Brought up in Derbyshire but moved to Coventry in 1960 where he encountered the famed Coventry Arts Umbrella Club - opened in 1956 by the Goons when Harry Secombe unfurled a large black umbrella and proclaimed "The Umbrella, long may it reign" (Umbrella Club). It was this establishment that encouraged Coventry's folk scene with numerous workshop and folk clubs. One of these was an acappella group that met in Spon End and maybe where Ron started maintaining the beat by swinging his right arm. His interest in the folk scene led him to him to create a 'Folk Beast', unsurprisingly, the Derby Ram and once it was complete, he needed a group to utilise it in a Mummers Play.

This began the research that he became famous for but he also continued to design and build props for the Coventry Mummers and even created the Queen's costume for the Sword Play that included a false, removable head. At this time he worked for Land Rover and made good use of vehicle components they no longer required. The Turkish Knight's shield is adorned with a Land Rover 'suspension bump stop' which works well when defending against St George who sports an aluminium saucepan helmet. Ron procured the saucepan from Coventry Market and was aware of the stall holder viewing him with intrigue and suspicion. Finally, the stall holder approached Ron and enquired if he needed any help to which Ron, holding said saucepan, replied, "Have you got this in a seven and a half?"

Other props he created include the collapsing shield, the faulty spear and the failing mace for the St George Play and the disappearing arrow for Robin Hood.

He was responsible for securing the Cash’s Ribbons which decorate the bowler hats of Coventry Mummers and (we believe) Earlsdon Morris Men.

With the intention of taking the Derby Ram for an outing, Ron searched for an authentic script for the play but knew he also needed a group of performers. Ron soon found a Mummers Play script (and many others) and a number of volunteers that soon expanded and became the Coventry Mummers.

Thinking of increasing comfort at Folk Festival weekends, Ron's inventive mind moved him to build the infamous folding trailer tent fondly known as the Shuttlecraft which again was built from parts that Land Rover didn't need. Many years later when we spent a weekend at Long Itchington Festival, Ron stayed at the home of a Coventry Mummer and in the late afternoon, Ron left us at the bar to rest prior to the evening's activities. As time passed, we began to question Ron's whereabouts. His siesta was forgotten and he had been inadvertently 'locked in'. He exited the cottage via the kitchen window and climbed directly onto the main road through the village. A grand entrance for an octogenarian!

When he appeared as a speaker at the Mummers Un-convention of 2012 not only did he cause a minor stir when he donned antenna lights but he revealed that his research into a script for the Plough Play had uncovered four scripts all purporting to be the authentic, aged version. After some time, Ron realised that the original version had evolved along four separate pathways when four local Mummer Groups had made changes to their version when they could not find sufficient players. Consequently, Ron had repaired the original script by combining four separate loosely connected scripts. The evening’s entertainment or ‘Revels’ for this conference comprised numerous Mumming performances that included Coventry Mummers presenting the operatic version of the St George Play. A performance that ‘brought the house down’ but was surpassed later that evening when Ron delivered “Joan the Leather Queen” and its reception ‘blew the roof off’.

Ron's research culminated in the establishment of a Mummers Database which occupied much of a downstairs room at home. This pre-dated the digital era and so the collection comprised hordes of paper copies. Eventually Ron found a home for it in Sheffield University in its now digitised form and is accessible to all.

As a multi-talented performer with a fine singing voice and writer of lyrics (tended to utilise existing tunes), he produced the song "Stoneleigh Mummers Oh" which is sung to the tune of Old King Cole.

He once learnt of the somewhat strange case of Regina v Collins in which a young lady eagerly welcomed her boyfriend as he climbed the ladder to her bedroom. After a night of unbridled bliss, she awoke and discovered it was not her boyfriend and the court case ensued. Ron recorded the event with a song to the Morris tune Young Collins.