One local rugby club will be celebrating a special anniversary next month. Here, OWRFC President STEVE SIMMONDS outlines the plans, recalling the day that a future Lions captain came down to Woodmansterne to help open their clubhouse
Clubhouse for Clockhouse: the building of new quarters is remembered at the club today
Wallington County School for Boys was opened in 1927, under headmaster Walter Hutchins.
In 1932, he established the Old Walcountians’ Association, so that those leaving could maintain their links with the school, and friendships.
A rugby club was quickly formed and Old Walcountians RFC was born. OWRFC had various “homes”, initially in Beddington Park, and then in Nicholas Road in Beddington. In 1959, a fire put paid to the pavilion in Nicholas Road. The headmaster offered use of the school changing rooms to help the old boys.
When Surrey County Council entered into negotiations to sell the Nicholas Road site to housebuilders, they planned to substitute 30 acres of land at Clockhouse in Woodmansterne.
Old Walcountians saw this as an opportunity to provide a clubhouse for its members, and also to make it available for use by the school.
Tough match: the Surrey invitational team that played Old Walcountians (top picture) at Clockhouse in 1965 included six full internationals. Scotland’s Mike Campbell-Lamerton, a future Lions captain, is centre of the front row of the Surrey team, ready with the ball
An enormous amount of fundraising, planning and hard labour followed, some of which was done by our current, older members. Not least the construction of the clubhouse, and decorating the interior and so on. We all continue to benefit from their hard work.
The culmination of this was 60 years ago, on September 19, 1965, when the clubhouse was opened by the then President of the Rugby Football Union, Air Chief Marshal Sir Augustus Walker.
A match was organised by our former President, Brian “Munge” Nicholls, for OWRFC to play an invitational Surrey President’s XV. Surrey fielded a strong team, with six full internationals, five of them in the pack!
Surrey’s finest: the team sheet from the match programme 60 years ago
The invitational team’s captain was Mike Campbell-Lamerton, a huge man, then captain of Scotland and who had toured South Africa with the British and Irish Lions in 1962 and would go on to captain the Lions in Australia in 1966. The modern-day equivalent would be someone like Maro Itoje popping down to Clockhouse play us, in between Lions tours!
We may have lost that day against such vaunted opposition, but the clubhouse was well and truly open.
Sixty years on, we are due to play at home on Saturday September 20, versus Old Blues, in the cup. Naturally we want to host a lunch beforehand, to mark this hugely important anniversary.
Tickets are £25 to include a bounteous buffet lunch, some brief speeches, plus wonderful company and chats. We sincerely hope that some older members, including Munge Nicholls, will be there to help us celebrate this auspicious occasion.
The 60th anniversary is traditionally a diamond one, and while we may be having a raffle, we can’t promise you a diamond as first prize. We can, however, promise you a splendid day.
If you have any questions, or if you might wish to attend the lunch, please contact the OWRFC President, Steve Simmonds, at president@oldwalcountiansrfc.com
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