The news that the North Gloucestershire Combination’s end-of-season Junior Cup competition will now carry the name Martin Slatter has been welcomed by everyone connected with rugby in the area.

Slatter, a hooker back in the day with Old Centralians, has devoted 50 years of his life to the North Gloucestershire Combination, serving as president, chairman and secretary.

The announcement was made at Coney Hill when the draws for this season’s three cup competitions were made.

Slatter, who was at Coney Hill, was unaware of the impending announcement and he admits it was just the lift he needed after the death of his brother Stuart, who passed away at the start of the year at the age of 68.

“He died on New Year’s Day,” said Martin. “We knew it was coming because he had been ill for a while but it was still very hard to take, it was still a shock.

“He was my younger brother and I’m still grieving now. I don’t think I will ever get over it but having the cup named after me turned me round a bit. It came out of the blue, it was a nice thing.”

Stuart Slatter, who was five years younger than Martin, moved to Murcia in south-east Spain with his wife Barbara four years ago.

Like his brother he was a very decent rugby player and they played together for a long time at Old Centralians. And like his brother, Stuart was also a former president of the North Gloucestershire Combination.

“The funeral was in Spain and we then held a memorial service at St Barnabas Church in Tuffley a couple of Fridays ago,” said Martin.

“The Rev Sarah Todd is the daughter of Eddie Wakefield who was a famous Tredworth player and she helped to make it a memorable service.

“The church was packed. Stuart was a firefighter for 34 years – that was his calling in life. There were two fire engines at the service and there must have been 40-odd serving firefighters.”

And while Stuart was understandably very proud of the many years he worked for Gloucester Fire and Rescue, he was also very proud of the 30-odd years he played rugby for Old Centralians.

“He propped me many times,” recalled Martin. “He was a good, solid, technical prop; we always had pretty good front rows.

“He would have been 18 or 19 when he started playing for the club.”

He also had the odd game for Old Richians and Martin said: “Everybody knew Stuart and he knew everyone.

“It was wild walking down the street with him because he knew so many people. I’d say he was better known than me.”

His sons James and Ben also played rugby, with both playing at Old Richians where  mum Barbara was a steward.

“Ben captained the Royal Navy and also played quite a bit for Lydney and Coney Hill before finishing at Old Cents,” said Martin.

Stuart, meanwhile, served on the Old Cents committee and was also on the sports centre committee.

“He was a very good administrator,” said Martin. “He was one of those people who didn’t say too much but when he spoke he was worth listening to.”