David Hallwood 1937-2024

It is with great sadness that we have learned of the death of former President David Hallwood, one of the club’s outstanding servants.

David was born in the North East and came south from Northumberland to work for Hebden Phillips in 1958 when he joined Canterbury rugby club. By an extraordinary coincidence, this was the club that his father, Dudley Hallwood, had helped to found. Dudley would be the very first captain of the club.

David never became the captain nor did he have the electrifying pace of his father, but he and Tony Redsell, as chairman and secretary, would revitalise Canterbury in the 1970s and lead us to our very first piece of silverware, the Kent Cup in 1975. However, he was always conservative, fighting against plans to make the club a multi-sports venue, always on the fence about juniors and don’t talk about logos and merchandising!

David played fly half, his kicking prowess bringing him into the 1st XV ranks in the early 1960s. But his great contribution was to a stellar ‘A’ XV in the 1960s – it only became named the Pilgrims after he stood down. He hung up his boots on numerous occasions only to make more comebacks than Sinatra. The secretary, Martin Osborne, summed up his qualities: ‘his ability to instill doubts into any new referee on the conduct of the opposing team’ and ‘his devastating tackling’. The former was undoubtedly true, although the pristine state of his knees at the end of matches cast doubt on the latter.

David was a committee member from his earliest days at the club, first as social secretary in 1960 where he and Peter Cooke were in a job-share, a combination that Osborne described as successful ‘albeit with some disregard for organisation but somehow managing to come out on the right side’. His ability with language meant that he was soon roped in as press secretary. On the committee, David sourced eight barrel chairs and four barrel tables together with a refrigerator from a pub closure. These were the basic furniture of the club for decades.

In May 1973 he took over the role of secretary, working in partnership with chair, Tony Redsell. One immediate change was a larger format fixture card with a list of VPs in proper alphabetical order. In stark contrast to Osborne, his minutes were always compendious and his excellent annual reports full and detailed. His reading of the minutes was the highlight of many a lengthy committee meeting. Over the next ten years, the minutes reveal an insistence on the club’s reputation for hospitality. There are letters from visiting officials, clubs, referees thanking the club. David kept up a lively and informal correspondence with other clubs about their achievements, their bad behaviour, fixtures cancelled or with people who had helped (or hindered) the club in some way or another. He became well known on the club supper circuit as a polished and witty after dinner speaker. It all boosted the club’s reputation.

In 1979, he masterminded the club’s 50th Jubilee Season and gave a brilliantly funny speech at the Westgate Hall. Taking over as president from Philip Wacher, his way with language could always be relied on. In 2014 he revealed another talent when he published a novel The Brewer’s Wife.

David lost his wife Ann (née Sedrin) in 1978 but found a great deal of happiness later with Vanessa. Our deepest condolences to her and to the family. The club has lost one of its greatest sons.

David’s farewell will be held at noon on December 12th at Herne Bay Crematorium.