Former Keynsham rugby player dies in Spain

A former Keynsham rugby player has died at his holiday home in Spain.

Alan Knowlson, aged 58,  ran his own engineering firm and was also well-known as a rugby player until he gave up the game due to injury.

Alan, known as "Conker" to his friends, went to Warmley C of E School and Oldland Secondary School for Boys before taking a toolmaker's apprenticeship at Bristol Tool and Gauge/Ericksons.

He kept goal for the school, having been prepared for selection by his father, Graham, a semi-professional footballer who put him in goal for shooting practice.

From his early teens, Alan played rugby and became captain of Kingswood and Barton Hill. He also played for Keynsham and, while there, played a few games for Bath. His rugby career ended in his early thirties following a severe neck injury caused through rugby.

In 1982, he set up ARK Industries, which made small batches and individual components.

He enjoyed being faced with a manufacturing problem and among some of his memorable jobs were a time capsule for Bristol City Council, components for a F1 racing team and the framework for the arena and hospitality tents at Badminton Horse Trials.

He retired in May 2002, spending summers in Menorca, where he played tennis and badminton and volunteered in the gardens at the Isla del Ray, a small island where the British built a military hospital in 1711.

It is now being restored by the Friends of the Island Hospital Association and donations at Alan's funeral raised more than £1,100 for the project.

It was while in Spain that Alan passed away peacefully in his holiday home.

His family said: "He was an elaborate storyteller and always had a fun and positive attitude to life."