Q&A: Getting to know Doncaster Knights president Steve Lloyd

Here are the best bits of the question-and-answer interview...

What’s your first Yorkshire memory?

I was born in the engineer’s house next to the pit gates of Kiveton Colliery, near Sheffield, where my father had taken up his first senior position as the mechanical engineer. He’d started as an apprentice fitter.

Both my grandfathers were Doncaster miners, so the coal mining life and community was in the blood.

My first memories were as a three or four-year-old playing in the field by the pit gate and sitting in the canteen with miners going on or off shift.

In later years, the house we lived in and the pit tip were perfectly visible from the M1 near Woodall Services. On the many times I drove on the M1 returning Yorkshire, the view of my place of birth evoked the feeling of being home.

What’s your perfect day out in Yorkshire?

An overnight stay in the Dales or the Wolds with good food, a log fire and a nice glass of something sounds perfect.

Which Yorkshire sportsman would you like to take for lunch?

I once played a round of celebrity/amateur golf with Lewis Jones, who was a great player in both rugby union and then rugby league with Leeds. So Lewis is an honorary Yorkshireman.

We chatted whenever we could, but Lewis’ straight game, with pipe in mouth, and my wayward hooks and slices took us in very different directions on each hole restricting conversation.

The schism between the two codes has now become history, so I would happily buy Lewis lunch to hear his tales and, hopefully, help me to improve the game I love.

What from Yorkshire would you like to own for a day?

Probably the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster.

You can gain so much pleasure from getting close to animals in such a well-maintained park.

If I had the Wildlife Park for a day, I would encourage children and adults to come and see how the various parts of the animal world adapt and manage to thrive.

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

It’s a combination of several things: visual beauty in all its forms and I include past and present industrial areas and then you’ve got Yorkshire people producing a certain style.

Much humour has been derived from us. You just have to think of Monty Python’s Three Yorkshiremen sketch.

The accent and phrases define us and we should be proud of it.

Which sport in the county do you follow?

As all those who know me would reply – rugby and more rugby.

Doncaster Rugby Football Club is my second home and passion. We are now the top rugby union club in the county after 30 years of rising through the national leagues.

We haven’t forgotten our roots. With over 600 people playing rugby each week – from the four-year-old through to the 60-plus year old – it’s a place to make friends from all walks of life.

How has Yorkshire changed?

After the fragmentation of the county into metropolitan boroughs in the mid-1970s and the abolition of the East Riding and then its rebirth, Yorkshire became seemingly quite disparate.

In recent years, however, the identity of the whole county – embracing rural, urban and industrial communities – has re-emerged. We can be stronger for it.

The pride in being Yorkshire folk should be embraced, but not in a xenophobic way.

What would you change about Yorkshire?

Satisfying a desperate need for a rugby union team in the Premiership which is the aim of Doncaster Knights.

And in football, another side along with Sheffield United and Leeds United in the Premier League.

At least one top flight club in each of the above sports would be a stepping stone to bringing back pride and aspiration to so many youngsters.

Which Yorkshire person do you most admire?

Di, my wife – she keeps my feet on the ground.

My dad, Ken, who, after going into business in his mid-40s, showed me how to combine hard work, ambition and empathy for others to achieve a satisfying lifestyle. My mum, Elsie, played a massive part in that too.

Has Yorkshire influenced your work?

Absolutely. I started my business providing education for young people with emotional and behaviour problems in Doncaster in 1975 with a close friend.

At Hesley Hall we were totally involved with significant numbers of staff – good, honest and hardworking Yorkshire folk.

I have retired now, but I still notice, in these oppressive viral times, that same staff culture has come through where we care with a passion for those less fortunate in life.

Where should a stranger to Yorkshire visit?

Without doubt, they should come to Castle Park, home of Doncaster Knights.

You will be guaranteed a big welcome. You’d watch some hard-fought rugby and enjoy the famous Donny Knights Cow Pie.

The stranger will no longer be stranger and will surely long to return.