Some treasures were discovered in our attic ahead of the installation of a new roof. I found the photograph displayed above. It was taken in 1941 at RAF Padgate near Warrington in what was then Lancashire. It shows the rugby union team and there's my father Philip sitting third from the left. He can't have made many appearances for the RAF Padgate XV as he was only there for twelve weeks of intensive training before being shipped off to India. Prior to volunteering he had been a primary school teacher for four years but had resigned his post in order to join the war effort. I guess that all the other team members had done the same and that a number of them never came home.
Below you can see the Under 16 rugby squad from my old secondary school in Hull. The picture was taken in 1969 - probably around Easter and this time sitting third from the left it's me - the author of this humble Yorkshire blog. I enjoyed rugby and though I say so myself I was good at it - being picked to play for my city and in the following year I was the youngest player in the school's first team. I was once described as "tigerish". It's funny but after all these years, I can name nearly all of the other boys... Foster, Carleton, Tarbotton, Wilkie, Lund, Sumpton, Hawley, Harrison, Hirst, Hawtree. There were a lot of "H's".
None of my three brothers took to rugby but Simon was a pretty good footballer. Paul was into rock climbing and rowing but Robin really only showed prowess in swimming and still enjoys it very much today. Like Cro Magnon, he has his own pool way down in the south west of France.
Snipped from the team photos, there's me and Dad below. Can you tell which is which? Dad would have been twenty seven in 1941 but in 1969 I was fifteen.
The most mysterious ball game to me.
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to tackle you in the mud Andrew. The air would have rushed out of you like a burst airbed.
DeleteI don't understand the game at all (but then I am like that with all games using animal bladders and young men running all over the place - sometimes backwards). It appears that you have inherited your father's ears.
ReplyDeleteMmm... not sure about the ears.
DeleteYou were a great sports family...athletes.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't go that far Red but I would have loved to tackle you - bringing you to earth like a moose.
DeleteI would have been easy to catch as I was slow, but after that I was pretty solid
DeleteAnother team sport that I don't understand. You have your father's nose.
ReplyDeleteMmm... about the nose, I don't think so.
DeleteI loved my days of school rugby, but moving up to club rugby was another matter. We played against teams such as London Welsh and London Irish, and I wasn't really tough enough to cope. I quit.
ReplyDelete"...and here at Twickenham, Magnon has the ball! He's running down the touchline! It's going to be a try for The Southern Nancies. But here comes Pudding like a mad bull. Oomph! We could feel that tackle up here in the commentary box. Magnon is crying. The whistle has gone. It's another victory for The Northern Lionhearts... by 64 points to zero!"
DeleteNo blubbing, but plenty of painful bruises.
DeleteBecause of me wearing glasses since the age of 7, and poor hand-eye-coordination, ball games were never my forte. I loved running and jumping and was pretty good at both, though.
ReplyDeleteEven before looking at the snippets, I knew which one was your Dad, even though you did not say whether he was third from the left in the front or back row.
Good morning Meike! Have a nice workday. I gave a big clue when I said my father was sitting. The blokes behind were standing.
DeleteI see you favoured the pudding bowl haircut back then Mr Pudding.
ReplyDeleteYou look like the mysterious fifth Beatle!
ReplyDeleteGeorge Formby Lancashires most famous funny man's grave in Warrington is now in Warrington in Cheshire. Unbelievable!
ReplyDeleteYou're the one without the moustache, and you both have a good head of hair...
ReplyDeleteI hope the hair has stuck with you
ReplyDeleteRugby. The one thing in favour of failing your 11 Plus.
ReplyDeleteI've written about school rugby too, but I like Andrew Petcher's story (Have Bag Will Travel on WordPress). The games teacher offered a choice of rugby or "soccer" (said with distaste). Those who chose football had to wait until he had seen to the rugby players, half an hour in the cold and damp. Then, "Right! All you boys who want to play soccer, you're going on a cross country run."
Not a game I follow but did manage to get into a mixed ex-pats game in Hamburg as a student.
ReplyDeleteWe think we saw team playing rugby in a park near my home yesterday. Does it look a bit like soccer but you can use your hands? Are you supposed to kick it in the net or over the net? We were confused!
ReplyDeleteYou resemble him. When I was working at a radio station in Indianapolis, our morning dj got involved with a group of weekend amateur rugby players and he'd come in on Monday mornings limping, bruised and battered. Finally our boss told him he had to quit playing rugby or quit his job. I have watched some matches and it is a brutal sport.
ReplyDelete