CHRIS SWIFT
How sad it is to report on the loss of another true friend of the Supporters Club and of the Football Club as we learn of the passing of former Bristol (Evening) Post reporter Chris Swift who covered Rovers matches for the majority of the 1990’s and into the new millennium and beyond.
He probably wouldn’t thank us for saying it, but to our mind he was, perhaps, one of the last ‘old school’ reporters who covered the everyday matters of our Football Club.
Born in Kidderminster, his great football passion was for his local team, Kidderminster Harriers and he would often regale us with stories of how he supported his hometown team. However, ‘adopted’ Gashead he might have been, we like to think that we were his second team after his beloved ‘Kiddy.’
His mission was, of course, to report anything and everything about Rovers to a public who still purchased newspapers and didn’t rely on mobile phones, the internet or social media to find out what was happening at their club.
His match reports were always honest in their opinions on how we had played and, over time, he built up excellent working relationships with managers and players alike and he was trusted by all who worked alongside him.
One story (and there are many!) regarding ‘Swifty’ spring to mind; back in May 1995, as Rovers prepared to head off to Wembley for the League One Play Off Final against Huddersfield Town, the then 37 year old ‘Swifty’ was invited to train with the players by manager John Ward and these grainy scans two of the photos that appeared afterwards in The Post, bear testament to how tough he found it.
Following a gruelling training session at the Keynsham Training Ground he said; ‘I’ll be at Wembley next Sunday, but I won’t be taking my boots. Bristol Rovers boss John Ward said that one of the worst aspects of his job is telling players they haven’t made the grade. Funnily enough, he didn’t find it too hard to break the news to me!’
‘The three keepers were given the honour of choosing a team each for a seven a side game. It was a bit like being back at school when you used to hang around the playground trying to look nonchalant as you waited and waited for your name to be called. I thought I might nip off for a crafty fag as I was bound to be last but then Brian Parkin made my day, saying; ‘We’ll have Swifty, we could do with a laugh!’
Back in the day, reporters used to have time in their jobs to cultivate friendships with managers, players and supporters alike, and knew when and what they could divulge in the press. It wasn’t as it is now, as the
current crop of just out of University/College students attend maybe one press conference and one game each week and somehow manage to write the same thing for a host of articles before they can next speak to a manager or his players.
‘Swifty’ was at the training ground, or on the phone to managers or players on a daily basis and so all of his articles were newsworthy and helped sell newspapers whist feeding fans’ thirst for knowledge about their favourite club at the same time.
He wasn’t aloof, he was a friend to Gasheads and was one of us, witness his presence on the flight to Norwich for a League Cup tie back in 2004 when he happily sat amongst us all enjoying a drink with everyone for the very brief time we were in the air. Unfortunately, for him, he couldn’t smoke one of his rollups during the flight, but he made up for it once he was out of Norwich airport!
‘Swifty’ will be missed by all who knew him and we send our condolences, especially to his son Liam, to all his immediate family and wide circle of friends.
