Ray Gravell

:00:13. > :00:19.On the rugby field, Ray Gravell was both fearless and feared. Everyone

:00:19. > :00:21.was frightened of him. But Grav was more than a sporting hero. Off the

:00:21. > :00:31.field, he enjoyed an acting and broadcasting career that made him

:00:31. > :00:46.

:00:46. > :00:50.one of the best-loved figures in Wales. Above all his achievements,

:00:50. > :01:00.it was Ray Gravell's generosity of spirit that made him a true Welsh

:01:00. > :01:02.

:01:02. > :01:05.Great. Raymond William Gravell came into the world in 1951. He was born

:01:05. > :01:13.in Kidwelly, nine miles from Llanelli, and grew up in the nearby

:01:13. > :01:23.village of Mynydd y Garreg. Ray's father, Jack, was a collier who'd

:01:23. > :01:24.

:01:24. > :01:34.once played rugby for Pontyberem. He introduced me to rugby football.

:01:34. > :01:40.I was a little boy. He was with his friends, the coalminers. They were

:01:40. > :01:45.watching their heroes, and their heroes became my heroes. I fell in

:01:45. > :01:51.love with the football club. Jack was a keen outdoorsman. He and Ray

:01:51. > :01:59.would spend hours roaming the hillside above Mynydd y Garreg.

:01:59. > :02:09.went hunting together. He was a good shot, it fair play to him. You

:02:09. > :02:12.

:02:12. > :02:14.could see the bond between the two boys. In 1965, Ray started at

:02:14. > :02:23.Carmarthen Grammar School. He was already showing early promise on

:02:23. > :02:28.the rugby field. There was a reputation of this outstanding

:02:28. > :02:33.scrum-half. We were all looking forward to it. He turned up, but he

:02:33. > :02:40.was a scrawny little kid, with bones jutting out everywhere -

:02:40. > :02:46.elbows and knees and everything. He was rugged, fast, and known as one

:02:46. > :02:48.of the boys from the mountain. He was definitely mountain material!

:02:48. > :02:57.Ray was soon playing alongside his close friend Roy at school,

:02:57. > :03:03.district and county level. wanted reassurance. Every Monday

:03:03. > :03:10.morning, after we played on a Saturday, he used to come up to me.

:03:10. > :03:19."I played all right on Saturday, didn't I"? "was a Tokay? I did OK,

:03:19. > :03:22.didn't like"? It stayed with him for the rest of his life. Ray's

:03:22. > :03:25.time at school was overshadowed by trouble at home. His father Jack

:03:25. > :03:28.had suffered an industrial accident which left him in chronic and

:03:28. > :03:38.excruciating pain. When he was 14, Ray returned home from a rugby

:03:38. > :03:38.

:03:38. > :04:52.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 73 seconds

:04:52. > :05:00.match one day to discover that Jack Ray's father had shot himself.

:05:00. > :05:06.was sad when he lost his father. He grew up quickly, well, he had to.

:05:06. > :05:12.Rae became a breadwinner overnight. He had to leave school earlier, and

:05:12. > :05:15.couldn't carry on his studies. 1969, Ray left school to take a job

:05:15. > :05:19.with the Electricity Board. At the same time, he started playing for

:05:19. > :05:22.Llanelli Rugby Club's youth team. He was growing up in many ways. It

:05:22. > :05:24.was Prince Charles's Investiture year, and Ray was one of many young

:05:24. > :05:34.Welsh people who experienced a political awakening, spurred on by

:05:34. > :06:13.

:06:13. > :06:16.protest songs such as Dafydd Iwan's But rugby was Ray's real focus, and

:06:16. > :06:22.a year later he was given the chance to fulfil a childhood dream

:06:22. > :06:29.and take to the field as a member of Llanelli Rugby Club's First Team.

:06:29. > :06:38.The Scarlets' manager was Welsh rugby visionary, Carwyn James.

:06:38. > :06:44.you see that the drive is on, then you can pouts. He was passed at --

:06:44. > :06:50.passionate for Wales and the Welsh language, so they had a bond.

