
15 February 2021
A century after the first British women gained the right to
vote, our women's rugby historian, Lydia Furse, takes a look at how sport impacted the
lives of many women in South Wales during the First World War.
[caption id="attachment_5311" align="aligncenter"
width="587"] Photo:
http://walesinthefirstworldwar.typepad.com/wales_in_the_first_world_/newport-monmouthshire-and-the-first-world-war/[/caption]
The war took its toll on many communities across Britain and the
globe. South Wales was no exception, with young men volunteering
and later conscripted to fight on the Western Front. As the men
marched to the trenches, the spaces they left behind in work places
were filled by women, who thereby enjoyed a new economic and social
freedom. It is important to note that working class women were
often employed outside the home during the nineteenth and early
twentieth century, but the First World War was a turning point in
the sheer number of women who took to the factory floors to keep
the country running, incidentally proving that they were just as
capable as their menfolk. This had a wider knock on effect on the
women's rights movement, evidenced by the suffragette's success in
gaining the right to vote for some women over 30 in 1918.
The new dependence upon women in the workforce created a lot of
social changes during this time. With women employed and earning
money, many turned to the leisure pursuits previously monopolised
by their brothers, husbands and fathers, including sport. This can
be seen in the more commonly known story of
, who played their first match on Christmas Day 1917. But the
story of the Newport v Cardiff Ladies Rugby match actually predates
this more famous exploit by just a few weeks. On Saturday
15th December 1917, Newport Ladies and Cardiff Ladies
teams faced up to each other in a charity rugby match at Cardiff
Arms Park. The event raised money for the town battalion fund,
supporting troops on the front line. Newport won the game 6-0,
which was most likely two unconverted tries to nil in accordance
with the points system at the time. [caption id="attachment_5312"
align="aligncenter" width="574"] Photo:
http://www.scrumqueens.com/news/wales-v-uk-forces-99-years[/caption]
Although the victorious Newport players remain anonymous (research
is ongoing to discover their identities), it is known that they
represented the local ironmills firm of John Lysaughts Ltd, whilst
their opponents Cardiff Ladies turned out for Wm. Hancock Ltd, the
local brewery. The Cardiff Ladies' Fullback, Maria Eley, recalled
in later life her experience of playing rugby, and suggested that
the match was not a one off:
"We loved it. It was such fun with all of us together on the pitch, but we had to stop when the men came back from the war, which was a shame. Such great fun we had."
Maria Eley has since passed away at the grand old age of 106,
making her possibly the oldest rugby player. Little else is known
about the Cardiff Ladies team who played in December 1917, but
their story is representative of the great social changes that
occurred during the First World War, and that when given the
opportunity, women were more than willing to play the "man's game".
[caption id="attachment_5313" align="aligncenter"
width="645"] Photo:
https://cardiffrugbymuseum.org/object/photograph-cardiff-ladies-football-team-1917[/caption]
The photo above is captioned as featuring Miss E. Kirton, the
captain, and Mrs "MA" Rosser, who provided changing space for both
teams as patron of the Grand Hotel before they walked over to
Cardiff Arms Park. It is believed that this may be the first
example of protective headgear being worn during a match. Although
the kit included long stockings so that no bare legs were on
display, women playing a contact sport during this time was
considered a novelty which was suitable as a charity fundraising
event, but not to be taken seriously. It would be 69 years until
the first representative Welsh Women's rugby team played an
international match, against England. Although some of the media
at the time still considered it a novelty, was no joke to the women
who played. We may never know how the Newport Ladies or Cardiff
Ladies viewed their participation in rugby, but these trailblazers
took full advantage of their new social position during the war,
and it's only a shame that the attitudes in the 1920s prevented
them from continuing. About the Author
- Lydia Furse is working on a PhD
entitled 'Women in rugby union: A social and cultural history,
1880-2016' which you can find out more about here.
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