CLUBS MOURN LOSS OF TENACIOUS NO. 9 – John Bawden
CLUBS MOURN LOSS OF TENACIOUS NO. 9
Members of both Bridgwater & Albion and Weston-super-Mare Rugby Football Clubs will fondly remember the exploits of scrum-half John Bawden who passed away on 19 December. He served both clubs with some aplomb from the mid-1960’s through to the late 1970’s.
John Bawden was born in Bridgwater and attended Westover School but on leaving he joined Weston-super-Mare RFC from where he became a Somerset Colt before challenging for a 1st XV place with the already experienced incumbents Clayton Hope and Ray Haines. In view of such competition, John then joined Bridgwater & Albion in the 1965/66 season and was an immediate ideal replacement for the departed Bill Witham. During that season, Albion opened their floodlights (the first west of Bristol in those days) and in October 1965 they played Bristol in a celebration match when John took the No. 9 position with Chris Tooze at half-back and he opposed Bristol’s Bill Redwood who later became an international. John continued to play for the club in the 1966/67 and 1967/68 seasons when he was in competition with Albion’s current President Mike Berry who recalls their friendly rivalry – the two scrum-halves playing their parts for the club and regularly swapping the leading role. John however returned to Weston-super-Mare after the 1967/68 season and was later to become first choice there with the result that he took up the captaincy of the seaside club for a few seasons in the early 1970’s and also played in the Somerset County Championship side.
John was a tenacious and hardworking scrum-half conscious of the needs of his forwards who liked the ball in front of them and also of the backs who liked to be presented with clean ball. He strove hard to ensure that both facets were met. This involved considerable bravery at the base of the scrum and line-out.
Berry recalls an amusing incident in a match at Weston-super-Mare in the early 1970’s when both he and John were in direct opposition with the game being refereed by the international Mike Titcombe who found fault with almost everything the two scrum-halves tried – penalties for crooked feeds, offsides, knocks-on and others which bemused the two No. 9’s. Towards half time the referee announced that he was fed up with the antics of the scrum-halves and that they could now do whatever they liked and he would concentrate on the other players. With that, it was Weston’s put-in at a scrum and John said to Berry “watch this one Mike” as the ball curled into the Weston second row – much to the laughter of both scrum-halves – the referee just tutted.
Away from the rugby football field, John was a long time head horticulturalist at Combe Lodge at Blagdon where his speciality was the growing of chrysanthemums – an area in which he reached national renown, winning prizes for his displays at many competitions including those at national level. As a result of his expertise, he also became involved in the committee of the Royal Horticultural Society.
John’s brother Michael (Mickey) was also a useful scrum-half whilst at Westover School, Bridgwater but turned his attention to the round ball game where he became a long-serving goal-keeper for Bridgwater Town FC and other Western League and Somerset Senior teams.
John Bawden’s exploits for both clubs will never be forgotten and those who have played with and against him will remember his sense of fun, fair play and enjoyment.
Bridgwater & Albion sends its sincere condolences to John’s family with grateful thanks for his rugby football involvement over many years.
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Category: Club News
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