:06:50. > :06:57.was everything to him. He used to call him a good would Raymond ". He

:06:57. > :07:02.was a huge influence on him. He knew how to handle him and get the

:07:03. > :07:06.best out of him, to control that aggression. That is why he became a

:07:06. > :07:13.great player. Ray's aggression could barely be contained in the

:07:13. > :07:18.tense pre-match atmosphere of the dressing room. It meant so much to

:07:18. > :07:26.him. I saw him in the dressing room, crying before games, emotional

:07:26. > :07:31.before games, being sick. He belted out songs. He would go to the

:07:31. > :07:39.toilet and be singing in the toilet, and all of a sudden, he would be

:07:39. > :07:46.screaming out loud and banging the door. It was a release for him. He

:07:46. > :07:49.was so nervous before the game, before he went on that field.

:07:49. > :07:59.played as a centre - a midfield position that demands a combination

:07:59. > :08:05.

:08:05. > :08:11.He had everything but a centre would want. He was big, fast,

:08:11. > :08:15.strong. Nobody could handle him. He brought in all the defenders, and

:08:15. > :08:18.then we were away. Ray looked confident on the field, but inside

:08:18. > :08:28.he was plagued by insecurities, which team physiotherapist Bert

:08:28. > :08:29.

:08:29. > :08:36.Peel did his best to treat. I used to give him a junior aspirin or ace

:08:36. > :08:41.mate, and I would tell them at that would do him good. After the game,

:08:41. > :08:47.he played well. He told me they were marvellous."can I have another

:08:47. > :08:55.one next week? "The biggest challenge of Ray's early career at

:08:55. > :08:58.Stradey Park came on the 31st of October 1972. The New Zealand

:08:58. > :09:00.national rugby team were on a tour of Britain. Having thrashed

:09:00. > :09:07.England's Western Counties, the All Blacks descended on Llanelli to

:09:07. > :09:17.take on the Scarlets. For Ray, the match evoked memories of a game

:09:17. > :09:18.

:09:18. > :09:27.he'd witnessed a decade earlier. remember going to watch the game.

:09:27. > :09:31.It was in 1963, and I was with my father. And now, I was playing

:09:31. > :09:41.against the mighty All Blacks, the mightiest rugby nation and the

:09:41. > :09:47.

:09:47. > :09:56.whole world. I was so nervous, I was crying. He was a young boy,

:09:56. > :10:06.about 20 years of age. I could see was getting emotional. My hero

:10:06. > :10:07.

:10:07. > :10:17.became my friend. The captain said in Welsh,"everything will be all

:10:17. > :10:38.

:10:38. > :10:45.The feeling it was one of disbelief. It was euphoric to be point of

:10:45. > :10:51.bursting, and panic. The panic being I could see no way off the

:10:51. > :10:57.field. By the time he was 23, Ray's performances for the Scarlets had

:10:57. > :11:02.brought him to the attention of Welsh rugby selectors. They invited

:11:02. > :11:05.him to try out for a place on the national team. Driving home after

:11:05. > :11:15.his trial match, Ray heard on the radio that he'd been picked to play

:11:15. > :11:18.for Wales. He almost crashed his car. Ray would represent Wales for

:11:18. > :11:28.the first time in Paris, in the opening game of the 1975 Five

:11:28. > :11:34.

:11:34. > :11:40.We used to go out of France on Friday, train on Thursday, went to

:11:40. > :11:46.the cinema, came back, relaxed, and went to bed. At 4am, a massive

:11:46. > :11:56.kerfuffle in the room. That room was packed with bags everywhere,

:11:56. > :11:56.

:11:56. > :12:01.and he had his big overcoat on. He was worried he would be going home.

:12:01. > :12:09.His career would have been over, before it had started. But luckily

:12:09. > :12:15.for him and the rest of us, I said,"get back in bed". And he did.

:12:15. > :12:25.And the rest is history. Before the match, the atmosphere in the Parc

:12:25. > :13:01.

