Recognition, Honours & Obituaries

The Board recently took the decision to extend the use of the Society’s website in terms of Recognitions and Honours. The aim is to create a section, much like the notice-boards many clubs put on their walls, to value and appreciate all the activities of the members. The Recognition section has been updated. The Honours section now displays new listings: firstly, a list of current members with over 15 year’s membership of the Society; secondly, a list of current members who covered over 20 appointments last season (2023-2024); thirdly, a list of current members who have achieved higher status in the officiating ranks. A list of Past Presidents is currently being researched so that value and appreciation can be afforded to the legacy of the excellent work that set a basis for the current Society.

Rider: The information for this development has used various sources, some not always easy to verify. Memory is not what it used to be! If we have missed a name (or two) then please let us know and we can put the record straight

This page recognises the key achievements across the season of referees who have progressed within the society along with recognising key achievements, publicises the work done by those members who go that extra mile in supporting the Society, and also remembers those members who have passed away. Click on the individual links below to view more on each person featured. Each button opens a new page featuring that person.

If you know of members’ activities and obituaries that should be included on this page please inform us by emailing webmaster@northmidsrefs.co.uk . For full details of the Society’s Recognition policy please refer to our policy documents page

Recognition

This is a new addition to our website to recognise the referees across the season that have progressed within the Society and to celebrate the wonderful things achieved.

Recognition – Mike Knight

One of Mike’s many strengths is that he is quite happy to go anywhere and cover any level of referee including new ones. He enjoys helping referees no matter the level of the game. He makes his self available virtually every weekend and is a regular attendee at training meetings. Indeed he even managed to get to a training meeting at Lichfield R.F.C. whilst suffering with a broken hip. Obviously he needed to be driven to and from the venue but it is a measure of the man that he was determined not to miss the meeting.

His reports are always detailed and comprehensive, giving the reader an insight to a very perceptive referee mind. His verbal debriefs are supportive and constructive and quite often he manages to include his own playing and referee experiences as illustrations as to how the referee can develop. His written reports are given full credence by the Midland Group and elsewhere. His contributions to discussions at our meetings are always thoughtful, detailed and well received.

Altogether Mike has completed 340 appointments between September 2008 and February 2019 (that season abbreviated by the Covid 19 pandemic). These appointments were undertaken on behalf of North Midlands Society, West Midlands Federation (including appointments for Staffordshire Society) and Liverpool Society (including a single ‘guest’ appointment for Manchester Society). These appointments have involved a small number of Level 5 fixtures, a large number of fixtures between Level 6 and Level 12, and, some appointments with Young Match Officials. More recently Mike has both led and contributed to Society training sessions as well as being part of the creation of documentation placed on the website for the information and guidance of Society members. He fully deserves to be recognised by the Society where he has given dedicated service over the years.

Recognition – Mike Vaughan

The Board, Officers and Members of the Society are delighted to take this opportunity to recognise the outstanding contribution of:

Mike Vaughan

After many years of devoted service Mike has chosen not to stand for re-election for the Board but is staying as an active member of the Society. There is simply not enough space and time to list all his contributions but if we look at his most recent work, he has dealt with all new members applications, organised DBS checks across the region whilst introducing and structuring our well-regarded safeguarding policy.

With new members Mike ensured that the member would be accompanied on their first game(s) and he was usually able to present them with a refereeing shirt.

With very short notice from the powers that be Mike set up a system so that all active referees were DBS checked promptly and when you consider the size of the North Midlands it was not an easy task.

He represented the Society on important Federation matters but the list just goes on. Mike, can we just say thank you for all that you have done.

