Known as Stewart/Stuart? Was born in Whitburn in 1912 and died in 1982. He played as flanker for the club and was in the 1931 county cup winning side. He was the brother of Richard Henry Waterhouse and the rugby playing Cox brothers were his cousins. His father died in 1920 and, like his brother, Stewart? lived with the Cox family for a while. During the war he served as an officer with the Durham Light Infantry. By 1944 he was a captain/temporary major in charge of D Company

Richard Henry Waterhouse was born in Whitburn in 1914 and died in West Sussex in 1995. He played for the club as a flanker in the early 1930s. His father was an engineer who died in 1920. His mother was the sister of SRFC, Durham, Barbarian and England back Norman Cox. Richard was educated at Tunstall School and Loretto College. At Loretto he was described as ‘a hard working forward’. In 1921 he was living with his mother and the Cox family in St George’s Square. He joined th

Alan Havelock Spence was born in Sunderland in 1909 and died as the result of an air crash in 1943. He was probably SRFC’s most successful player between the wars and played in the back row. He represented the county on over 20 occasions and was part of a joint Northumberland/Durham side which played against the All Blacks. He was also the only Sunderland player in the Durham County side which celebrated the county’s Diamond Jubilee in 1936. His father was a bank clerk and

Harold Ashton Milburn was born in Sunderland in June 1922 and lost his life as a result of enemy action in May 1942. He was only 19. He played in the backs at the beginning of the war when many older men had already joined the forces. His father was a solicitor but the family, in general, was known for producing successful architects, responsible for building some of the most important theatres in the country. Harold went to Rock Lodge School ( where his headmaster was James

Patrick Gordon Thompson was born in Sunderland in 1913 and was killed in action in 1941. He played fly half for the club in the early to mid-1930s. His father was a G P north of the river and Patrick was educated at Durham School. He became a sergeant observer in 59 squadron of the RAF the task of which was to patrol the channel. He was on a night time reconnaissance mission over Cherbourg when the plane, a Lockheed Hudson V, was downed by enemy flak. The plane crashed into C

William Grant Waugh was born in Sunderland in March 1922 and was killed in action in the spring of 1945. He played on the wing for the club in 1939 and 1940 when still at school and college. His father was a surgeon at Monkwearmouth Hospital and William was educated at Fettes College and Worcester College, Oxford. The family lived in Grange Terrace in the former home of Howard Marshall – Sunderland, Blackheath, England, Barbarians and British Lion back. William’s mother was t

Hubert Stuart Ray was born in Sunderland in 1922 and died as the result of an air accident in 1944. He played in the centres for the club during the first season of the war and while still at school. His father was a coke and coal merchant in Boldon and Hubert was educated at Denstone School where he was vice captain of the cricket team. Prior to this he had gone to Dobbie’s school at Rock Lodge where his sporting talent had also been recognised. He was playing for the schoo

James Edgar Dobbie had his birth registered in Durham in 1902 and died as the result of an air raid on Bromley in 1943. He played rugby in the centres for Durham University then for Sunderland and Durham County in the late 1920s. His father was a grocer in Spennymoor and his brother was a teacher. He married into the sporting Jopling family in 1931. Prior to this he had taken holy orders and had been a deacon at Belmont and curate at St Michael’s Bishopwearmouth (1928 -30).

Alfred Peter Mair ( known as Peter?) had his birth registered in Sunderland during the first quarter of 1916 and died in action in March 1942. According to his obituary he was ‘known as a rugby player’ and turned out on the wing for the club in the late 1930s. His father was an accountant based in Frederick Street and at the time of his death, the family was living in the Cloisters, Ashbrooke. His mother was a member of the Colling family. He was educated at Oundle School bet

Gordon Harold Fairclough was born in Sunderland on 04 December 1919 and died in Canada in 2018 at the age of 98.He played at full back for the club in the mid to late 1930s and returned to play after the war . His father ran a well-known plumbing and gas fitting business in Frederick Street and had served in the Boer War. The family lived on Ashbrooke Mount overlooking the ground. Gordon was educated at Wellingborough School and was a member of the Officers’ Training Corps. H

