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It’s a pleasure to know Lloyd George
This week we are delighted to take a walk down ‘Memory Lane’ with Lloyd George, who is now 90 years young but can vividly recall his sporting days in the RAF and his time as a player with Narberth and Pembrokeshire in cricket and rugby, plus his footballing exploits with Clunderwen.
Lloyd now lives at the Ridgeway House, Llawhaden, and we popped along with Vernon Beynon, another great sporting character, to chat with Lloyd, who follows current sporting events, locally and nationally, with great interest.
Army football and local success
On the football front, Lloyd became captain of Clunderwen straight after the war in 1946 and when he joined the RAF he continued to play in his unit’s team, which included the likes of Nat Lofthouse, Hannaford of Spurs and Phillips of Cardiff City. In fact, he was the only one who had not played professional football and slotted into the side at left back or centre half. When he came home on leave he played against Bull Best of Milford United and the Robins must have been impressed at the way he stopped Bull scoring because they asked him to play for them in a Welsh League match against Llanelli at Stebonheath, which he did. But travel was a problem in those days and so Lloyd settled for playing locally – and one of his best days came when they beat Kilgetty 3-1 in the Ben Waters Cup Final and he managed to stop the legendary George Edwards from finding the net.
Rugby honours
But rugby took over during his five years in the RAF because he was asked to play by a friend in one match, found his niche at No 8 and never looked back, even playing a couple of matches as a prop. One of his best memories is playing the oval ball game at both Twickenham and Murrayfield in representative matches and when he returned to this area after demob he joined Narberth RFC and played there until he was 35, playing no fewer than 42 times for Pembrokeshire and still very proud of his county blazer badge which he received after 15 matches alongside scrum half Sonny Perkins (Tenby), second row Tom Bowling (Quins) and prop Meurig Hughes, the first recipients of the honour.
During those games he played against Lewis Jones, who became a rugby league legend, but was starting out in Swansea, and was part of a county team which drew with Llanelli. At one stage in his career he was linked with Neath but could never have travelled for training in those days and so he decided to stay with the Otters, where he played with distinction until he was about 36.
Cricket capers
Ask Lloyd about his favourite sport, however, and he would immediately plump for cricket, starting off at Clunderwen where the players had little kit but really enjoyed their matches. But again it was in the RAF that his playing really took off, by accident, when a pal reported sick and asked Lloyd to turn up instead of him. Lloyd duly turned up and played a part with the ball as he claimed four wickets. He batted at No 10 and arrived at the crease to bat with an officer who was on 35 not out and told Lloyd to just stay there so he could score a half century and win the game – but Lloyd belted three sixes in an over and although his batting partner wasn’t too impressed he was well looked after by the rest of the team that evening!
Nine Harrison-Allen Bowl appearances
On his return to Pembrokeshire he joined Narberth and became part of their highly successful side which appeared in nine Harrison-Allen Bowl Finals, winning five of them. He was a swing bowler who bowled alongside Peter Davies and batted in the lower middle order where his role was usually to score quick runs, which he did in one final as he borrowed the great Harry Tucker’s bat and lashed five sixes and three fours in his total of 42 runs!
Lloyd never had a hat-trick in his long career but against Pembroke Dock he once had four wickets in an over as he removed batsmen from the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th deliveries. He can also recall a lieutenant Col Desarrai playing for an army team who had scored centuries for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) against Australia and for Oxford in the varsity match – but Lloyd had him out three teams in a season in local cricket as he also played for Pembrokeshire on six occasions!
His Narberth cricketing colleagues at that time included Harry Tucker, Peter Davies, Michael Powell, Owen Howell and Tommy Atkins, and Lloyd also enjoyed several trips to Taunton as he was roped in by Cresselly’s John Cole to play for Swansea Butchers against their counterparts in Taunton. They used to drive to Cardiff, get the ferry to Ilfracombe, play the match and return on the boat – and they marvellous trips, despite so much travel!
Fascinating chat
It is just one of many stories that Lloyd can recall of his sporting days and keep you enchanted about a time that is lost forever in the mists of time but which he can recall with real clarity. He remains keen on sport and watches something every day on television, reads about the sport in the national and local newspapers, and can discuss sporting matters with aplomb. It really was a fascinating couple of hours in the company of a real gentleman – and long may Lloyd George continue to be able to take other sports lovers for such a fascinating walk down Memory Lane!
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