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GEOFF BECKINGHAM

CARDIFF & WALES

 

They talk about it in Llanelli all the time, sometimes they talk about it in Newport. In Neath they talk about how it nearly happened and in Swansea they've forgotten all about it. The subject of course is the day 'the home team beat the New Zealand All Blacks' and in Cardiff they've almost forgotten about it but not quite yet. The memory lives on in some of those who are old enough to still remember that day and some of us who born later but were privileged to attend the legendary re-unions of that 1953 team, myself included............. 

Geoffrey Thomas Beckingham was the hooker and one of the great unsung heroes of that day in 1953, the day that Cardiff beat the New Zealand All Blacks. He was held in great regard by all of his team-mates and provided the quick scrum heels that allowed the backs to create the two tries. Quite remarkably, he stole the opposition put-ins at the unforgettable final set-pieces. All the match reports of the time also note the contributions made by the hooker and his two props in loose play throughout the game. 

He had won his first two Welsh international caps on merit earlier in 1953 (against England and Scotland) but was not to win his third and final selection for the national team until the very end of career, in 1958 when he was an eleventh-hour replacement for Bryn Meredith against France. Wales' loss was Cardiff's gain as he played against all three touring teams from the Southern Hemisphere and a total of 331 games for the capital club, joining his fellow front-rower JD Evans in the top ten of individual appearances in blue and black. 

After his playing days he coached both Barry College and Penarth with notable success. A proud son of Barry, he was a municipal gardener throughout his working life. He put his fitness down to the fact there was only one lawn mower for all the town's parks so he was pushing it for 15 hours a day in the height of summer. 

Geoff was a great character and one of his idiosyncrasies was that he wouldn't be seen wearing a tie. Such was the legend of his tie less persona was the total absence of any ties at his funeral. 

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Biography adapted by Dai Richards from Alan Evans "Taming the Tourists".......

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Sadly missed by his family we pay homage to the life and rugby career of Geoff Beckingham through his memorabilia..................  

  

photos

01.jpg (583580 bytes) BLACK & WHITE ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPH - An original black and white photograph of a   
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23.jpg (136263 bytes) A hardcover exercise book measuring 10" x 7.5" with lined pages turned into a scrapbook. The book is titled Cardiff RFC and extensively populated with newspaper clippings and memorabilia from the career of Geoff Beckingham. There are circa 100 pages which includes mainly clippings and a limited amount of memorabilia.  
45.jpg (496872 bytes) 2 selection cards from 1952, Cardiff v Athlelic XV & v Cardiff District with a match report from this match  
44.jpg (585829 bytes) Cardiff v Neath 1952 selection telegram (match report on next page) with a Cardiff v District match report  
43.jpg (290571 bytes) 42.jpg (673387 bytes) Penarth v International XV 1 Sep 1952 match programme  
40.jpg (707683 bytes) Newport v Cardiff match report & Sid Judd winning line-out photo  
39.jpg (493252 bytes) Mountain Ash v Cardiff programme & match report  
38.jpg (742822 bytes) Cardiff front row & Sid Judd for Wales after showing at Llanelli  
37.jpg (1848321 bytes) Geoff wins his first cap against England in 1953  
36.jpg (1333885 bytes) 'Beck' against England during his first international  
35.jpg (1332991 bytes) Scotland v Wales 1953  
34.jpg (734633 bytes) Cardiff v NZ 1953 newspaper photos  
33.jpg (905045 bytes) Praise for Geoff  
21.jpg (195508 bytes) Cardiff v Pontypool fold out match reports, there are many fold out match reports included.  
22.jpg (191442 bytes) Cardiff v NZ All Blacks 1953 victory fold out match reports  
26.jpg (132673 bytes) Cardiff v South African Universities  

 

24.jpg (128111 bytes) 32.jpg (342197 bytes) A hardcover foolscap exercise book measuring 12.5" x 8" with lined paper covering the early and late periods of Geoff's career. The book includes clippings from Barry RFC matches, letters from Barry RFC, Cardiff RFC, a printed itinerary for matches against Coventry and Northampton, many clippings of Cardiff matche reports and news items plus Geoff's final appearance for Wales against France in 1958.  
31.jpg (973104 bytes) Geoff hits the headlines  
30.jpg (714019 bytes) Re-union of the 1953 All Black conquers and 'Beck' wears a tie  
29.jpg (919842 bytes) Geoff in line for a cap.   
28.jpg (1035363 bytes) Geoff to coach Penarth  
25.jpg (244228 bytes) The scrapbook includes some loose full page clippings  
19.jpg (188481 bytes) Geoff wins a cap despite his refusal to wear a tie.  

 

 

 

 

 

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