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English rugby league footballer & murder victim From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Garry John Purdham (20 October 1978 – 2 June 2010) was an English professional rugby league player[2] 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 31) Gosforth, Cumbria, England | (aged|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Second-row | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] |
Purdham began his professional rugby league career in 1999 with Whitehaven.[3] There he played alongside his brother Rob Purdham.
In 2005 Purdham transferred to the nearby club Workington Town.[4] He struggled with a recurring knee injury at Workington[5] and ultimately required four operations in six years.[6]
Purdham retired from professional rugby league after the 2008 season;[3] however, he returned in 2009 to play amateur rugby league for Egremont Rangers.[7]
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.[8][9] He became the ninth murder victim of spree killer Derrick Bird, who killed 12 people and injured 11 others that day before committing suicide.[10]
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.[11]
The Workington club has announced that a memorial in honour of Purdham will be established.[12] His funeral and cremation were held on 10 June 2010, attended by over 600 mourners.[13]
Purdham is survived by a wife and two children. He was the brother of Rob Purdham, a former player with Harlequins RL[14] who played for England five times.[15]
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