The last league game was preceded with a very special tunnel of our youngsters and a one minute clap to remember JANET WYATT a very long standing and hard working supporter of Launceston Rugby Club. She was the Wife of our "man dehind the microphone" on match days, Bob Wyatt.
However, both Bob & Janet have been great supporters of the the Club for many many years, back to the years when we were playing in National league One, when both of them, together with Janet & Barry Latus, would travel the length and breadth of the country supporting the 1st team at their away fixtures. They have also done many volunteering stints on the entrance gate etc, . We send our heartfelt sympathies to Bob and his family, who has supported Jane during her Cancer treatment over the last couple of years, in November of last year, she was in recovery, and it was lovely to welcome her back to the Clubhouse when she accompanied Bob to the pre match VP luncheon. Rest in Peace Janet.
Jane Latus has kindly penned her thoughts and memories of Janet.
I am having trouble remembering exactly when I first metJanet and the order that things happened in.
Barrie and I started to support Launceston after a conversation, with Bernard Tucker, at a Berkshire v Cornwall match. He suggested that if we enjoyed rugby of a certain standard, we might like to give the club a try. This was back in the early 1990’s. We used to arrive early, as we could never be sure of how the traffic would be coming through the Temple stretch of the A30. We parked at the entrance side of the car park and, after a while, we became aware of another couple who arrived early and parked at the road side of the car park. They were Bob and Janet, who arrived early so that they could walk their dog before the match.
After a while – I do not remember exactly when – Norman Oak asked Janet and I if we would volunteer on the gate. This eventually led to us being the only two people selling tickets, with Janet being in charge, one at each side of the ground. We often missed the first half of the match. You would be surprised at how often we would be rounding up and see a car come around the corner and, on seeing we were still there, reversing back out!
Initially we travelled separately to away matches. There was a group of nine of us, sometimes ten, who started travelling to all away matches. We ended up being the Behind the Posts gang and, following the successful play off match at Halifax, where we had drums, bells and horns to drive the team on, we also became very noisy. Barrie and I travelled with Bob and Janet on many occasions, staying in Travel Lodges if the trip was too long to do in one day. Eventually Bob and Janet used a Camper Van and stayed on camp sites, while we would book into one of the various lodges or a B & B. This meant that we travelled separately again, but always met up in the evening to eat.
Some of the most memorable trips were to Grassington, in the Yorkshire Dales, which is where Wharfedale Rugby Club is based. The last trip was in March 2011. I travelled up by train and Bob and Janet were in their Camper Van. We always stayed here for a few days, by this time all being retired. Bob and Janet did a lot of walking and, on this trip, I joined them each morning. One morning the wind and rain were so strong we were actually able to lean against it at quite an angle without falling over. The next day we walked six miles and just missed the bus back to Grassington. We had two options. Wait an hour in the farm shop and café and get the next bus back or walk a three-mile path that they had not used before. Bob chose the latter option and Janet and I tagged along. We were really pleased that we had because the path went along quite a deep gulley and, on the side facing the sun were masses of beautiful wild flowers which Janet and I stopped to admire.
By this time the Behind the Posts gang was reducing in numbers and eventually Janet and I, who by this time had handed the gate over to younger volunteers, joined Bob at the back of the stand.
I really enjoyed Janet’s company and am pleased I managed to see her for one last time back in November, when once again, we sat at the back of the stand.
Jane Laturs
OPresident of LRC 1013-2015 - and member for far far longer)
