For Dean Richards who played internationally with both England and the British and Irish Lions in the 1980s and 1990s, and Jim Alder MBE, who won medals in the marathon at the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games, are the star turns at a sportsmans’ dinner to be held at Hexham’s Queen Elizabeth High School on Saturday evening.
Richards has strong links with the area after moving to the North-East as director of rugby at Premiership club Newcastle Falcons, and his sons attend the Hexham school and play for Tynedale Rugby Club.
Playing at number eight, he had a long, distinguished playing career with Leicester Tigers which saw him appear for England 48 times and for the Lions on six occasions.
He will tell of his illustrious career in the sport, alongside Alder whose running career includes many high points.
Growing up in Morpeth, he caught the running bug early and went on to represent Britain in many international competitions.
After missing out on the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, he made up for it at the Kingston Commonwealth Games in Jamaica by winning gold in the marathon and bronze in the six-mile event.
He went on to win bronze in the marathon at the Edinburgh Games four years later, one year after gaining bronze in the European Championships in Athens, Greece. He also made an appearance at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.
Proceeds from the sportsmans’ dinner will go towards sending 50 young people from QEHS to Australia on a sports tour of the east coast this summer.
Similar to a scheme the school ran a few years ago, the local schoolchildren will stay with host families and tour some of the beauty spots Australia has to offer.
But the main reason for the visit will be to play against local teams in netball, football and rugby.
A major part of the fund-raising efforts will be an auction on the evening, with a number of top sporting memorabilia up for grabs.
Star items include a framed, signed shirt from the Olympic gold medal- winning Great Britain women’s hockey team, as well as signed shirts from Newcastle United and Sunderland football teams.
There are a number of other lots up for auction too.
The auction will take place at the event, but reserved bids, for people who can’t make it, can be made by emailing garmstrong@qehs.net
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