Chris’s association with Avon covered an astonishing period of almost 70 years. To summarise, he started playing for the Colts in the mid 1950s, later becoming an active committee member, he was our Fixtures Secretary for many years, Chairman of the Minis section, heavily involved with improvements to our clubhouse and changing rooms, organiser of festivals and tours, a lifelong supporter of the Club’s playing fortunes and, in recognition of his efforts over many years, he was awarded the Special Services trophy in 1996.
Now, as I’m sure you all know, Chris loved telling stories. How many of us have listened to lengthy episodes on the phone or in person before he used to say “Oh just one more thing” as he set off on tangents for another 10 minutes! He had a vivid imagination and often came up with brainwaves for schemes to benefit the Club, many of which were successfully implemented.
Going back to his early connection with Avon rugby club, Chris told various stories of when we use to play up at the Monument Field by Rainbow Woods in the 1960s. He recalled that we didn’t have any electricity in the wooden hut used for changing and he would cycle out across Bath to the London Road to get the methylated spirits to make the old Tilly lamps work. Another true story recounted the time when Avon weren’t allowed to mark out the farmers field for our pitch up there so he instead used sawdust as the line markings. Chris took great pleasure in explaining that this worked very well until the wind suddenly picked up and blew all the sawdust away!
His energy and commitment to Avon was boundless. When we first bought our own ground at Hicks Field off the London Road in 1979, Chris was one of the volunteers who helped to transform the agricultural field into a playable pitch, together with temporary changing rooms in 1981. Then, utilising his electrical skills, he played an active role in the building and fitting out of our first proper clubhouse there in the mid 1980s.
I’ve mentioned that Chris was our Fixture Secretary. This was for an unrivalled period of 16 years from 1980 to 1997. And back then, the fixtures weren’t determined by the leagues – they all had to be manually arranged with other clubs, then confirmed, grounds sorted out, referees notified, etc. This was a mammoth task when you consider that we used to run 4 senior teams, apart from the Minis & Juniors later as well.
This brings me on to Chris’s involvement with our Minis & Juniors section where his dedication and inspiration really flourished. Along with Chris Coombe and Mike Sawyer, Chris was instrumental in launching our own Minis in 1988, later moving on to become their chairman. Within a year, he helped to encourage their expansion to over 50 youngsters each Sunday morning. By the mid 1990s, Avon became a rugby hotbed for youngsters with a full set of age groups, featuring hundreds of children each week.
Chris’s talents once again came to the fore as he helped to organise huge rugby festivals for the youngsters. In 1996, one of these festivals attracted thousands of boys, girls, parents and spectators from clubs across the West Country. He also used his many contacts to arrange tours for the Minis to places like Devon and Cornwall, whilst the Juniors travelled across the Irish Sea to Cork. The logistics involved in coordinating these tours were a challenge that Chris successfully negotiated in his own inimitable style, with the youngsters (and their coaches) forming wonderful memories which still last today.
Bolstered by the success of these Minis tournaments, Chris’s active mind also set up some similar 7-a-side and even 15-a-side festivals for the Seniors, supported by Dave Loader in their smooth organisation and running.
With the continuing growth of the Avon Minis and Juniors, Chris investigated ever-more imaginative schemes to find more space for changing, training and playing. In the mid 1990s, he managed to acquire a Pratten type classroom from Widcombe School, then arranged for its transport and installation at Hicks Field. This meant that the youngsters had their own dressing rooms, together with notice boards and blackboards for coaching purposes.
Many of those youngsters moved through the ranks to eventually play for our Seniors and today, some of them are encouraging their own children to take part in the current Avon Minis. What a wonderful legacy. He was also thrilled to learn whilst he was in hospital that Ruth is arranging a cup to be awarded in his memory for the Minis & Juniors player of the year.
Finally, here are just a small selection of some of recent comments made by some Avon members, which perhaps give a flavour and an appropriate epitaph.
• Sad news, many memories of you coaching us all when we were Minis

• And another from Mike Crane, “thank you for your help in my early coaching ventures & providing a fantastic rugby environment for my boys to thrive in”

• And finally from our Club Captain Kane Book who said, “there’s no certainty that the Club would even exist today, if not for Chris Perry’s work with the Mini section. He also played a role in the modern restart of it. A sad day for the Club”.

RIP Chris