The respect with which Dr George Papworth was held, not just at Weston-super-Mare RFC, is evident in the countless messages of condolence following his untimely passing on October 30, 2026.
Here are just a few: ‘An incredibly good bloke whose passing will leave a big hole in our community; an absolute Legend; an indescribably wonderful person; always a pleasure to be in his company; a wonderful speaker with fantastic wit.
“He loved our club, and he was friends with everyone who walked through our doors. Everybody loved George too,” said Weston-super-Mare RFC President Roger Coles.
From Craig Kennedy, a long-time close friend of George: “Sad, sad, sad …. A great man, one of life’s true Gentlemen in that impervious exquisite, English ‘Walk with the Common Man’ touch.’
“One was a better person after sharing his munificent company. Vale George, your contribution to the world was immense and made a difference.’ Anon, from someone who met George once.
George William John Papworth was born on April 24, 1943. During his early years, he lived in a large house that also served as the doctor's surgery in the mining village of Darfield, near Barnsley. He was brought up by his mother, an aunt, and their uncle William, who was the village GP.
They moved to Leeds, and George followed his brother David to Leeds Grammar School after passing the entrance exam. George went on to become Head Boy, Captain of rugby and cricket, and in charge of the school’s Army Cadets.
George aspired to become a doctor, and he followed his uncle and brother into the Leeds University Medical School. His son James and grandson Ben have since followed in George’s footsteps.
Although George was probably a better cricketer than a rugby player, he did play rugby as a goal-kicking full-back for the Leeds Medical School and the Old Leodensians Rugby Club, former pupils of Leeds Grammar School. He went on to play cricket for the Yorkshire 2ndXI.
George married Linda in September 1967. Whilst on honeymoon in South Devon, Linda lost her wedding ring on the beach at Bigbury. Being a true Yorkshireman, George was back on the sands the following day searching for the ring. He squared off the area where they had been sitting and, after several hours of careful digging, the ring was found.
George qualified as a GP around 1968, and he first practised in Newquay, but found life too quiet in Cornwall, especially in the winter months, so he moved with his wife and son James to Weston-super-Mare in the early 1970s.
He joined Dr Fraser Butchart's practice, which, in those days, was on Moorland Road. They also had surgeries at the Boulevard and at Aller Parade in the Oldmixon area and held sessions at RAF Locking.
When George and Linda first came to Weston-super-Mare, they lived in a Council House on Oldmixon because “key workers” had priority for Council Homes. They then bought a new house on the Mead Vale estate and, after a couple of years, moved to Queens Road.
Being an excellent and very competitive person, George joined Clevedon Cricket Club as he thought it best that his patients in Weston did not become aware of the post-match activities! For many years he was a high-scoring top-order batsman.
After he retired, he served on the Clevedon Cricket Club committee and later became President. George was in the group that brought Andy Caddick from New Zealand to play for the club whilst he was qualifying for Somerset.
George was still a member and Trustee at Clevedon, and in the last few years was instrumental in negotiating with North Somerset Council for an 80-year lease of the club’s ground at Esmond Grove, in the hope that funds could be raised to build a new clubhouse.
For many years, George played midweek, 20-over matches for the Misfits Cricket Club and helped run the club. He continued to join its annual tour to Cornwall, first as an umpire and later as a spectator.
George did not play rugby after he left Leeds, but when the Weston-super-Mare RFC’s Club Doctor, Tim Kelly, retired, George was persuaded to take on the arduous role. As he became more involved with the club, he organised the West of England over 35s tournament.
There was an occasion when a player went down the pitch, so they called the doctor on. George strolled on without his bag, then realised he needed something from it to treat the player.
George waved to those on the touchline to bring out his bag, but instead they brought out his pint of beer. As George always said, if he was called out to see an opposition player, their injury required them to be removed from the pitch.
He began his first of two four-year spells as the Club President in 1986, and George never turned down the chance to give a speech. Famously, on one occasion, we were to play against what we understood was a Russian touring team.
George found someone in Weston who taught him some Russian so he could give the welcome speech in their native tongue. He duly delivered the speech and checked with their interpreter afterwards to see whether it was alright.
The quite smart young lady then had to break the news to him that they weren't from Russia at all. They were from Uzbekistan and didn't understand one word of Russian.
After his tenure as Club President, George was appointed a Life Member of the Club. He became more involved with the Past Players Association and served as its secretary for many years.
He persuaded Chris Millard to become their chairman when the founder, Rod Crocker, retired. In recognition of his services to the Association, George was made its Honorary Life President in 2025.
When he retired from playing cricket, George took up golf and played at Clevedon and Weston-super-Mare. He may not have won any tournaments, but when playing alongside Linda, they were very hard to beat.
He was also one of the founders of the Clock Watchers Golf Society – so named because when they started playing depended on whether the clocks were on GMT or BST.
George served as the Weston-super-Mare RNLI’s Medical Officer for many years and became the President of the sub-committee that raised a vast amount of money towards the cost of building a new lifeboat station.
He was keen on shooting and was a member of a pheasant shoot. He had a pistol shooting range in the cellar of his house, and in another room was a three-quarter-size snooker table. Hardly anyone who tried the shooting range or had a game of snooker managed to beat George.
Another of his hobbies in later life was model-making. He built various model ships, and one of his recent projects was a scale model of the World War II battleship Bismarck. With his eyesight slightly fading, Steve Wareing came to George’s assistance with the more intricate parts.
George joined the Cheddar Steam Club, which caters for those passionate about model boats and model railways. Recently at the Club’s Lake, George, his son James and Steve launched two of their radio-controlled battleships, Bismarck and King George V.
During his time as a GP, George organised the conversion of a house in Graham Road to what he claimed was a ‘state of the art’ surgery and relocated the practice from the Boulevard.
So it is ironic that as a Trustee of the rugby club, George became heavily involved in the development of the new Health Hub now under construction on the Rugby Club’s former car park, to which the Graham Road practice will relocate next year.
George retired as a GP in 1996 following a heart bypass operation. He then organised a ‘not-for-profit’ co-operative of local GPs which successfully provided out-of-hours care for the Weston.
That was until the local health administrators, in their wisdom, awarded the contract for out-of-hours care to a commercial organisation based in the south east of the country.
Due to health issues when she was young, Linda had lived with relatives in Zimbabwe, where the dry climate suited her. This led to George and Linda buying a timeshare at the Victoria Falls Safari Lodge, which they held for over 25 years and visited regularly, as they had many friends in the country.
Dr George Papworth sadly passed away on Friday, October 30, 2026, surrounded by his family at Weston Hospital, aged 83. Linda died after a short illness in September 2015.
They are survived by son James, daughters Sarah and Louise, plus grandchildren Ben, Joe and Eleanor.
Funeral Details
The funeral service will be held on Wednesday, November 25, 2026, at The Parish Church of St. John the Baptist, Lower Church Road, Weston-super-Mare, BS23 2AG at 10.30 am.
Afterwards, there will be an opportunity to share stories and say a few words about George at the Batch Country House, Batch Lane, Lympsham, BS24 0EX.
Instead of flowers, George would have appreciated donations to Weston-super-Mare RNLI either directly or c/o The Elms Funeral Directors, 50 Baker Street, Weston-super-Mare, North Somerset, BS23 3AQ. Email: info@theelmsfuneraldirectors.co.uk
