenshire, called ‘Y Pris’.
IEUAN JENKINS
Llangennech C.C.
During 2022 the club lost a second life member
when Ieuan Jenkins passed away in September, just over a month after his 101st
birthday.
Ieuan never played for the club, but his
contribution was vast, enabling others to play and enjoy the game.
Ieuan was born in Newcastle Emlyn and qualified
as an engineer. During and after the war, in both Royal and Merchant Navies he
travelled extensively to all parts of the world.
He contracted TB and was a patient at Mynydd
Mawr Hospital in Tumble, where he met his wife Beryl, one of the nurses who
co-incidentally was from the same village. They married in 1959 and moved to St
Clears when Ieuan began work at the MoD in Pendine.
A move to LR Industries in Bynea saw the family
settle in Llangennech and Ieuan, with an interest in rugby, cricket and
fishing, soon got involved with our club. He was very adept at solving problems
and overcoming difficulties using his engineering skills and could turn his
hand to most things.
After retirement and into his 70s, he
volunteered to climb the pavilion roof to repair the front of the scoreboard.
While others were getting a ladder ready to rest on the steep slope for him to
use, he unhesitatingly climbed the first ladder before walking up the tiles in
a pair of daps.
Ieuan, for many, many years took on the role of
the person in charge of the 1st XI, being with them in all their
matches, home and away, supporting and encouraging.
For a period in the 90s the club organised a
Noson Lawen on St David’s Day, as a social event in the village and a fund
raising exercise. Well known faces from the world of Welsh Language
entertainment were invited to perform and during the interval everyone enjoyed
a bread roll and a bowl of cawl, prepared by Ieuan, usually in the urn used for
making tea in the summer.
Ieuan was a passionate Scarlets supporter,
rarely missing a match, and he loved his fishing. A small family caravan was on
site at Cenarth every summer, where Ieuan could spend a few days each week in
retirement fishing his beloved Teifi.
Increasing frailty led to Ieuan becoming a
resident in a care home in Llanelli for over a year. After 63 years of marriage
Beryl, who by this time was in a different care home, pre-deceased him by 3
months.
ROY DAVIES
Llangennech C.C.
Roy Davies, who
died in January 2022 at the age of 88, was a talented, highly competitive all
round sportsman who played cricket and rugby for the village teams. This was at
the time when the two sports did not overlap and there was no football club in
existence. Most of the cricket players swapped their whites and rugby jerseys
back and forth seamlessly. Roy and his opening bowler partner Alwyn John were
the full-back and wing for the rugby team, Roy also undertaking the
place-kicking duties.
When
Llangennech were finally dismissed for 161 the time was 6.10pm and 74.1 overs
had been bowled, Wat Jones having taken 4 for 36 in 29 of them. Clydach made a
valiant attempt at the impossible and in the 22 overs received in 80 minutes
reached 122 for 5.
Inevitably Roy
Davies came in for criticism. But he was a tough, uncompromising captain. He argued that Clydach would have
done exactly the same were the roles reversed and that after a season-long
battle there was no way he was giving his opponents a chance of victory if he
could.
Since WW2 a
Llangennech bowler has taken all 10 wickets in an innings on four occasions.
Having finished
playing,
Outside his sporting achievements, Roy
was a successful businessman who was also a chapel elder and a parish
councillor.
ALUN
JAMES
Llangennech CC
Alun James, who died in March 2021 aged
88, was born and brought up in Llwynhendy and educated in the village school
and Llanelli Grammar School. He was called up for National Service, spending 2
years in the RAF before returning to embark on a teacher training course at
Carmarthen.
He moved to Llangennech when he married Betty, a marriage that was to last 64
years. His teaching career took him to Bristol for a brief period before he
returned as a Geography teacher at Llansamlet and Cefn Hengoed schools until
his retirement.
Alun had played rugby for Bynea in his younger days but cricket was his main
interest when he moved to the village, especially having Albert Wooldridge, a
SWCA umpire, as his father-in-law. His 1st XI career lasted 19
years, three of which were as captain. He was mainly an opening batsman and
very occasional off-spin bowler scoring 2,279 runs and taking 29 wickets.
While still playing cricket, he developed an interest in golf and joined
Morriston Golf Club, of which he served a term as captain. He later joined
Ashburnham Golf Club with Betty who was honoured with being elected Ladies’
Captain.
During all this, Alun was on the Llangennech committee serving five
years as chairman and being awarded life-membership on stepping down. He later
served a 10 year period as the club’s auditor where he would always scrutinise
closely the club’s finances, asking pertinent questions and offering sound
advice.
He was also involved in other aspects of life in the village where he served a
period as a Parish Councillor. Well into his eighties he was always amused to
occasionally being referred to as ‘Betty Wooldridge’s husband’ despite having
been in the village for over 65 years.
DAVID
LLOYD
Cowbridge CC
David Lloyd, the Cowbridge Cricket
Club’s 1st XI scorer from 2009 to 2016 died in early October aged
82.
A native of Pontypridd David came to
Cowbridge to teach English at the Grammar School in 1964. He became Head of
Department in due course. At the Grammar School and later at the successor
school David achieved excellent results in a quiet but thorough manner.
Teaching in Cowbridge was to be his vocation.
When son Michael became 1st
XI regular in 2009 David was delighted to take the opportunity to take over the
scorer’s mantle. David was popular amongst his fellow scorers for his knowledge
of the game and his professionalism in the way he set about his duties. David
also wrote the reports for The Gem newspaper and his attention to detail gave
his readers a comprehensive report as to what had occurred.
David was a familiar figure in the High Street and the
community will miss his presence. He was always ready to chat with the
townsfolk, many of whom he had taught. Cowbridge will be an emptier place
without David.
JON
SMART
Cowbridge C.C.
The sudden death of Jon Smart aged 46
robbed Cowbridge of one the club’s most significant personalities. Jon, like
his twin brother Matthew was educated at Malvern College and began playing at Cowbridge
when the club joined the SWCA.
Jon held many roles in the club, he was
the league leading wicket taker in 1995, the youngest Captain of Cowbridge in
memory and he led the side for six seasons. He was the secretary, treasurer and
junior coach and was currently Manager of the 1st XI. He was hugely
popular within the club and was relishing the successes that had taken them to
the SWPCL.
As Jon’s funeral cortege passed quietly
through the streets of Cowbridge an overwhelming mass of friends lined the
route.
The club’s condolences were extended to
Jon’s partner Claire and her girls, parents Richard and Gaynor and bother
Matthew and his family Angharad, Ben and Imogen.
ALAN
REES
Port Talbot Town C.C.
Alan joined Margam CC in 1958
before moving across town to join Port Talbot in 1971.
He eventually retired from playing in 1985 and became an umpire within the
SWCA, a position for which he was better known within the SWCA circles and was
an umpire for 29 years within the league before hanging up his coat in 2014.
One of Alan’s highlights as an umpire, aside from a number of finals he
officiated in, was his involvement as an umpire on the 2005 SWCA tour of
Australia and New Zealand.
Up to his death, Alan always remained a loyal supporter of Port Talbot CC and
during his time with the club, held the position of Chairman on two separate
occasions and was proud of his life membership of the club he loved. He
is succeeded in the cricket sense by his sons Ian, Phillip & Gareth, and their
association with Port Talbot.
It was fitting that the last game he saw, he witnessed Gareth wrap up the
Cardiff 1st XI tail to record a remarkable one run victory for his club.