‘A kind and gifted man; tough and competitive’
POIGNANT tributes were paid to former Welsh Office Minister Rod Richards by his two sons at a memorial service in Llandaff Cathedral.
Mr Richards,72, who was also the first leader of the Welsh Conservatives at the National Assembly, died earlier this month after battling cancer for eight years.
Before entering politics as MP for Clwyd North West he was a wellknown newsreader on S4C and BBC.
His son Trystan told family and friends: “Like any schoolboy growing up in Llanelli, Rod developed a passion for rugby.
“A regular at Stradey Park and then Parc y Scarlets until the last few months of his life. He was there when Llanelli beat the All Blacks at Stradey Park in 1972.
“Rhodri [Trystan’s brother] once helped him set up an email account, and asked him for a password. ‘Easy,’ he said. ‘311072’.
“That’s the day Llanelli beat the All Blacks.
“Unfortunately, as we all know, passwords have to be at least eight characters long. ‘93’, said Rod. That was the score.
“Rod was briefly in the Royal Marines, an experience that shaped much of his attitude to life: service to his country, commitment to his friends, pushing his limits to overcome hardship and insisting on the highest standards.
“To Rod, his friends in the Marines were exceptional: they were daring, they were funny, and they always found a way to get one over on their instructors.
“We grew up with the stories of their fellowship and the dark humour that goes with all military units.
“Our family grew up cracking jokes and one-liners, and the ability to laugh at oneself being an essential tool in the Richards family survival kit.”
Referring to his father’s role as a newsreader, Trystan Richards said: “As a child, staying up every night to watch my hero on the screen and then see him burst through the door 30 minutes later was like magic.
“Dad was my hero: he could do no wrong. He once climbed into a rhino enclosure at Dublin Zoo to rescue a shoe that I’d thrown in there.”
For some years, Rod Richards ran a pub in Ystradgynlais. On one occasion when he opened a slot machine to remove the takings, Trystan asked him whose was the treasure.
“Mine”, said Rod. “The only person that wins on these things, my boy, is the guy who owns them.”
Trystan Richards said: “That soon put me off gambling.”
Rhodri Richards said: “For Dad, nothing was impossible. There was always a solution. There was always a way round a problem.
“Rod was an alcoholic. He struggled with alcohol for many years.
“It was one of the most difficult campaigns he had to fight. There were many setbacks.
“This wonderfully kind and gifted man, tough, competitive, a hero to his children, had to acknowledge this particular weakness.
“He drew some guidance from the Prayer of Serenity, often called the Alcoholic’s Prayer: ‘God, grant me the serenity to accept that some things cannot change, the courage to change the things that can and the wisdom to know the difference.’
“This was a campaign he won.”