Video: A labour of love lasting 33 years

The 72-year-old was an ever-present over three decades at the club's former City Ground home and has maintained his dedication to the cause since Town reformed in 2013 and moved to a new Bentley base.

After years of sterling service, Preece reveals he has the next generation at heart when making the five-minute trip down the road to the ground and takes pride in creating a better future for local youngsters.

But he also recalls a time when he was the next generation, standing as a youngster amid a buzzing crowd of more than 1,000 when the club competed strongly in the old Birmingham & District League before it became the West Midlands Regional League ahead of the 1962/63 season.

"My grandfather introduced me to Wolves and I became a fan and I have been ever since," Gilbert confessed.

"But I remember being part of that crowd in the '50s when Darlaston were a strong side.

"The football club was for the working bloke. It was their outlet for the day. Back in those times there wasn't as much going on and the club was really appreciated by the community."

Promoted

Preece, who was born in West Bromwich and grew up in Wednesbury, owes much to local football in shaping his working career.

The former Kings Hill Primary School student officiated at Football League level for nine years, including running the line in the first ever televised FA Cup game at Hillsborough in front of 45,000 and overseeing an Olympic qualifier between West Germany and Portugal in Bremen.

"I went from being a junior referee, to a class one ref, to then being promoted to the West Midlands League.

"I made a supplementing list and then a pool list before being made a Football League official in the 1970s and right up to when I finished after the 1983/84 season.

"As a Football League official back then you covered all bases and had the best of both worlds.

"I remember being the linesman for an FA Cup quarter-final between Everton and Tottenham Hotspur and the next Friday night I was doing a game at Crewe where there were about 600 there."

And it was after hanging up his boots and whistle that Preece decided to give back to the community and 'commit', as he puts it, to Darlaston Town.

He's overseen a change of grounds, the gates being locked on the club numerous times, and many a tale he admits 'unsuitable' for print, but it is giving local youngsters a chance to play that drives him on.

"Once I'd committed it would take a great deal for me to stop," he said.

"I won't stop. So long as I've got my health, I won't stop.

"It's about making the future better for the next generation, ensuring that they've got somewhere to go and play.

"The club has a lovely new base at Bentley with real potential.

"I've seen the good and the bad times. Hopefully they'll all be good now."

After the interview, Preece revealed he would be popping down to the ground to partake in his normal chores, he would be clearing out the dressing rooms – particularly dingy at this time of year – to ensure that they were fit for purpose.

The support of chairman Neil Chambers also encourages the current club secretary.

He regularly makes numerous trips on a weekend to ferry members of the youth teams to and from away matches before looking after the first-team squad.

"Neil is ever so appreciative of anyone who does something for the club," he said.

"I don't mind doing anything.

"It keeps you young and happy. It keeps me going.

"My parents passed away way back and I live alone, the football is part of my life everyday."

Despite the blossoming club sitting pretty in their new home – they were promoted from West Midlands Division Two to Division One last season under player-boss Mark Swann – Preece still reveals the heartache at the state of the City Ground, Town's home for 115 years.

The ground made headlines at the beginning of November after a suspected arson attack left the main stand and surrounding areas in ruin.

"It's totally dilapidated now," he said.

"It's very, very sad for me.

"It broke my heart that we couldn't do anything to keep the club playing there.

"But we have a lovely home now."

Preece recalled when he and fellow current committee member Dave Steventon and Gordon Campbell joined forces to help the club out after the 1985/86 season, when the committee disbanded and the club was locked up.

The former bus driver and courier said: "We went to the West Midlands League asking them to get the club registered and to give us a chance.

"They did, and the three of us ran the club from top to bottom for a season.

"We had got 13 players together who hadn't ever met till that day and I finished cutting the grass at 2pm.

"There was no electricity and no water but we got there."

Former forward Eddie Glover was one of the mainstays of the team that a wide-eyed young Preece used to watch grace the City Ground.

Preece recalled how Glover went on to another club and upon returning for a cup game was booed loudly for 90 minutes.

And now, his rented home on Wolverhampton Road, just a five-minute wander from the ground, is owned by that same Eddie Glover.

Very fitting for Mr Darlaston.

"We were salt of the earth, we all used to say," Preece said. Quite

Does your club have an unsung hero? Email nick.elwell@expressandstar.co.uk and tell us about them