Originally from Dorset, Ron arrived in Exeter as a teenaged Royal Marine in 1949 and remained in the area for the rest of his life.  After serving in the military for eight years, he joined the prison service and worked at Exeter and Haldon jails whilst also acting as a mentor for new recruits at the Royal Marine Commando Training Centre at Lympstone. 

After retiring from the prison service in 1994, he served the city council at the Guildhall where he was a custodian of the cap, mace and sword until 2017. During this time he was heavily-involved in Exeter's twinning arrangement with Yaroslavl and was subsequently made a freeman of Exeter in January 2018. Achieving the highest honour in the Guild of Mace-bearers in 2014, Ron Crabb was also awarded the British Empire Medal for his charitable work in the Exeter area. 

In the world of football he was a top-class referee until the statutory retirement age of forty-eight. As Exeter's sole representative on the Football League list for many years, Ron also became the first referee from the local area to officiate in one of the European club competitions. Ultimately involved in football for over fifty years, he was awarded merit awards by both the county and national football associations. Ron also enjoyed his appearance in the opening credits of Match of the Day for several seasons in the 1970s. 

Becoming something of an Exeter City fan over the years, Ron had started refereeing in local football in 1957 and, although he was unable to officiate in competitive matches involving the Grecians, he did handle a number of friendly and testimonial games at St James' Park during his twenty-year career. 

Ron donated a series of photographs of his time as a referee to the Grecian Archive and in a Grecian Histories inteview with Martin Weiler speaks about some of his career highlights including taking charge of a women's international between England and the Republic of Ireland at St James' Park. 

Ron Crabb died in April 2018 at the age of eighty-seven.