PATRICK Ernest Clark, ‘Nobby’ to all who knew him, was born in Bristol in March 1944, the eldest child of Ernest and Dorothy Clark (née Watkins). The family home was No. 34 Hogarth Walk, Lockleaze that he shared with brothers David, Robert, Colin and sister Janet.

Attending Romney Avenue Junior School, from an early age Nobby was actively involved in sport. At Lockleaze Secondary School he was selected for the school cricket, football and athletics teams, being a member of the successful athletics relay line-up. He joined the local 50th (Shaftesbury) Life Boys’ and then Boys’ Brigade based in Landseer Avenue, playing for the Company at football and participating in the PT (Physical Training) the Boys’ Brigade organised. A keen all-round athlete, one year Nobby finished in second place in the annual Bristol Battalion Boys’ Brigade Cross Country race, with Dennis Sanigar, another Hogarth Walk lad, finishing third.

Nobby enjoyed going away on annual camp with the Boys’ Brigade, although one activity he did not relish was having to peel spuds for the occupants of a line of tents, each tent occupied by 10 boys, an activity the various Companies carried out on a rota basis.

In the 1963-64 season Nobby was a member of the Lockleaze Community Association football team playing their first season in the Church of England League. A pre-season friendly for the CA saw a 4-3 victory over Cadbury Heath with Nobby scoring two of the goals. He played for the club for a number of seasons afterwards.

Nobby also showed his sporting prowess in the gymnasium, playing for the Wheatsheaf basketball team in the late 1960s, an ‘out of school’ team made up of lads who attended Lockleaze School. The team enjoyed excellent success in the West of England basketball league for a number of years. He also played for Lockleaze School basketball team. For a short period he took up boxing, training at the Empire Boxing Club in Bristol.

Nobby left Lockleaze School in April 1959 and in the next rugby season made 5 appearances for Dings Crusaders Juniors. Perhaps because of his other sporting commitments it wasn’t until 1966 that Nobby returned to the royal blue and blacks to begin his illustrious career in senior rugby.

His introduction to rugby came about when Lockleaze CA football matches were cancelled and Tom White, who had got wind of the fact, approached Nobby and others, including Nobby’s life-time pal Wally Woolford, to ask, “Why don’t you come and play a man’s game.”

In the 1966-67 season Nobby went straight into the First XV making 28 appearances that season. A first team regular for the next 12 seasons, Nobby was a member of the respective Dings teams that won the Keynsham Sevens tournament in 1968, were beaten finalists in the Gloucestershire County Final of 1973, and were Bristol Combination Cup winners in 1973-74. Renowned for his hard but fair tackling, in season 1970-71 he was the recipient of the H.W. Rudge Cup, awarded annually to the most outstanding senior player for sportsmanship.

He was an honest sportsman, always gracious to the opposition, without letting that detract from the effort he put in. Nobby was ideal to have at full back, as he could catch the ball and survey the field of play in front of him and then 'run through' would be tacklers. One opponent who experienced Nobby’s competitiveness was the individual who referred to him as an ‘Old Man’, that was until he was on the receiving end of one of Nobby’s tackles and the young upstart was carried from the pitch. With particularly troublesome opponents Nobby could frequently be heard saying, “Leave ‘em to I”. He was also able to kick a ball further than most in the Bristol Combination, and he would be called upon to take the Long Kicks at goal.

In a Dings playing career that ended in 2000, having played 28 seasons for the club, making 505 appearances (291 First XV) and scoring 516 points, Nobby was made an Honorary Life Member of Dings Crusaders in 2006. He was awarded his Club Cap in 1989.

Having retired from playing, Nobby’s association with the club did not cease as he remained closely involved with his beloved Dings, serving on the committee in the 1990s. Even as his health began to deteriorate latterly he still regularly attended Dings’ home matches, greeting old and new friends alike with that happy smiling face of his.

A builder all his working life, several members of Dings, have him to thank for extensions built to their houses.