Melksham Town football stalwart Mick Perrin has been awarded a British Empire Medal in the New Year’s Honours List for services to grassroots football and to the community.
Mick received the award after serving the club for 62 years as player, secretary, chairman and president.
“It was a complete surprise when I got the letter from the Cabinet Office; I have to admit it had me in tears,” said Mick. “I never expected anything like this; I’m very, very proud. I started playing with Melksham Town when I was 16 years old in 1962. Back then, you had a card put through your door at home if you were chosen for the first team. I was chuffed to bits. It was away at Peasedown in Somerset which was a mining town at the time and the game was very rough with fighting on the pitch but we won 3-1. I stayed in the first team and was part of the team that got promoted to the Western League. I became the secretary and did this for 15 years before serving as chairman for another 15 years and then becoming the joint president with Dave Phillips who has been a good friend and a great support over the years.”
As chairman, Mick came under fire for appointing his son, Darren, as manager in the 1996/97 season. “A number of people called it ‘nepotism’ and we took a lot of abuse,” said Mick. “But he won the Western League 1st Division in his first year, and went on to become the club’s most successful-ever manager. As chairman, there were a lot of highs and lows and there were difficult times; finance was always a problem and we as a family had to put a bit of money in ourselves to keep things going.”
Recalling memories from over the years Mick said, “I’ve got so many memories but one does stick out when we won the Wiltshire Senior Cup in 1969-70, winning the final against Devizes. That was a really fantastic memory! The club had waited over 50 years for that. After the game, we went up to Melksham Hospital to see one of our supporters who was very, very ill and we took the trophy in to him. Other big highlights were when we reached the old FA Amateur Cup first round and when we won the Wiltshire Professional Shield, beating Swindon at the County Ground in the 1997-98 season; they had nine first team players in the side; that was an incredible night.”
He continued “But the best things about my time has been the many friends I met and still know – players, committee members, supporters and even referees that I get on with now! I love Melksham; I’ve lived here all my life; it’s a fantastic town with fantastic people and this award is just the icing on the cake from my years at the club. I have to say a big thank you to John Pool, chairman of the Western League, and our former MP, Michelle Donelan, who supported my nomination and to everyone who was involved with the club while I was there. And, of course, to my family for all their support. We’ll have a celebration together but, as my health isn’t so good now, I won’t be able to have too much champagne!”
