From The Vaults

26 August 2019

England v Ireland 1988: The Nigel Melville Story

The Five Nations match between England and Ireland in March 1988 was a historic occasion for two reasons...

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26 August 2019

England v Ireland 1988: The Nigel Melville Story

The Five Nations match between England and Ireland in March 1988 was a historic occasion for two reasons...

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05 August 2019

Who was Lewis Cobden Thomas?

Lewis Cobden Thomas was born on 6 August 1865 in Merthyr Tydfil, the fourth son and fifth of eleven children of Thomas Thomas, an ironmonger, and his wife Gwladys, nee Jones. He was given the name of the radical liberal MP, Richard Cobden, who had fiercely opposed the Corn Laws, campaigned for their abolition and for an improved system of education.

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22 July 2019

When the Crowd Stops Roaring by Neven MacEwan

Neven MacEwan played 20 times for New Zealand between 1956 and 1962. He helped defeat the British and Irish Lions three times during their 1959 tour of Australia and New Zealand and contributed to a 3-0 series whitewash of France in 1961. His international career came at a time when the All Blacks vied with South Africa for supremacy in the world game...

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06 June 2019

Remembering Bob Weighill

Remembering Bob Weighill, the England captain who helped pave the way for the Normandy landings...

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18 February 2019

Flying Lions: Louis Greig

Flying Lions: Louis Greig Continuing our series of biographies by David Smith, covering some of the British & Irish Lions who served with the RAF.

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10 December 2018

Charlie Pritchard - "I have done my bit"

The Pritchard Collection gives us a unique insight into rugby history, but also connects us to that pre-1914 world through the story of an iconic character who perished in that dreadful conflict.

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01 December 2018

Lest We Forget - Fred Leonard Perrett (Wales) 01/12/1918

By the end of October 1918, Fred Perrett had been on active service on the Western Front for three years and, having already been twice wounded, he may well have felt that he had done his bit...

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26 November 2018

The England International who was sunk at Jutland...

Sydney Coopper was secretary of the RFU from 1924 to 1947. In 1916 his ship was sunk during the nighttime exchanges during the Battle of Jutland. Coopper survived. This is the story of what happened that night on board HMS Sparrowhawk...

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18 November 2018

Lest We Forget - Reginald Oscar Schwarz (England) 18/11/2018

Reginald Oscar Schwarz, who was born in Lee in South London, is perhaps better known as a South African test cricketer than as an England rugby international...

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08 November 2018

Rugby remembers the fallen of the First World War

Throughout the First World War rugby players from all nations and of all levels distinguished themselves by their bravery and conduct...

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05 November 2018

Lest We Forget - Alexander James Ridland (New Zealand) 05/11/1918

Alexander James (Jimmy) Ridland died at Le Quesnoy in France on 5th November 1918 during the final week of the First World War. A rifleman in the 1st Battalion of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, he was the last of the 13 All Blacks who lost their lives in the war.

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29 October 2018

Dave Gallaher: The Original All-Black

Gallaher’s 1905 side created a legacy that continues to this day. The words ‘All-Blacks’, as reported by British newspapers during the New Zealander’s stay, has instilled fear, admiration and respect ever since.

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