Vale Ralph Kittow Dymond (09 07 1947 - 27 03 2025)

Photo:  Ralph Dymond enjoying a cup of coffee while browsing through his book about HMAS VOYAGER (1). [PlessPix] 

My close and long-time friend, Ralph Kittow Dymond, passed away suddenly recently aged 77.

Ralph and I had attended Claremont High when it opened in 1961 and we both played in the school football teams.

Ralph began playing in the outfield but then became a goalkeeper.

We played together at Rapid and he later went on to play for Wanderers, Eastern Suburbs, South Hobart, White Eagles and Metro.

Photo:  Ralph Dymond at a Metro under-age game at Wentworth Park in the 80s. [PlessPix] 

We would frequently spend hours having kickabouts on the school oval and at Cadbury’s after we’d left school, together with the late Bobby Biggar and White Eagles defender Milan Prodanovic.

After he retired in the late 1970s, Ralph became my photographer when I was writing for Soccer Action and Australian Soccer Weekly.

We accompanied Hobart Juventus twice in the early 1980s on trips to George Town for state title matches.

Photo:  Hobart Juventus (Juventus Pioneer0 in George Town. [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

Juventus were coached by Ken Morton at the time and the club took two large buses filled with players and supporters on each of those trips.

What happened to those times and that type of supporter?

The buses would stop at Epping Forest and the mothers of the players and wives of the supporters would put on a magnificent Italian-style picnic lunch, which everyone enjoyed immensely.

After the game, I left Ralph to have drinks and a bite to eat in the George Town clubrooms while I walked the streets of the town looking for a phonebooth so that I could dictate my report to a copytaker at The Mercury.

Ralph was also once hired by Football Federation Tasmania to photograph three of the State League’s top players dribbling, shooting and running on the South Hobart pitch for the Rothmans Gold Medal award night booklet.

Photo:  Ian Parker does his thing in front of Ralph Dymond's lens at South Hobart for the Rothmans Gold Medal Award booklet. [Photo by Ralph Dymond]
 

Photo:  Tommy Wright at South Hobart in the photo shoot for the Rothmans Gold Medal Award booklet. [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

We weren’t told who the winner was as that was top secret, but Ralph made sure he got photos of the three main contenders, including Ian Parker and Tommy Wright.

He would accompany me to local games and provide me with action shots for my reports.  Those were the days of film and one never knew what one had captured until the film was developed.

One off-season, we climbed Mt Faulkner at the back of Claremont and we had photos of us at the fire look-out at the summit.

Photo:  Ralph at the fire lookout atop Mt Faulkner the day we climbed the peak. [PlessPix] 

Ralph served in the navy reserve for many years and wrote a book about HMAS VOYAGER (1), the warship on which his father served during WWII.

I miss our frequent phone conversations each week and our discussions about football in Tasmania and the world.  He was a passionate Tottenham Hotspur fan and managed to get to White Hart Lane one year to watch them play.

He would attend a few games in Hobart each season even now.

My condolences go to his wife, Maureen, daughter Sharon and son John, and grandsons Ryan and Joel.

Photo:  Ralph Dymond (extreme right, middle row) in a Claremont High School football team in 1962.

Photo:  Croatia Glenorchy goalkeeper John Michniewski makes a save against University's Michael Driessen. [Photo by Ralph Dymond] 

Photo:  Ken Morton scores for Juventus against Caledonian. [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

Photo:  University's Peter Crowther takes a free-kcik against Caledonian at South Hobart. [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

 

Photo:  Olympia at South Hobart in the early 1980s. [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

Photo:  Olympia's Ronnie Bolton (left) and Nicky Cook. [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

Photo:  Juventus Pioneer goalkeeper Steve Craven takes a cross against Olympia at Grove Road. [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

 

Photo:  Olympia's Ronnie Bolton takes a free-kick against University at South Hobart. [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

Photo:  University's Peter Crowther scores a penalty against Croatia Glenorchy at Grove Road. [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

 

Photo:  University goalkeeper Steve Darby in action against Keith Broadhouse of Olympia at South Hobart. [Photo by Ralph Dymond]

 

Photo:  Ralph Dymond was a member of the Claremont branch of the RS&L Club and always attended Anzac Day and Remembrance Day ceremonies. He is shown here on November 11, 2016. [PlessPix]