Garry Purdham
English rugby league footballer & murder victim (1978 – 2010)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Garry John Purdham (20 October 1978 – 2 June 2010) was an English professional rugby league player[3] and farmer. He was killed in the 2010 Cumbria shootings.
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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Garry John Purdham | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 20 October 1978 Whitehaven, Cumbria, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 2 June 2010 (aged 31) Gosforth, Cumbria, England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Career
Purdham began his professional rugby league career in 1999 with Whitehaven.[4] There he played alongside his brother Rob Purdham.
In 2005 Purdham transferred to the nearby club Workington Town.[5] He struggled with a recurring knee injury at Workington[6] and ultimately required four operations in six years.[7]
Purdham retired from professional rugby league after the 2008 season;[4] however, he returned in 2009 to play amateur rugby league for Egremont Rangers.[8]
Death
On 2 June 2010, Purdham was working with his uncle mending a wire fence on his father's farm near the Red Admiral Hotel at Boonwood, near Gosforth when he was shot and killed.[9][10] He became the ninth murder victim of spree killer Derrick Bird, who killed 12 people and injured 11 others that day before committing suicide.[11]
In honour of Purdham and the other Cumbria victims, one minute's silence was observed before every rugby league match played in England on the weekend of 5–6 June 2010.[12]
The Workington club has announced that a memorial in honour of Purdham will be established.[13] His funeral and cremation were held on 10 June 2010, attended by over 600 mourners.[14]
Family
Purdham was survived by a wife and two children. He was the brother of Rob Purdham, a former player with Harlequins RL[15] who played for England five times.[16]