From The Vaults

31 July 2017

Lest We Forget - Edgar Roberts Mobbs (England), 31/07/1917

Edgar Roberts Mobbs was born in Northampton. Although a promising sportsman, his early departure from school meant that he did not feature there in the 1st XV. He was soon playing rugby at club level though, first with Olney and then 234 times for Northampton, for whom he was captain from the 1907/08 season until 1913...

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31 July 2017

Lest We Forget - Edgar Roberts Mobbs (England), 31/07/1917

Edgar Roberts Mobbs was born in Northampton. Although a promising sportsman, his early departure from school meant that he did not feature there in the 1st XV. He was soon playing rugby at club level though, first with Olney and then 234 times for Northampton, for whom he was captain from the 1907/08 season until 1913...

31 July 2017

Lest We Forget - Arthur James Wilson (England), 31/07/1917

From 1900 he spent four years at Glenalmond College in Perthshire, where he became a prefect and was a regular member of the rugby XV and of the cricket XI in his final two years.

28 July 2017

Passchendaele and the last moments of Edgar Mobbs, 31st July 1917

By capturing the village of Passchendaele, the British hoped to progress in the direction of the Belgian coast where the Allies might curtail the threat of the German U-boat. After long deliberation Prime Minister Lloyd George agreed Field Marshal Haig's plan and zero-hour was set for 3.50 am on the morning of the 31st July, after a fifteen-day four million shell bombardment.

24 July 2017

Ireland 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup

The Women's Rugby World Cup 2017 is around the corner, taking place in Belfast and Dublin from 9-26 August 2017. The Irish Rugby Football Union was chosen to host the eighth Women's tournament in May 2015 and looks set to deliver a phenomenal event.

17 July 2017

The Plight of the Northern Amateur

This work is based on cuttings in a scrapbook given to me in my capacity as archivist of Ashbrooke Sports Club in Sunderland, home of Sunderland RFC (founded 1873).

10 July 2017

Goals From A Mark, 1871 - 1914

On January 2nd 1886 towards the end of the first half of their match against Wales when they were leading by two tries to nil, the English forward CH (Charles) Elliot caught a miscued kick for touch by the Welsh full back DH (Harry) Bowen on the full and claimed a mark.

03 July 2017

Remembering Drewy Stoddart - ‘the most famous sportsman in Queen Victoria’s empire’

The man dubbed 'the most famous sportsman in Queen Victoria's empire' was born in County Durham in 1860. His sporting proficiency was quickly recognised and he became only the second man in history to captain England at both cricket and rugby.

26 June 2017

Remembering George Nepia

The New Zealand full-back was nineteen years old, and he was the only man in the side who played every match of the tour [NZ to UK, 1925].

17 June 2017

Lest We Forget – George Eric Burroughs Dobbs (England) 17/06/1917

George Eric Burroughs Dobbs was born in Co Kilkenny, near Castlecomer where his father Joseph owned a coal mine. Joseph had married Mary Augusta Harte in Dublin in 1878 and they had seven children, George being the 2nd of four boys.

11 June 2017

Lest We Forget – John Edward Raphael (England) 11/06/1917

John Edward Raphael was born in Belgium and died in Belgium, though this did not prevent him becoming one of England's most accomplished sportsmen of his day, exemplified by the fact that at Oxford he won 14 Blues across four sports.

07 June 2017

All Blacks at Messines Ridge, 1917

In the attack leading to the capture of the Messines ridge in West Flanders, Belgium, by the Allies between June 7th and 14th 1917, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force were to the fore.

29 May 2017

How the 1950 British and Irish Lions prepared for their trip to New Zealand

A Lions tour involves vast amounts of preparation and a numerous tactical discussions. Ahead of this year's tour in New Zealand, let's take a look at how things were done nearly seventy years ago.

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