A Potted Society History
Our Society came into existence in April 1882 as the Gloucester County Football Union Society of Referees. The Society’s name has changed slightly over the years culminating in our present title: The Gloucester and District Referees Society Ltd. This latest change recognising our status as a Limited Company established in late 2016.
Rugby clubs had been forming in the County as early as 1872 with Painswick RFC leading the way in the north of the County that year. In 1878 the Gloucestershire Rugby Football Union was formed administering the game for clubs such as Gloucester, Stroud and Cheltenham White Cross in the north of the county and Clifton RFC in the van in the south forming in the same year as Painswick. Bristol RFC came along in 1888.
Refereeing in the early years was done on an ad hoc basis but the need for qualified officials was soon recognised. The Society Committee met for the first time in 1882 under the title Gloucester North in The Ram Hotel Gloucester (later the New County Hotel). The Committee spent a great amount of time, initially at least, dealing with disciplinary cases and disputes between clubs. Plus ca change I hear you say, but I think it is fair to say discipline has improved vastly, even in the last twenty or so years, but I still wonder if the real ‘Wild West’ took place on some of the famous club grounds in our County.
Just over one hundred appointments were made in the Society’s first season with eight games a week a good total. Two decades later at the turn of the twentieth century the number of appointments had climbed substantially to almost 800 a season. The First World War not surprisingly called a halt to our growth but by the mid 1920s well over a thousand games a season were being covered
The County Badge examination dates back to the early 1890s. Initially members would be watched for a minimum of two games before being allowed to sew the coveted badge on their shirts. The practice now is to sit a written test but the same level of on-field scrutiny is applied to ensure standards are maintained.
The popular Whistler Trophy was introduced in 1981 by a former member Nick Jones whose other claim to fame was refereeing the Combined Services versus the All Blacks in 1981. The Trophy is still as keenly contested as it was in the early years and Clubs’ treatment of referees has improved greatly as a result of this innovation which has been widely copied by other Societies around the country.
The Gloucestershire Association (now the Federation) of Rugby Union Referees was formed in 2001 and since then has done a great deal to bring the Gloucester and Bristol Societies closer together. The last few years of the Federation have been particularly successful in providing a clear pathway for referee progression from Society to the Federation Squad and onward to the South West Group (Level 5). Regular high quality training and coaching is given to aspiring referees from both Societies who meet regularly in venues in the north and south of the County. A steady stream of referees progress to Group level each year.
On the subject of referee progression it is worth mentioning that our first member to become an international referee was Chris White who is still very active with the Society today. He was one of the first professional referees appearing in his first World Cup in 1999. Then there is Wayne Barnes of course who just happened to be named Professional Referee of the Year after the World Cup in 2019. There are many others who have climbed the ladder to a decent level and more still doing so but just as importantly there are the Society referees many of whom cover 30 to 40 games year in year out at all levels for all ages and have done so for many years. Our Society relies on these men and women and will continue to do so as we go from strength to strength to meet the many challenges but at the same time enjoy being a central part of our game.
Yours in Rugby
Jon Chatfield
Company Secretary
With thanks for contributions to Les Newcombe and Colin Reeves
