Tributes paid to former rugby player and referee Dave Hill

Dave was a full-back with Hawick before becoming a rugby referee and keen bowls player.

He was born in Hawick on Christmas Eve 1932 and, as well as being fond of sport, he developed an interest in piping at a young age.

Dave became a very good player with Hawick Scout Pipe Band and even took pipes with him to Wales, where he played for Hawick Harlequins on rugby international trips.

Although he also played senior rugby for Hawick, when he was 19 Dave played one game of football for the Hawick Royal Albert youth football team.

He was asked to play in a cup final as their centre-forward, Duncan Smith, was injured – and they went on to win the trophy.

However, Dave was better regarded as Hawick’s rugby full back and he remarked in a matchday programme that he would have played in any position just as long as he was picked to play.

His other proudest moments in sport, said his family, was when he decided to stop playing rugby, aged 26, to become a referee on the Borders’ rugby circuit.

Back then, it was consdiered more a labour of love than the full-time profession it is classed as today, although he was paid expenses, then, in 1964, he was picked from a host of referees to officiate as line judge for the international between Scotland and France at Murrayfield.

It was around that time too that he became first president and, later, match secretary, for Hawick Harlequins, the junior rugby club.

Dave stayed loyal to the Quins until his family moved to Girvan in South Ayrshire in 1970, as he joined Chilton Brothers Fabric Designs as its chief electrical engineer.

His early working career included a six-year apprenticeship as an electrician with the then Urban Electric. Dave then did his national service in the Royal Air Force, returning to his job with the newly-formed South of Scotland Electricity Board.

Dave and his wife Molly were married in January 1954 and had three children – Derek, Karen and David. Molly died in October 2018.

In Girvan, both Dave and Molly joined the local bowling club. Dave became the club president and took charge of running trips to the Borders for matches.

On retiring, the couple returned to the Borders, settling in Jedburgh, Molly’s birthplace, where they joined the town’s bowling club to carry on their love of the sport and the friendships it brought with it.

Soon, they would re-establish their connection with Girvan Bowling club to organise matches and tournaments between the two.

Dave also began attending the Royal British Legion Club in Jedburgh, where he made many friends, and was a regular too at bingo sessions held in the Conservative club.

“But a home man was Dave at heart,” said his brother Jim.

“Dave was a very respected throughout his travels and in both the communities of Hawick and Jedburgh and will be sorely missed.”