Winscombe Rugby Club’s longest serving Vice President and oldest life member Peter Garrett has died at the age of 97.

Peter, who was also a Vice President of Somerset County Cricket Club, was involved at Winscombe right from the start in 1962.

“He was one of the group of people that actually set up the complex that’s down there now, they formed a committee, they got together and worked on it and they made it happen,” his son Jeremy told the Weston Mercury.

“He loved the sport but he also loved the fact it was community-based.

“For him it was a regular part of his life, going down visiting the club, watching the matches.

“He was very much a supporter, very much at the heart of the community and he was very much a community man.

“He believed in village life and Winscombe Rugby Club was very much a symbol of that.

“He did really get involved and the fact it’s there now is due to this small group of people at the beginning.

“It’s been a thread running through his life as part of a local village, which was very important to him.”

Peter was born in 1923 and signed up for the Second World War at the age of 17.

He would fight on D Day, was part of a team which opened Changi Prison in Singapore, dropped off commandos from a minesweeper which destroyed the heavy water installation, which would be where they would have made the Atomic bomb and rose through the ranks to become a second lieutenant with the Atlantic Convoys.

Weston Mercury: Peter Garrett in Weston Church to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied forces’ victory over Japan (VJ Day).Peter Garrett in Weston Church to mark the 70th anniversary of the Allied forces’ victory over Japan (VJ Day). (Image: Archant)

He shared his experiences with the Weston Mercury in 2015 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Allied forces victory over Japan (VJ Day).

“He’s one of many unsung heroes who really made a difference,” added Jeremy of a grandfather and great-grandfather.

“He was a remarkable chap. His contribution not only to the village but to the nation was huge.”

After the war Peter held many roles, including being a farmer, parish councillor and estate agent and went onto play for both Winscombe and Uphill Castle Cricket Clubs.

But it was at Winscombe Rugby Club where he made his greatest impact.

A well-known story saw club treasurer Jack Thomas, and local Lloyds Bank manager, phone him to say he had deducted £25 out of his account to pay for the club's first set of shirts.

He would also throw Christmas Eve parties at his house, which would sometimes last into the early hours of Christmas Day.

And up until 2019, he had attended every club dinner and still managed to get out to watch at least one home game a season.

His legacy with the club was assured when he was handed a life member's cap just before his death to remember all the work he did in the last 59 years.

“He was a genuine, community-based guy, who loved the land and this part of the world, highly,” said Jeremy.

“He called it the Garden of Eden, corning down from the Mendips into Shipham, Winscombe. He really loved this part of the world.

“He felt it was like his place. He was an exceptional bloke.”