Giles Hilton’s Canterbury Tale
Action man Giles Hilton recognised for services to Kent Rugby.
Giles Hilton is chairman and commercial manager of Canterbury Rugby Club and, having steered them to a three quarter of a million pound upgrade, maintained five senior men’s teams, a women’s team, a wheelchair rugby team, an emerging girls’ section and teams at every age group, as well as touch rugby activity, he has richly deserved his MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.
For services to rugby in Kent in the citation encompasses putting in almost as many hours as to his day job as Head of Customer Relations at Britain’s oldest brewer, Shepherd Neame, who have 320 pubs in London and the South East and also sponsor both the Canterbury club and Kent RFU.
Giles began playing for Canterbury as a Colt in 1976, made the first team in 1978 and was then second team captain before hanging up his boots. His two sons Guy (below) and Will currently play for the club’s first 15, having moved up from minis and juniors, and his wife, Phillipa, has been an outstanding volunteer, helping with fundraising and commercial activity.
“The Marine Travel Ground has been very much the family home every winter,” said Giles.
He has served two terms as chairman, during which time they have installed new floodlights on two of their pitches, secured more land to increase their pitches to five, completely upgraded the exterior and interior of the club, including changing rooms, spectator areas and social space.
They are currently in the process of building a state-of-the-art gym and fitness suite which will become a centre of excellence for high performance able bodied athletes and those with disabilities throughout Kent.
Giles was originally a partner in his father’s fruit growing business, his father David was awarded an OBE for services to the fruit growing industry, having been on the Apple & Pear Development Council for a number of years. The day before Giles’ wedding the Great Storm of 1987 wiped out their crop and the business.
As Phillipa was a qualified chef, the couple took over the tenancy of a Shepherd Neame pub for seven years, then moving on to manage a local golf club, before Giles joined Shepherd Neame.
You would think that in the summer he and the family might put their feet up. Not a bit, Giles is chairman of the local cricket club, St Lawrence and Highland Court, where both his sons play. He is also a Trustee of the Jason Leonard Atlas Foundation.
Giving back to sport is what Giles and the family do. “It has given me a huge amount of pleasure and the rugby club is a place where I can relax, believe it or not,” he said. “It has given me the ability to lead a team of marvellous volunteers who are so important to the club and the sport and rugby has given me fantastic friends both locally and across the world.”
