Born in Pontrhydyfen, he was on the WRU grade one list from 1972-1988. He was a widely respected official without ever reaching the international panel.
As well as a passion for rugby, he was also a very good bowls player who won a number of local tournaments. He was also on the county and national committees of the Urdd.
His refereeing career saw him travel far and wide to control games. He went to the Hong Kong Sevens in 1984, took charge of the All Blacks in 1978 in their game against the Combined Services at Aldershot and refereed a number of international touring teams across the UK.
He threatened to quit in 1984, but finally hung up his whistle in 1988 at the age of 47 one game into what he had decided was going to be his final season. In between, he famously sent off Rob Lakin and Wayne Hall in a fiery Cardiff v Bridgend game at the Arms Park in 1987.
Having worked for more than 26 years for British Rail, he took over from Ken Jones as secretary of Llanelli RFC in 1993. He filled that post for a stormy five years at the club as the game went ‘open’.
The year before he took over as secretary he had acted as the team administrator for the Llanelli U21. He survived a challenge to his role as secretary in the summer of 1996.
After leaving Llanelli he became youth team manager for Crawshays Welsh, taking them on tours to Portugal and South Africa, and in 2012 became involved in managing the Ospreys Development XV. In 2013, he became team manager at Neath.
The WRU sends sincere condolences to the family and friends of Ken.Â
