Peter Morgan was one of the last true Old Moseleians to play for the club before its demise in 1996, mostly as a hooker. He found his true calling as a referee. Starting at 29 years old he served the North Midlands Referees' Society for 27 years and, in addition to officiating, took on the thankless task of appointing too few available referees to an excess of Sunday junior fixtures with a humour and good nature that I, as his successor in the role, found impossible to emulate. He coached and advised "baby refs" too and was good at it: offering sensible and pragmatic advice.

A keen student of the game, he was also close to his family's Welsh roots and found time last year to sit and pass the WRU referee's exam to add to his RFU qualification. Pete was frustratingly good at his "prediction game" a Friday night entertainment whereby he asked friends to predict results from the National level leagues down into the lowest Midlands levels. We could hold our own against him with those but Pete's "ace in the hole" was to require predictions for obscure welsh games:You try determining who will win out of Ynysbwyl and Bedlinog in Welsh Division 1 East especially after a few beers!

Peter took his further education qualifications in Newport and most recently spent his time in a support role looking after severely disabled children in Selly Oak. He was fond of "his kids" and only last week showed off a "get well soon" card they had made for him. A year or two ago he bought an Morgan open top and proudly arranged for a couple of his mates to go for a spin in it: my two laps of the local streets in a twitchy sports car in pouring rain will live with me forever. His bravery is undoubted: he fought cancer for 5 years and modestly referred to his "century" of chemotherapy sessions.

Peter was the quintessential "grass roots" rugby man: as a referee he was bearded, tubby and 5 foot tall: "piston legs" is the most common phrase that has appeared on social media today. He accepted his level but gave rugby his all and then more besides. His humour, love for the game and total commitment will be hugely missed.

It would have been his 57th birthday on Sunday. He is survived by his father and brother {more? his mum died a couple of years ago}, his funeral will take place at Robin Hood Crematorium and then Edwardian RFC on {don't know yet}.