Welcome to Westcliff Rugby Football Club

The club is deeply saddened to learn of the death of John Shingleton after an accident last Thursday.   John was a larger than life character whose commitment to the club was immense, both on and off the field.   John played either in the 1^st XV or the Lions for nearly twenty years, starting life in the second row and then switching to prop.   John was never concerned too much with such niceties as the offside law but he was a formidable opponent – a man of enormous strength and no little skill, whose determination on the field served as an example to others.   The 1985-86 season was a traumatic one for the club – several established players simultaneously either retired or left the club for whatever reason, leaving the 1^st XV without a captain and with a marked lack of star performers.   Typically, John assumed the reins as skipper and, in spite of a season which inevitably saw some very chastening defeats, the spirit which he engendered amongst the faithful remainers set the scene for several vastly improved seasons coinciding with the onset of the leagues.

John was a man of great wit with an incredibly positive approach to life.   This enabled him to brush off, for many years, the crippling illnesses which were to beset him as he moved into later life.   John was at the clubhouse as recently as last month, together with wheelchair and oxygen mask, but as remarkably unconcerned as ever, and still able to partake in some mischievous banter in the car park.   He was a giant of a man, who will never be forgotten by those who were fortunate enough to know him.   Our sympathies are extended to Jackie, Danny, Ben and John junior at this sad time.