The rugby team at Fernhurst
circa 1959-60
Round about 1959 there were four new arrivals at Fernhurst, their first posting after Harrogate and training at Farnborough. One of these young lads was an accomplished rugby player, a fly half, or as we say today, a stand off half.
13 Field Survey Squadron RE at that time had a football team who were beating all comers and was a unit of about sixty members. AN Other wanted to form a rugby team and about eleven players with previous experience were found, we then set about recruiting footballers who couldn't make the Squadron team and a team was formed. This team was as successful as the football team even beating No 9 Training Regiment RE, a top team at that time. The score we ran up against 16 Railway Regiment RE was more like a cricket score, 58 - 3 if the grey cells are still functioning! As you can tell this was prior to the Royal Corps of Transport being formed and pinching the railways from the Corps, the RLC had not even been dreamed of!!
One match that we played stands out in memory, that against RAF Tangmere.
During that game one of our players collided with one of theirs, there was a loud crack and a shout "Bone gone", That was bad enough, a broken leg on the field but to make matters worse, the injured player was the RAF Medical Officer!
During
the spring of, I believe 1960, a game was to be played at Hermitage
against the then School of Military Survey. Several of the regular
players were field surveyors away on detachment with Operation Emily,
I think we were in Rutland at North Luffenham at the time but that is
beside the point. The whole detachment travelled to Hermitage in a 3
tonner for the game. This was to be the only game we were to lose, I
seem to recall it was very close with the final score 3 0 to the
School.
Albie