:13:01. > :13:06.des Princes was riotous. But for His strength was his passion. He

:13:06. > :13:16.took that on to the field with him. He was going into battle. He was

:13:16. > :13:26.fighting, he was taking the pride of Wales, the pride of his village.

:13:26. > :13:27.

:13:27. > :13:32.That day, Ray helped Wales beat France by 25 points to 10. It was

:13:32. > :13:36.outstanding. We did a lot of tackling it in that game, and

:13:36. > :13:43.defended for long periods. Of course, his career blossomed and

:13:43. > :13:47.blossomed. Ray would play for Wales 23 times over the next seven years.

:13:47. > :13:53.This was a golden age for Welsh rugby, and Ray was a key part of a

:13:53. > :14:03.legendary national team. His talent for highly physical play made him a

:14:03. > :14:07.

:14:07. > :14:17.real asset. He was a big man: Phyllis, resilient, not afraid. But

:14:17. > :14:19.

:14:19. > :14:24.he turned up to me and would say, how are my doing? Am I doing OK? He

:14:24. > :14:34.said, I have got a little bit of a cough up. I will have a few later

:14:34. > :14:39.

:14:39. > :14:43.In 1980 he was invited to tour South Africa as a member of British

:14:43. > :14:48.Lions. I remember him saying he was actually shy, both with men and

:14:48. > :14:55.with women. He had heard that I was shy as well. And he thought that

:14:55. > :15:01.the two of us should stick together. So I have to say I tint see one

:15:01. > :15:05.single semblance of evident of any shyness in Ray Gravell in the next

:15:05. > :15:15.three months in South Africa. Ray pulled on the red jersey, it

:15:15. > :15:16.

:15:16. > :15:21.was a member of the Lions. Gravell dancing off them. Gravell trying to

:15:21. > :15:27.thunder his way through the middle. But Grav played his part not just

:15:27. > :15:33.on the field, but off it. You know on bus trips when you're spending

:15:33. > :15:43.an hour or two in the bus, he would start the singing and would play a

:15:43. > :15:44.

:15:44. > :15:49.tape. Dafydd was it. He took my cassette and everyone had to listen

:15:49. > :15:57.to Dafydd Iwan songs until they were bored stiff. Some of them

:15:57. > :16:02.probably hate me to this day. Carlton held... By the mid 80s, Ray

:16:02. > :16:08.had been playing at the top level for 15 years. He knew the end of

:16:08. > :16:14.his career was in sight. But he found a new vocation as a rugby

:16:14. > :16:19.commentator. I had broken my arm and the head of sport at the BBC

:16:19. > :16:24.said, Ray the BBC are offering you a two-year contract. Take your time

:16:24. > :16:29.about making a decision, but phone me back in 10 minutes. I said, I

:16:29. > :16:35.thought long and hard about this. There is only one thing I need 15

:16:35. > :16:45.games to play 5 hundred games for Llanelli. He said you must realise

:16:45. > :16:46.

:16:46. > :16:51.that Llanelli will not pay your mortgage. His first job was for S

:16:51. > :16:56.4C for the England/Wales international. We were in about

:16:56. > :17:02.half an hour from the start of the game, Ray still wasn't there. They

:17:02. > :17:07.had lost all patience and he was going to sack him before he started.

:17:07. > :17:13.After pressing the buttons, then up popped Ray Gravell on Grandstand

:17:13. > :17:19.for the afternoon. His old friend, Billy mow month from the --

:17:19. > :17:23.Beaumont was there. Ray had gone up, knocked the window. Bill asked him

:17:23. > :17:28.in and then Ray was sitting next to Bill and talking about the

:17:28. > :17:34.forthcoming game. When he got to commentary point, he wiped the

:17:34. > :17:40.floor with him, and said Grav, you'll never work for us. Because

:17:40. > :17:50.of the indiscipline. He said, I just announced to the world that we

:17:50. > :17:55.