Honorary Life Member – Roy Mellor

I suppose the story started in 1950, when I first played Rugby at school. I quickly caught the bug, and in 1954, whilst still at school, joined Walsall RFC. I then played at various levels for the next thirty seasons for Walsall, and also for West Midlands Police – all in the dark world in the middle of the front row! In some games, it became the fashion (not possible now) for the opposition to take the scrum down so low that it was impossible to hook the ball with the feet. My solution was to hook with my head! It got to the stage when I thought I really ought to retire from playing. In 1985, I bumped into Jim Pedersen, a Society member, and a very persuasive man, and he talked me into joining the Society and start refereeing. And so I signed up, and that gave me another twenty years running around on the pitch! Fast-forward to 1991. At a monthly Society meeting at Tally-Ho, Eddie Lahive, another very persuasive Society member, twisted my arm up my back, and got me to agree to getting involved with Appointments. He said it would not be a big job – just mid-week and Sundays. Within days, this changed to Re-Appointments – the big job! This was before computers, of course. The process was for the “Committee” to meet once a month, on a Sunday evening at 6 o’clock, to deal with Appointments for the following month. If it was a four Saturday month, it took about four hours, and a five Saturday month, five. Each game to be covered was gone through, and each referee considered, and there were then over 100 games each week, and about the same number of referees. It was tedious, tedious, tedious……….. ! All handwritten in the “register” by John Burgum, and written onto individual cards to be posted to the referees. This was my job for a time. Thank goodness for computers, which enabled the whole process to be streamlined, and the monthly “get-togethers” were no longer necessary. One abiding memory I have is one week-end when I was in London, staying with my son. By means of a BT gadget, I was able to listen to my answerphone messages on my home phone – all 31 of them! Very anti-socially, I then spent the Friday evening and most of Saturday morning sorting that lot out! Very soon after I got involved in Appointments, Mike Spencer joined the team, and since then we have helped and supported each other over the years. We have become good friends, and I have been most grateful to have him around. As Appointments Officer, I was also a member of the Executive Committee, and was Chairman for a number of years. Then, forward to the mid-2000s. This was when the RFU created the Federations – in our case, the West Midlands Federation of North Midlands and Staffordshire, bringing together the working of the two Societies. Yet another persuasive Society member, Colin MacDonald, got Mike Spencer and

I involved – me as Chairman (and responsible for Exchanges) and Mike Spencer for Federation Appointments.

I stepped down as Chairman last year.

I am still around, albeit that I am far less active than I used to be. I now offer support and help to Mike Spencer with Federation matters, and Patrick Hooper with the “watchers”. And so for the past thirty years, I have been involved with Appointments in one form or another. How time flies…………when you are enjoying yourself!

Steve Barr’s comments – The early history of the West Midlands Federation (North Midlands and Staffordshire Societies) was, shall we say, chequered. The Federation, chaired for a year at a time alternately by the Chair of each Society, had little continuity and less direction. Then Roy Meller came on the scene, and with the agreement of both Societies provided distinguished leadership for many years. On his watch, the Federation achieved stability, identified its role, adopted a constitution that was fit for purpose and furthered the career pathway of a wide range of match officials, including at present an International referee, a Championship referee, a Premiership AR and several other National Panel officials in a variety of roles – not least the RFU Match Official Development Manager! Roy also pioneered regular meetings for “watchers” across the Federation – convening the meetings, setting the agenda and writing and circulating the minutes.

However, Roy’s greatest achievements were probably less obvious and less public. Unlike many Federations, West Midlands sings from a single hymn sheet, with no division between the member Societies. The committee has always included strong characters, some with experience at the top end of our game, but there was always agreement on the best way forward, striking a balance between actively promoting and encouraging youth and talent, whilst not overlooking the more experienced, but still competent older hands. Much of this was due to Roy’s skilled chairmanship, his forward thinking and his qualities of honesty and integrity. Many of us have appreciated, and still benefit from, his wise counsel.

Roll of Honour

Our roll of honour section celebrates society members who have left a lasting mark in the work they’ve undertaken for North Mids or gone that extra mile adding to the success of our great society.

N.M.S.R.F.R Honours

Current Active Society Members (over 15 years)

Lex Allan	Rod Blaine
Jagir Uppal Singh	John Silverwood
Philip Carman	Sam Slade
Mike Spencer	Neil Chivers
Tony Chivers	David L.Thomas
Dan Daley	David G.Thomas
Johann Delport	Damian Webb
Nigel Evans	Andy Wigley
Mick Fielding	John Holland
Damian Hampton	Peter Hunt
Simon Higginson	Huw Jenkins
Stephen Hindson	Mike Jones
Tony Jones	Ray Jones
John Kelly	Mike Knight
Ian Moreton	Kelvin Roberts
Paul Rogers	Paul Scott
James Shanahan

Past Society Presidents

Terry Rees	Steve Guy
Colin Major	John Terry
Alan Hughes	Mike Beaumont
Mike Jones	David Howgate
Kelvin Roberts	Roger Porter
Roy Mellor	Geoff Murch
Malcolm Coall	Neil Sharpe
Patrick Hooper	Huw Jenkins
Dave Pickard	Rod Blaine
Philip Carman	John Kelly
Ray Jones

Obituaries