Alun Granfield: A Tribute by Guto Davies

This winter has been a hard one in taking away a number of those held dear amongst the extended family of Pontypridd RFC, the latest being club historian Dr Alun Granfield. It was a cruel double blow that Alun passed away only days after the funeral of playing legend Graham Gittins, two of the same generation who contributed so much in their differing ways to the club they both cherished, and utterly ironic that Alun’s last duty as the chronicler of past times, was to pen his own words of tribute to Graham.

I first had the privilege of working with Alun when I began volunteering for Ponty RFC back in the 1980s, both of us contributing to the network of sub-committees that served the club under the all-seeing eye of Cenydd Thomas. It was evident then, as it has been ever since, that Alun was one of a special breed, an intellectual who, if his head was in the clouds, always had his feet planted firmly on the ground and who dealt so efficiently with the facts and figures that we all relied upon.

Over many decades, Alun was a core member of the club’s media team. When vital statistics were needed – the profiles of past players, the totals of appearances made, the results of past encounters with other clubs – an enquiring phone call or e-mail would be dutifully answered in good time more often than not with additional information over and above what was originally asked for. And always courteously and in good humour, which reflected the kind of man that Alun Granfield was.

Alun’s crowning glory in his work for the club, and one that will stand the test of time as a tribute to him, was the publication in 2007 of his book ‘In Black And White – Pontypridd RFC 1876-2003’. This was a volume of over 200 pages packed with information, images, facts, figures and opinions, that presented to the world the history of a great rugby club and was a labour of love for its author.

Having been burdened with the often onerous and thankless task of being the statistician and chronicler of Ponty Rugby, Alun was above all a stalwart supporter, following the team home and away, enjoying the games which he also recorded for posterity. As one who valued the company he kept, he was one of the ‘Sunday Club’ who met informally at Sardis Road to put the world to rights the day after the game over a dinner time pint or two.

Alun Granfield lived, breathed and counted up the numbers for Pontypridd RFC. He will now take his rightful place in the history pages that he helped write, the gentleman custodian of our collective memory. His loss will be deeply felt, his talents will be irreplaceable.

Guto Davies – Media Team

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