As the annual Remembrance Day approaches, we look at the careers of some of the club's rugby players during the Second World War. SRFC's history formed part of a book published in the 1960s. In the book was a Roll Of Honour dedicated to over 60 members of the then Sunderland Cricket and Rugby Football Club who gave their lives or were decorated for bravery during that conflict. Daily from Tuesday 20 October I hope to publish on this site mini biographies of 23 of the club's

Just recently evidence has come to light that football may have been played in Sunderland prior to the establishment of the local rugby club in 1873. This has long been considered the first organised appearance of football in the then town. The world-famous Sunderland AFC was formed some six years later. Throughout the summer of 1861, the Reverend George Iliff (1833- 1878) placed a series of advertisements for his boarding school – the Grange - in the local Sunderland Heral

Ashbrooke's Finest Day - June 9, 1926 As an incredibly exciting Ashes series comes to a close, (see below) club archivist Keith Gregson reflects on a fascinating historical link between Ashbrooke and Australian cricket.With the advent of the 1926 Australians came Ashbrooke's finest day. The date was June 9th 1926, the Wednesday before the first test at the Oval. The weather was ideal for cricket - 'the hot rays of the sun tempered by a cool breeze'. The crowds streamed in and

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Charles Thompson – a descendant of shipbuilders Robert Thompson Senior and junior and grandson of shipbroker V T Thompson. He wanted to know if we had anything on his grandfather’s links to Ashbrooke. Indeed we do – and it is quite a story! BIRTH AND EARLY LIFE Viginti Tertius Thompson (1862 -1946) was born in Southwick ( now part of the City of Sunderland) and had his birth registered in Sunderland. He was the son of prominent ship builder

And so we start off on a long ( but possibly short) road to promotion to L5 with a trip to Consett. Consett RUFC celebrated its centenary in 2023. There had been a rugby club in the area prior to this but it had fallen by the wayside – some think as a result of the First World War. For years Consett was not a regular on Sunderland’s 1 st XV fixture list but all this changed with the introduction of leagues in the 1980s and there have been regular meetings ever since. The ear

The result of today's match may decide whether the season ends here or continues into a maze of play off games. Morpeth is a highly respected and successful club so it comes as something of a surprise to discover that it is a relatively young club. It was founded just after the Second World War seemingly as an old boys club for the local grammar school. In those days clubs were designated as junior and senior and it wasn't until 1954 that Morpeth gained senior status. It has

This Saturday sees the restoration of an old rivalry. Stockton RFC is as old as SRFC and our paths have crossed on many occasions. One of the earliest surviving newspaper records dates back to 1889 and the 2nd round of the county cup. It was described as a rough encounter with two of the Stockton men having to retire through injury and Sunderland turning round early scores to win comfortably as a result. In the Sunderland team that day were the Crow brothers - ( it has often

Aspatria are our guests this weekend. A club with a pedigree as long as our own, the Cumbrian club has just celebrated its 150 th anniversary. Across the years, it has been one of the most successful clubs in the far north-west of England and has won their county cup on numerous occasions. During the late twentieth century Aspatria was a force to be reckoned with and was considered one of the top clubs in the north. This success is reflected in the number of players who gain

As I was brought up in the old counties of Cumberland and Westmorland, I am aware of Wigton as a sporting force in the past. When I was a youngster in the 1960s i Wigton had a good reputation for rugby and green bowling so it is pleasure to welcome the rugby sides ( walking and walking a little faster) to Ashbrooke. It also gives me to opportunity to have a look at old newspapers for anything of historical interest. According to the local 'Wigton News' Wigton Rugby Football

As noted in my last blog - (please take a look if you haven't seen it) - fixtures between Sunderland and Northern go back a long way - in fact almost 150 years. Even dull games have interesting stories behind them -games such as the one which was played at Newcastle in October 1902. Although the RFU did not approve of it, the North East had decided to set up a league system for the 1902/3 season and this was one of the first games played in it. The league was called the Int