More sad news of a club stalwart passing away. Peter Wilson died suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday 19th January, having felt unwell at a game of his later passion, bowls. He was the oldest of 4 brothers, 3 of whom played with distinction for 'Shaw (Martin"Rusty and Mark) He played for the club from approximately the mid 1970s until the late 1990s and captained the second and third XVs for several seasons. He started playing at school and was in Phil Francis coached 5th year team which only lost once (and we were robbed). A few years later he rocked up at the club and made it a second home. He leaves his wife Elaine and three adult children and two grandchildren, his brother's and his sister Angela, also his dad, who is a good friend of the club. Peter was not a particularly big lad, he was wiry and nippy, and at a time when being a utility player was rare, he appeared on the centre, on the wing, in the back row. But mainly he was a hooker, where his close quarter skills and effort were ably deployed. He played some first XV games with both his brothers, to all of their pride. He gave 100% wherever he was selected and never threw out his dummy if he slipped down the teams, he played with exactly the same intensity. He brought on newer players, and never gave any of his own team a hard time for errors. After the matches he was affability itself, his distinctive laugh and comments often at his own expense will be much missed at the bar. He was an enthusiastic presence on several tours.
Rugby was not his only sporting home; he played cricket for Oldershaw then Wallasey CC in the Liverpool competition. He played water polo for Wallasey. His later passion was crown green bowls, and he was always trying to recruit retired club players to the Magazines team. He also went fishing. In his time off from sport, he worked in the print trade, retiring in 2019. A life too short but well lived.
My friend, ex -Wallasey ( it is possible) said of him and his team
"He was captain of the 3rd team when I had my 'grudge match' against him after a row in The Guinea - I put all kinds of ringers in - we still got battered ..." I'm sure Pete would be smiling at that.