Smiley Neil Meets Peter Hall

By Neil Davey
November 17 2009

Peter Hall was a back-row forward for Bath in the 1950s and later returned to the club as a committee man, including a stint as President. He married the daughter of a former Bath captain and one of their sons played for, captained and coached the club.

Whilst son John Hall may be more famous to newer fans, both Peter and Molly Hall will be best known to many for organising the coaches to away games, finals and so on. Peter also researched the history of Bath rugby club from 1865 to 1965, “Before the Lemons”.

My association with Bath was through National Service, where I was stationed at RAF Box. Initially we were a very successful RAF team and won the Small Station's Championship in the year when I was there. I played for Chippenham for a very short while and was then tempted down to the Bath club along with another colleague, Bob Little. I was lucky enough to be selected upon arrival, the only problem was that I hadn't asked permission from my Chippenham club and was promptly banned for one week.

Having said that I remember great days with Bath for the short time that I was with them, which was from March 1952 to March 1953, in back row with Internationals Alec Lewis and John Kendall-Carpenter.(during which Peter played 33 times for the club). I returned to my home town of Cardiff upon demob and played briefly for Bridgend and Penarth and was vice-captain of Cardiff High School Old Boys. There was a career move a few years later because I continued to court Molly Vowles, as she was then, the daughter of former Bath rugby captain Harry Vowles. The family had three daughters and all three were pursued by rugby players. So I took the earliest opportunity to get a transfer to a bank in Bristol and played junior rugby for Old Edwardians for a number of years.

As I became too old for active, young-man's rugby, I started to be associated with Bath on the committee side. Initially helping with my wife on the social committee, where we ran the coaches to Twickenham and were involved with all the successful years and progressed up through various committee posts.

Also in association with our son, John Hall. Initially we were not permitted by John to watch him play in his early first XV games as he was too nervous but we gradually overcame this bar and became firmly involved and cemented in everything that was going on at the Bath club. The cherished memories were of the successful years where we were in Cup Finals and the winning of so many league games. Progression through committee found myself eventually employed as admin officer for the club, which continued one year into the professional era and upon aged 65 I decided to call it a day. However, I was then encouraged into membership of the Bath Football Club Trustees and served on this for a number of years, progressing on this to become President of the club. The final great honour, as far as I was concerned, when I was made a Life-Member.

I have continued as an enthusiastic supporter of the club into the professional era.

- How did you first get into playing rugby?

I played for Cardiff High School and was reserve for Welsh Secondary Schools on three occasions. The best one was a trip to France, I didn't get a game for Wales:  it was in the time of Cliff Morgan and I was in very good company. From Cardiff I awaited call-up for National Service which led me into the connection with Bath and that's how it all started.

- Molly is very fondly remembered by Bath fans, so many people have lovely memories of her, trips on the coaches and champagne in the car-park.

The nicest part was going away on the coaches, which is so admirably perpetuated by the current people who run the coaching, God bless them that they should keep on doing so. The best rugby trip away was with the team (Assistant baggage man!) to Treviso, which was in 1992 and included a lovely afternoon's boat trip to Venice. We didn't get any further than the Rialto bridge because the four non-playing members found the nearest pub at a reasonable price and we spent the afternoon there, until it was time to go back to the ferry.

Somewhere along the way, if I remember rightly, a former captain, John Roberts, asked me for a list of former captains. I started to put a list together plus the playing results up to that date and one thing led to another, and for my sins, I found myself attending upon the public library and Bath Chronicle in pursuit of a definitive history of the club. In this I was assisted by Colin Gale, a former regional director of National Provincial Bank and the complete record was at the disposal of Kevin Coughlan, the journalist. All three of us moved forward to the eventual publication of the first volume of the club history, covering foundation in 1865 through to 1965. (Before the Lemons - publ 2003). It is my fervent hope that the second volume, which will take in the end of the amateur era,  will eventually be produced.

Another highlight that comes to mind, was the fixture against Wigan Rugby League club, which was something completely outside of my experience. The two games, in 1996, at Manchester City's ground and Twickenham. I remember sitting in the front seat of the upper stand. There were RFU committee men and Micky Skinner, the England wing-forward, very close on my right and the Bath committee and friends up behind me. Never previously experienced was the firework display which preceded the arrival of the players and we all looked around at one another and thought, "this is a new experience", which it was. I shall never forget that, though they absolutely trounced us at Rugby League, when Callard got over for his single try the RFU folk erupted into the air, Skinner jumped up into the air and it was, "At least we've shown them that we can score a try".

The converse of that was the revenge at Twickenham. When I say 'revenge' it was played in a very good spirit. I particularly remember the Rugby League guys buckling in the front row against the onslaught of Ubogu, Chilcott, etc. Ubogu in particular was taking time to explain to his opposite number how to pack down and how to cope with the pressure as it came through. I also remember at full time Colin Welland, the well known actor and rugby league fan, saying, "Thus ends a hundred years of nonsense". Which I was inclined to agree with, though I respect what happened a hundred years ago with all the split payments, etc.

- I remember listening on the radio and celebrating when Callard scored.

I wrote a piece about the Manchester game which summed up the spirit of the thing, "Not so close encounters of the league kind - We turned up and enjoyed". That was my story of the game.

- None of our players had played Rugby League, half of theirs had played Rugby Union. The scores were irrelevant, though fair.

A massive score against us, 82 points to 6.

- Your own history with Bath is very interesting. You played 33 games for Bath, a past president, you're written a book, your son has played for Bath...

It's what happened after I played (that's interesting). Though it's all been chronicled many times before, in the Bath Chronicle "Like father, like son" and so on.

Through further discussions it's clear is that all of Peter's children are equal in his sight, he is equally proud of his daughter and three sons and their achievements in life.

I can thoroughly recommend Peter's book to anyone wishing to learn more about the history of Bath rugby club. "Before the Lemons - A History of Bath Football Club RFU, 1865 - 1965", written by Kevin Coughlan, Peter Hall and Colin Gale, published in 2003 and available from various sources. I await the next instalment, which Peter hopes will be published in the near future, though no time scale is set for this.

Thanks to Peter for giving up an evening to chat with me not only about his own history with the club but also that of many others. Peter's office is an Aladdin's Cave of photographs, histories, biographies and statistics of Bath rugby club over the years and it was a privilege to spend time with him there.