TRIBUTES have been paid to a much-loved Gwent Valleys legend who has died suddenly at the age of 68.
Pontypool-born Dai Barwood was a hugely popular character who is sadly mourned after his untimely passing this month.
Dai was a decorated South Wales Police officer who looked after the likes of Princess Diana, Margaret Thatcher, U2 and Lennox Lewis among other VIPs during their visits to Wales.
A talented rugby player he played for Pontypridd in the 1970s before changing code and representing Cardiff Blue Dragons in rugby league during the 1980s.
A bon vivant with a lust for life, Dai would make new friends wherever he went.
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Married to Sarah, a father of five sons, Julian, Daniel, Jake, Ieuan and Gareth, and a grandfather of four, Olivia, Sophia, Logan and Kobi, he will be sorely missed by so many.
The many tributes online describe him as a “legend” and a “larger than life presence with an infectious personality”.
Sons Julian, 50, and Daniel, 42, said: “Dad lived life in the fast lane but it sadly caught up with him in the end and he’s gone before his time.
“Nothing was too hot for him to handle and everyone’s got a story to tell about him.
“We are going to miss him terribly.”
His older brother, Adrian Barwood, 72, a gifted rugby player himself who played against Dai in union for Abertillery before they played together for Cardiff Blue Dragons in league, said: “He was a character – a real devil.
“Dave, as I called him, was a party animal.
“He lived his life twice or three times over.
“I’ve got a thousand stories about him.
“Dave was always up to mischief, even as a small boy.
“He was a real wind-up merchant.”
Dai was born to publican Dennis Barwood and his wife Molly who ran the Swan pub in the Abersychan in the Pontypool area before they moved to the Maesycwmmer Inn, Maesycwmmer, Caerphilly in the late 1950s.
He went on to school in Ynysddu, near Blackwood before winning Wales Under-15s Schoolboys rugby caps in the centre in 1970 against South of Scotland and then England at Twickenham.
After joining South Wales Police four years later he was a traffic cop and motorbike rider for much of his career.
Following his retirement in 2001, he had an interest in property management and enjoyed himself travelling as well as holidaying frequently in his second home in Turkey.
Dai would follow the British & Irish Lions religiously on tours between 1997 and 2013.
Julian remembers one of his Dad’s best examples of high jinks on tour with one his father’s best friends Geraint Roberts from Ystrad Mynach.
He recalls: “We were on a helicopter trip in the air over Table Mountain in Cape Town in South Africa.
“I knew what Dad was up to and it was all set up when he said to our German pilot Klaus who he was sitting next to in the front, ‘Klaus, did you know that I’m an advanced driver? You know I can fly this.’
“Klaus told him, ‘Yes Dai, I agree. You seem to be a competent pilot. Take it away!’”
Dai then pretended to be in charge of the controls before Klaus plummeted their helicopter to earth as if they were going to crash and meet their doom.
After dropping them like a stone, Klaus brought them safely back to ground.
A terrified and white as a sheet Geraint emerged from the helicopter declaring the experience as the “worst 10 seconds of my life”.
Dai’s funeral will be held on Friday, November 3 at 1.45pm at Llwydcoed Crematorium, Aberdare followed by drinks in his memory at Merthyr RFC’s clubhouse where he had been an Ironmen fan for many years.
The funeral will be livestreamed at: watch.obitus.com, Username: cepe0740, Password: 288505.
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