page revision date : Sunday 28th june 2009
Colin is local football’s new chairman
When Colin Williams takes over as chairman of the Pembrokeshire Football Association League on the 30th June he will adopt the same policy that he has used throughout his time in sport and elsewhere.
“I’ll just try my best,” he says “and I can’t do any more than that.”
He has served the last two years as vice-chairman to the indomitable Keith Scourfield, a fellow Narberth footballer, and faces an even busier time because he is the deputy mayor of the town and next year will be enrolled as Mayor for a record-equalling fifth time, with his wife Sheila as mayoress, and daughter Wendy as a willing stand-in if needed.
Started with
Amroth Seagulls
Colin has been involved in football for more years than he cares to remember after starting out as a player with the quaintly-named Amroth Seagulls, played in Narberth when he moved there and became great friends with Ivor Badham, set out as a referee in 1968 and completed 24 years before returning to the committee at Narberth RFC, where he is still Hon Secretary to this day – and Colin also played cricket as a steady batsmen for Cresselly 2nds when he was a younger man.
When he set out with Amroth Seagulls they played on three different grounds, starting at The Castle, where they used a leather ball which got very wet when it was kicked in the nearby river and it was agony if you headed it on the lace.
“It was hard work and very painful!” says Colin with a chuckle.
Then it was off to Meadow House and finally Merrixton Farm, which Colin said was a good field.
“It was great playing at Merrixton and I was a right back, which meant in those days that I had to tackle and clear the ball up field to the forwards – I rarely entered the opposition half, like all full backs then, and scoring goals was something that full backs simply didn’t do! But I played with smashing characters like Ronnie Thomas, Ronnie Lewis and Austin Bevan in division two (that’s all there was then!), with Joe Vernon from Pembroke Dock as the league’s secretary.”
Colin moved to Narberth in 1964 after marrying Sheila, who was a Jeffreyston girl, and he played for the second team there for a while. Ivor Badham roped Colin onto the club committee until 1968
Persuaded to take up the whistle
Then he was recruited as a referee by Eddie Oliver, Peter Beaumont and Fred Nye. It was the start of 24 happy years with his whistle where the undoubted highlight was being chosen to officiate at the Senior Cup Final in 1979/80, when Merlins Bridge beat St Clears 5-1. He also reffed the inter-league final between Swansea and Carmarthenshire at Trostre, another great honour, whilst his first-ever big match was the Wiltshire Cup Final, where he had to send a player off: something he hated doing but it had to be done.
He made his refereeing debut at Hubberston, who had black shirts on so he used a yellow tee-shirt he had in his bag – and there was also laughter along the way, like the time he headed a cross into the net and both teams burst out laughing at Kilgetty because they said he had scored an own goal!
A few black moments amongst the fun
But it wasn’t all as good as that because Colin can also tell tales of darker moments, like the time he was hit over the head with an umbrella and accused of taking a pre-match ‘bribe’ in a match which would decide promotion, when it was only the club sec paying him his travelling expenses before the match because the sec had to get away immediately after the game!
Perhaps even worse was the no-holds cup match where he had to send a player off from the away team but he refused to go from the field because the changing rooms were a mile away. Colin eventually insisted he went outside the perimeter of the pitch and it was quiet for a while until he could hear himself being abused from afar – it was the red-carded player in the next field, having climbed a tree to shout at him. Even worse was to follow because when Colin arrived at the local pub he was asked by the home team players if he knew the score of a big West Wales Cup match and it was so noisy he signalled the 2-1 scoreline across the room – and was reported to the West Wales FA for making a rude gesture to some people from the away team. It might sound a little funny now but it meant two postponed meetings until they withdrew the allegation at a third meeting and it really hurt Colin at the time, although he soldiered on, nonetheless.
Cresselly cricketer – and civic pride
Cricket was another sport that has featured in Colin’s life as he played for Cresselly 2nds at the same time as John Cole and Leslie James, plus an up and coming youngster named Roley Edwards. He would admit that he wasn’t the greatest player but enjoyed Saturday afternoons in the summer, with a top score of 52, which was his only half century. He is still involved at Narberth, whose committee he joined five years ago, and the Williams’ family sponsor the man of the match awards in the Balcony Suite
Outside of his commitment to sport, Colin is very involved in civic matters and has been a member of Narberth Town Council for over 20 years and will be the town’s mayor for a fifth time next year. He also serves on the Civic Week committee and has been chairman and secretary in his time there, and is currently involved working at a Victorian Theme for the revamped winter carnival which he hopes will be a success. He also plays Father Christmas at the day centre in the town and has done it so often that he has even acquired his own red outfit!
Return to Narberth
Colin returned to the Narberth AFC committee in 1992 and has been secretary ever since after Ivor Badham asked him to get involved shortly before Ivor sadly passed away. He is still in the post now and, of course, is a member of the management committee of the Brains-sponsored Pembrokeshire Football Association League. Colin has been a member of the League Council for many years and rightly regards the chairmanship as a great honour, with Phil Devonald (St Ishmaels) as his vice-chairman. Colin also served as youth secretary for one year and that is something else that he and Phil have in common, and as well as chairing the monthly meetings he will have to attend all the finals and generally do anything required of him over the two-year stint.
I’ll do my best,” says Colin, “it’s all I can do.”
He’s right – and he will too!
