With much sadness the Club writes to announce the passing of Roger Cradick on 13th October 2026 at the age of 95. Roger was one of very few honorary Vice Presidents of the Club. An honour bestowed upon him after his tireless service to both the Rugby Club and the Social Club over many, many years.
Roger played rugby for the Club in the late 1950s and early 1960s at a time before we settled at our home at Cwrt-y-vil. In fact, he was a driving force in the establishment of the clubhouse at St Marks Road in his discussions with the then Penarth Town Council as the Club solicitor.
Roger may have only played a few games for the 1st XV but he captained the Club 2nd XV in seasons 1957/58 and 1958/59 before going on to marshal the troops in the 3rd XV for four seasons between 1959 and 1963. He then ‘retired upstairs’ to an easier administrative role as Chairman for four years between 1963/64 and 1968/69. Thereafter he became an integral part of the social fabric of the club serving for many years on the Social Club Committee overseeing the volunteer bar staff and organising social events.
Away from the rugby field Roger was a solicitor, a mentor to young apprentice solicitors and a Deputy Registrar as part of the civil judiciary. He also took his authoritative skills back on to the pitch as a referee for Cardiff & District RU where he was known for very loud blasts on his whistle from the centre of the field as the action took place around him. He even refereed his son, Simon, on a few occasions and whenever he got the ball Roger would blow for a forward pass to avoid any suggestion of bias.
When he retired from work and club administrative duties he was still an active supporter of the teams on a Saturday sharing a beer (or two) with fellow ‘old stagers’. He also attended the club on Mondays and Thursdays playing pool with Les Horton, Dave Weber, John Webster and Mike Youde and there were cribbage sessions with John Ratcliffe, Mike Youde and Max Kipling, when on many occasions the winners would go home with a hefty profit of 8p.
Roger managed to outlive all these other legendary figures in the history of Old Penarthains but his and their legacies live on with those still proud to follow in their footsteps.
Roger’s funeral will be held at the Cardiff and Vale Crematorium on Port Road, Barry at 12noon on Friday 13th November with a celebration of his life being held afterwards at the Old Penarthians clubhouse.
The Club’s thoughts and condolences are offered to all of Roger’s family and friends at this sad time.