Tributes are paid to a ‘true gentleman’

A tribute Terry Collins by Ken Watkins.

2 minutes read

A GENTLE man and a true gentleman, who will be sorely missed. This tribute was echoed in so many of the messages of condolence after Terry Collins, a much-loved stalwart of Barry Athletic bowls club sadly passed away in September.

The club’s WhatsApp thread was full of tributes, all of them expressing their fond memories of Terry. They included “One of life’s lovely people”, “A true gentleman and friend”, “Such a lovely guy”, and “Gentle soul, hard worker, cheeky grin. Terry was well loved by all”.

**| Terry and Lorraine enjoying the delights of travelling.**

And from former colleagues at Aberthaw power station, where he worked for 47 years, messages on the Friends group WhatsApp included “Terry was one of the really good guys”, and “What a great man and good friend. He was a lovely guy to work with”.

Bowls club chairman Gary Williams, in his WhatsApp message, said: “Terry was a stalwart of the club and undertook many thankless tasks, not only for the bowls section but also for Club Limited. He went about those tasks without any fuss, and never asked for, or expected, any praise. He will be sorely missed.”

“The bowls club was his life for the last 10 years,” said wife Lorraine. “He was always over the club, cutting hedges, tidying up, putting the bins out. He was chairman for one year, and joint treasurer with Scott Howell. He just quietly got on with things. It suited him and it was good for the club.”

Terry joined the club after retiring, having been manager of a team of engineers at Aberthaw. He hadn’t wanted to retire, but friend and neighbour John Holmes, a long-time member of the bowls club, said to Lorraine ‘don’t worry about him, I’m going to get him into bowls’. “He did, and that was good.”

Terry was a midweek captain at the club in the season just ended. His Munro Cup team, of which, because of his health, he was non-playing captain, clinched the trophy with a perfect 100 per cent record. “I think his proudest thing was being involved with the Munro Cup,” said Lorraine, and Terry was able to share and enjoy the celebrations when the trophy arrived in the clubhouse in late August.

Terry, 79, was born in Dinas Powys, played rugby for Old Penarthians, attended university in Leicester, and worked at Didcot power station before being transferred to Aberthaw.

He and Lorraine were married for 32 years, a second marriage for both of them, having known each other for 37, and both enjoyed travelling and family gatherings. “My children called him Pop, and my boys, in particular, always included him in rugby weekends, away in Scotland and Italy,” said Lorraine.

Posting on the club’s WhatsApp thread, Lorraine wrote: “Thank you for all the lovely messages. He was one of life’s gentlemen. Always willing to roll his sleeves up and get stuck into whatever was needed. He loved the club, and it filled a huge place in his heart. Thank you all for being his friends.”

By Ken Watkins

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