Mr J E George

Begelly

FAMILY and friends over a wide area, including those in Pembrokeshire sporting circles, were saddened to learn of the death of Mr John Edward (Ted) George.

Mr George, of Hazeley, New Road, Begelly, passed away on March 22 at Withybush Hospital, with his daughters at his side. He was 88.

He was a well-known and popular figure at the heart of his community and will be remembered with affection and respect for his time as manager of the Begelly Arms and the Crossroads Motel and his lifetime association with football and cricket in Pembrokeshire - in particular, his beloved Kilgetty Cricket Club, where he was chairman for a number of years.

Ted George was born on November 17, 1931 in St Issell’s Vicarage in Saundersfoot, where his father was chauffeur and gardener to the Rev Owen Jones.

After leaving Begelly school at the age of 14, he began his working life as an errand boy with Tenby grocer and baker H.B. Stote in Upper Frog Street.

He was called up for National Service in 1949, serving as an air traffic controller at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire.

Returning to Pembrokeshire, he returned to the grocery trade, cycling daily to work in the Borough Stores in Pembroke Dock.

Playing football every Saturday for Kilgetty, his soccer talents were soon spotted by the Pembroke Boro’ club.

They offered him two pounds and ten shillings (£2.50) to join the team, on the condition that he went to work at Hancock’s shipyard in Pembroke Dock, whose owner was president of the club.

After four memorable seasons at the Boro’, Ted decided to return to his home ground at Kilgetty, and joined the staff of Kilgetty Co-op, where he became the driver of the store’s mobile shop.

Away from the Co-op, he was a member of a successful skiffle group that performed around Pembrokeshire, and also enjoyed doing part-time bar work.

When a full-time opportunity came up at the Begelly Arms, he embarked on a successful career change after 15 years in the retail trade.

With his wife Audrey at his side, he took on the challenge of running the busy venue’s four bars, 125-seater restaurant and 16 chalets on the complex throughout the glory days of the hospitality trade in Pembrokeshire.

After the venue was sold in 1984, he and Audrey joined the staff of Meadow House Caravan Park in Amroth, and then latterly worked on the catering side of Oakwood Theme Park, where he also drove the train at the attraction’s Nutty Jake’s Gold Mine.

Sport continued to play a major part in Ted’s life, and his footballing skills were legendary, with his record for scoring 14 goals in one game for Kilgetty in 1960 being unsurpassed to this day.

A bad leg break in 1962 saw him making the switch to refereeing, and in the following ten years, he was fortunate enough to take charge of all the Pembrokeshire League finals.

He also found time for his other favourite sport of cricket, playing regularly for Kilgetty until the late 1980s, stepping up to the wicket for the final time at the age of 77.

As club chairman, he was privileged to be at the helm when the team won the Harrison-Allen Bowl three times in the 1990s.

Retirement saw Ted and Audrey continue fundraising for local charities and they became closely involved with St Mary’s Church, Begelly, where he was churchwarden and latterly verger. He was also chairman of the Kilgetty Golden Age club.

The couple celebrated their golden wedding in 2012, but Ted suffered a sad loss when Audrey died in July 2017.

He continued to be active in the community until his health deteriorated at the end of last year.

Reflecting on his eight decades as he wrote the story of his life, Ted said: “I can honestly say that I would not have changed a thing.”

Ted leaves his daughters and sons-in-law, Karyn and John Merriman and Louise and Layton Waters, grandsons Christopher and Simon Merriman and Aled and Jac Waters and granddaughter Georgie Waters.

His funeral took place at St Mary’s Church, Begelly on April 2, where the Rev Martin Cox officiated.

The bearers were Layton Waters, John Merriman, Christopher Merriman and Aled Waters. A memorial service will take place on a date to be arranged.

Donations in memory of Ted may be made for the Paul Sartori Foundation and St Mary’s Church, Begelly, c/o the funeral directors, E.C. Thomas and Sons, Zoar Chapel Funeral Home, Llanteg, Narberth SA67 8QH.