:17:55. > :18:02.Ray's enthusiasm made him a natural live broadcaster, alongside his

:18:02. > :18:09.commentating, he developed a career as a radio presenter. I dreamed I

:18:09. > :18:16.was in a pub and Robert de Niro was at the bar and he knew everyone in

:18:16. > :18:22.the pub, not many people there, small pub. But he ignored me.

:18:22. > :18:28.was one part of his career that came as a surprise to me. -- many

:18:28. > :18:35.in 1975 he was invited to play himself in an episode of the soap

:18:35. > :18:40.opera, Pobol y Cwm. Ray had caught the acting bug. In the 80s he

:18:40. > :18:48.appeared in several dramas on Welsh television. He always had this

:18:48. > :18:58.leaning to be an actor. Yes up a all sportsmen to a degree are

:18:58. > :19:06.

:19:06. > :19:11.performers and they will come under In 1919 Ray was cast in a network

:19:11. > :19:21.drama, Filipina Dreamgirls, as a bachelor looking for love in the

:19:21. > :19:23.

:19:23. > :19:28.far east. Eleanor! Boys I have got him for you. Then he appeared

:19:28. > :19:36.opposite a legend of the screen in Rebecca Daughters. Peter O'Toole

:19:36. > :19:44.turned up and said, are you not... You not Ray Gravell are you? And

:19:44. > :19:49.Grav said, well yes, actually I am. And this Lawrence Olivier stood up,

:19:49. > :19:55.pushed him out of way and picked up Grav and wait until I go back to

:19:55. > :20:03.London and say I'm making a film with the legend of Ray Gravell.

:20:03. > :20:09.This was a happy period for Ray. Both professionally and personally.

:20:09. > :20:16.On second August 1919 he married his girlfriend, Mari Roberts. His

:20:16. > :20:24.wedding present to her was a ten year membership of Llanelli rug

:20:24. > :20:27.pwhi -- rugby club. Then at the age of 4 Ray became a father. He

:20:27. > :20:32.described the pirts of his daughters as the greatest expeens

:20:32. > :20:39.of his life. He said, when I was playing for Wales, that was a game.

:20:39. > :20:45.This is life. One of his proudest public moments came two years later

:20:45. > :20:55.when the Gorsedd of the Eisteddfod invited him to take the key role of

:20:55. > :20:57.

:20:57. > :21:02.ceremonial sword bearer. He was a romantic and he loved seeing

:21:02. > :21:07.himself as that role. I think the same is true of his relationship

:21:07. > :21:15.with the Gorsedd. Not only did he take to this office of sword bearer,

:21:15. > :21:22.I think he would have loved if possible to be Archdruid. He used

:21:22. > :21:28.to ask his rugby mates, how did I do? We had that as well. Mind you I

:21:28. > :21:32.can't remember him having thrown up once. I don't think he honked once!

:21:32. > :21:42.Ray loved the ceremony and symbolism of the Eisteddfod and had

:21:42. > :21:43.

:21:43. > :21:49.a passion for Welsh history. He was more than happy to pull on costume

:21:49. > :21:56.of Owain Glyndwr as he did for a medieval re-enactment. Owain

:21:56. > :22:01.Glyndwr, my hero, the hero of many a Welsh person and myself in

:22:02. > :22:06.particular. I feel, I'm from that era, from that time. Although I

:22:06. > :22:11.don't think I would survive now. If I were I would certainly have been

:22:11. > :22:20.one of Owain Glyndwr's men. I would have been with him and to the death

:22:20. > :22:25.I think. For Trai battleground had always been the rugby field. And in

:22:25. > :22:34.2005, he was reporting at the Millennium Stadium when Wales won

:22:34. > :22:41.their first Grand Slam in 27 years. Enjoy the moment and thanks for

:22:41. > :22:50.adding to rich history of Welsh rugby. Thank you very much. Thanks

:22:50. > :22:56.Ray. But rair was now facing problems with his faelt. -- Ray. --

:22:56. > :23:03.Ray was now facing problems with his health. Hfs diagnosed with die

:23:03. > :23:13.beet yes and admitted to Glangwili hospital. I went to see him several

:23:13. > :23:14.

