Tom Reynolds
Tom Reynolds


In over 20 years as a top flight football referee, Tom Reynolds handled many high profile matches across England and Europe in front of crowds of up to 70,000. He'd been attacked by players and fans, required the protection of police and dogs on several occasions, and been labelled by Austrian newspapers as an 'Enemy of the people'. Even when he went to a match as a spectator and responded to a loudspeaker appeal to replace an injured linesman he attracted attention for his decisions.

But days after giving up his building business in Swansea and taking over The Duke with his wife Barbara in 1977, at the age of 43, he said “I thought I was fit but I've discovered I'm not. It's really hard work”. At a time when The Duke was central to village life, it was certainly a novelty to be served by someone that you'd seen on 'Match of the Day' that week. Regulars remembered him as a thoroughly nice bloke who took an interest in the lives of his customers and enjoyed an occasional all night card game. He also volunteered to referee a benefit match for a 17 year old Westbury youth player.

Tom and Barbara's 20 year marriage came to an end in 1979 on grounds of incompatibility. Barbara explained that “Tom is a smashing fellow, but when you can't stand football, as I can't, life becomes a bit of a strain'. He took a lucrative contract in the American Soccer League, refereeing, lecturing and coaching. When he died in Oregon in 1993, after a long illness, aged 58, FIFA had still not adopted his proposal to widen goals by one foot to encourage more goals to be scored.




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Bratton History Association.

The Bratton History Association aims to provide all those curious about local history with an opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, and discover more about the history of Bratton and Wiltshire. Activities include monthly meetings, talks by professional historians, visits to places of interest to historians, and our own local history project.

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