Anglers from throughout north east Shropshropshire have paid their own special tribute to a Drayton man who was a legend in their midst.
Richard Ward died in March aged just 41 – but there were few in the region’s angling community who did not know him.
So many wanted to enter a memorial tournament for him that only a third of their number could be accommodated at the Tern Valley Fishery he helped create in a picturesque wooded valley on the outskirts of Market Drayton.
“It was a wonderful tribute to Richard,” said brother Jason, one of those to compete at the fishery now named Richard’s Pool.
“We all knew he was popular and well known throughout the area – but nothing like this. People came from all over to pay tribute to him.”
Richard’s short life was a fairy-tale story. Telford born, he won early fishing fame as a youngster, competing nationally for the Shropshire team.
He began work at Tern Valley aged 15, becoming a skilled countryman and water bailiff, living for over a dozen years in a caravan beside three pools set in the superbly secluded valley teeming with wildlife. When he married, he and wife Jill lived there for several years.
“It was an idyllic setting and an idyllic time of my life,” she recalls.
Richard’s reputation as a fisheries manager also rocketed for, apart from being able to turn his hand to anything in a practical sense, he also spent a year obtaining a degree in his craft at a Scottish University.
The arrival of youngsters Charlie and Harry brought a tearful move from the valley to a more conventional home in Hodnet but the pools remaind at the centre of the Ward family’s lifestyle.
Then, one night in March, Richard died in his sleep.
“To this day, no-one really knows why,” said brother Jason. “Apparantly it just happens to a very tiny number of adults every year throughout the country, a bit like cot death, totally unexplained and unexpected”.
Richard’s sudden death, while a huge shock, triggered a move among his wide circle of friends to create a lasting tribute to his life.
Led by Newport’s Dave Watkins, they decided to launch the Richard Ward Memorial Tournament – and almost 200 entered for Sunday’s opening event.
“Everyone wanted to support the event but we had to turn away two thirds of the applications because there simply was not enough room for them all to fish,” said Dave.
Terry Rogers of the Hodnet Match Group won the match with a weight of 39lb 15oz followed by Geoff Hope of Telford with 37.13 and John Batha of Ellesmers with 36.
“It was a beautiful day,” said Jill, who presented prizes afterwards. “Richard would have loved it.”
Richard’s parents, Jennifer and Mike Ward were there, together with the wider family and all paid tribute to the support they had received from the local angling fraternity.
“People have been wonderfully kind and considerate in so many ways,” said dad Mike.
The tournament will now become an annual event – which itself adds a sad footnote to the story, for it will almost certainly have to be moved from the valley.
“There’s already so much interest in next year that we simply won’t have the room to stage it here again,” said Dave.
By Terry Morris