:23:14. > :23:19.times in hospital and he... Had lost one toe and then two and then

:23:19. > :23:24.three. Through his diabetes. infection became life-threatening.

:23:24. > :23:30.When the surgeon saw the state of the foot, he said, right, you have

:23:30. > :23:35.to go to theatre now. I reacted by saying, well I have got to go home

:23:36. > :23:42.first. He said no, you have to go now. May I may have to take your

:23:42. > :23:52.leg off. That was a sobering statement and I felt frightened.

:23:52. > :23:55.Naturally. Anyone would. To save his life, Ray had to lose his leg.

:23:55. > :24:03.Despite his natural good humour, the weeks following the operation

:24:03. > :24:10.were a difficult time for him. future seemed very dark. I'm glad

:24:10. > :24:15.to say things have brightened up since then. As part of his recovery

:24:15. > :24:23.programme, Ray visited Morriston Hospital to have a cast made for a

:24:23. > :24:33.new pros pettic -- prosthetic leg. You can can have a cover on. Or

:24:33. > :24:34.

:24:34. > :24:41.leave it bear. It may sound silly. I'd love to have the Scarlets

:24:41. > :24:49.emblem if possible. On the finished product. We have done the ospreys

:24:49. > :24:57.one and various football sides. have done an Ospreys one? That is

:24:57. > :25:07.it. I will pay you to do a Scarlets one. Ray got the chance to show he

:25:07. > :25:15.

:25:15. > :25:22.was back on his feet as a guest on Max Boyce's show. APPLAUSE. Well

:25:22. > :25:32.myself being the president of the Scarlets, I'm a proud... Scarlet

:25:32. > :25:35.

:25:35. > :25:40.man myself! On the show Ray caught up with an old friend. It was in

:25:40. > :25:47.Ray's show and we do a handover and one day, well he said, do it now,

:25:47. > :25:53.we're going to hand over now, oh crikey to the lovely,... Oh he is a

:25:53. > :25:57.lovely man. Rob Brydon. Rob are you there? I said hi Ray and I made the

:25:57. > :26:05.mistake of asking this man. I thought it was a turn of phrase.

:26:05. > :26:13.Said how's it hanging? And of course he told me. I said,...

:26:13. > :26:23.was in west Wales. I said how's iting is a total different meaning.

:26:23. > :26:27.

:26:27. > :26:34.I said, Rob, mine is to the left. few months after his operation,

:26:34. > :26:39.Ray's friends organised a tribute dinner in his honour at the Stradey

:26:39. > :26:44.Park Hotel. It was a triumphant night. He seemed to have overcome

:26:44. > :26:49.the worst. He had come through legal and there he was. On his --

:26:49. > :26:56.come through hell and there he was. On his new leg with his family. He

:26:56. > :27:06.kept saying, I don't deserve this. It's too much. It was a fantastic

:27:06. > :27:06.

:27:06. > :27:15.night. A few months later, rair took a holiday in Spain with his

:27:15. > :27:21.family. -- Ray. On 31st October 2007, Ray suffered a heart attack.

:27:21. > :27:27.Wales has lost one of its favourite sons. Welsh rugby has lost a legend.

:27:27. > :27:35.And on Wednesday, 5 years to the day that clan thsly beat the All

:27:35. > :27:41.Blacks, the -- 35 years to day that Llanelli beat the all blacks, Ray

:27:41. > :27:44.Gravell passed away. His funeral procession set off from his home in

:27:44. > :27:50.Mynydd-y-Garreg. Ray wanted his fuenial service held on the field

:27:50. > :27:55.where he started his rugby career. The event was broadcast live on

:27:55. > :28:05.three television channels. Ten thousand mourners streamed into

:28:05. > :28:08.

:28:08. > :28:14.Stradey Park to pay their last respects to Ray Gravell. Ray's