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

Sunderland faces Northern at Ashbrooke next weekend and two matches between the sides from the early 1880s provide food for thought - especially about the method of scoring used. In November 1880 the sides played a draw on our old ground (which stood, partly, on the site of today's Chester's pub). The weather was 'dull and threatening' - which strikes a bell in February 2026 - and the match played over three 'halves' of 20 minutes. Sunderland scored a try but the opposition

Percy Park is one of very few local clubs that can claim rightfully to be older than us - by a single year. Percy Park has been around since 1872 and has clashed with SRFC on numerous occasions since the late Victorian period. The 1898/9 season opened with a match between the clubs two first teams - at Ashbrooke on 23 September 1898. Our fixture list for that season included West Hartlepool, Hartlepool Rovers, Westoe, Durham City, Rockcliffe and Northern! Matches with Percy

We are due a league match against City on January 10. A recent copy of the weekly Rugby Paper had an article bemoaning the disappearance of historic Boxing Day games. The author provided a short list of the most special of these and amongst them was the annual fixture between Sunderland RFC and Durham City RFC. As those 73ers long in the tooth will recall, some of the good and great of rugby football took part in these games. ( Please name some in our WhatsApp if you can reca

SRFC’S 1877 RIVALS   Just recently while carrying out some research in the Sunderland Echo I came across the fixtures list for SRFC for the 1877 – 8 season and it makes for interesting reading. During the season we faced seven opponents home and away. Three of the seven are still in existence – Darlington, Westoe and Durham University. Darlington is one of our oldest rivals and the first ‘club’ club founded in Durham County (though not continuous due to a dabble in associati

James Harry Edwards is standing back left with arms folded - mistakenly noted as John in handwritten club records There are two versions of the song online Come on the Durhams or Jamie's Song Come on, the Durhams Below are the two case studies that inspired the song. I did over 250 case studies 2014-18 - Get in touch if you want a free online copy of the book. I have hi-lited the reference that led to the song keith.gregson@talk21.com SCFC/FWW/54 EDWARDS JOHN H/K.I.A –WO 339/

Below is a list of the rugby lads who died in or because of war – in brackets is an identifiable year in which they played for the club – the date thus 05/05/1917 is the date of death.   1914-18 War James Adamson jnr. (1913) – RFA/RHA – 05/05/1917 fly half Robert W Adamson (1907) – 7th DLI – 25/05/1917 centre Charles W T Barker (1914) – 15th DLI – 24/03/1918–fly half Harold T F Barker (1911) – RGA/RFA – 29/03/1918   scrum half George H Carter (1906) – RFA - 18/11/1915 –winger

During the centenary of the First World War I produced an online book about the Ashbrooke members - past and present - who took part in the conflict. There were some 250 case studies with over 60 losing their lives as a result of the war. ( Anybody interested in an online copy can still get in touch with me for one). One of the interesting case studies involved a Cecil Boyns Ellis and runs as follows; SCFC/FWW/55 ELLIS CECIL B – SAPPER ROYAL ENGINEERS This is a difficult case

In April we set off on our course to digitize the club's archives and to let the rest of Sunderland know what we ( Marcus and self) have...

Red Bull and 'Newcastle Falcons' have just announced the takeover and re-naming of the club and, in so doing, has also referenced the...

According to the list Alan Ayre Smith is in the middle of the second row up with the plain low necked top Alan Ayre Smith's Sunderland...

Sunderland RFC's early Lions Founded in 1873, Sunderland (Rugby) Football Club has long been recognised by the Rugby Football Union as...

This week, of all weeks [containing V E Day 80], has led me to a couple of our members who gave their lives in World War II. Researcher...

As noted elsewhere there is now a great deal of interest in Howard Marshall as the club has been given a plaque in his memory by the...

Welcome to our new co-archivist - County Rugby under 20 and Newcastle University history student Marcus Harris. Thanks to a grant from...

Many of you are aware that we have access to 'the oldest complete set of club kit' known to the World Rugby Museum. Phil McGowan, curator...

Alan Hughes is known to many at the club - as supporter, former player and official but how many are aware of his current role as time...

We have jut been sent a copy of this lovely picture of one of our England internationals. Poole played for us both before and after his...

Here's a little poser for readers! Besides recalling the efforts of the late and much missed Harry Wilson -answer these questions - how...

I am pleased to announce that I am back on track with the Club Heritage site thanks to the technological knowhow of Mr Tony Hodgson. Many...

A number of club members attended Robin's funeral on 19 December. Robin was a great club man and his obituary has been placed on a number...

While sorting out my online photo archive recently I came across correspondence I had a little while back with local man Philip Darling....

I have mentioned in a number of blogs the fact that we are lucky to have one of the most complete club archives in the country. For a...

SRFC is one of the oldest rugby clubs in the north and, thanks to the efforts of administrators across the years, has an archive which...

A nice little e-mail from former SRFC player and groundsman Jon Buddington - now in charge of the wonderful University Parks Sports...

The previous blog noted correspondence from the descendant of Victorian club member Jack Thompson. She sent a number of fascinating...

Recently I wrote about correspondence received concerning a Victorian club member called Jack Thompson. Research shows that he was an...

I have just been contacted by a descendant of Victorian club member 'Jack' Thompson filled with fascinating detail. Unfortunately I have...

Due to commitments outside of historical research over the next few months there will be no new articles. However the site remains a...

Folks crossing Ashbrooke's grounds during school time will have seen the pupils from St Aidan's playing baseball ( or softball/rounders)....

Folks may be a little surprised to find an international cricket competition being played partly in the United States - as it is with the...

Our final First World War veteran to appear on the Bowls board is perhaps one of the finest amateur sportsmen Sunderland has seen. Read...

See the previous blog for the background to this blog which concerns - Thomas Reginald Sewell (SCFC/FWW 194). He was born in Crossdoney...

Bowlers new and long standing often declare an interest in the boards on the bowls pavilion walls. These boards list officials and...

The previous blog took Ralph's story from his birth in 1813 up to the formation of our cricket club in 1834. At the time Ralph was only...

It has been noted on a number of occasions that Sunderland C C can be proud of the fact that it is recognised by sport historians as the...

Reference was made in a recent blog to the old time links between cricket and rugby – links which have, in some respects, been broken due...

The bowls’ season is with us once more, affording us another opportunity to look at the unique cross sport links that exist in our club....

Rugby and Cricket have always been close. Before the demands of both the sports today it was common for sporting folk to play cricket in...

The grounds around the country are soggy and it doesn't look like there will be an easy start to the season! However it is a good time to...

It was good to read a club communication which suggested that Girls' Rugby on a Monday evening had really taken off. With a number of...

My 150th anniversary Sunderland RFC book is now on sale at the club. The book is in two parts. The first part looks at the club's very...

Thanks to Billy Kidson - one of the founding members who lived into his 90s; 'The club was able to record that the first official game of...

150th anniversary of Sunderland (Rugby) Football Club, Ashbrooke Sports Club 12.00 -2.00. Tuesday 26 December 2023 sees the 150th...

Jeff Brown is one of the best known figures in North East England. For years he has fronted BBC TV’s ‘Look North’ programme with a...

It was a moving occasion on Saturday when the poppy wreath was placed in front of the Last Stand at Ashbrooke before the 1st XV game...

Have a good look at this! https://worldrugbymuseum.com/from-the-vaults/uncategorized/william-webb-ellis-what-we-know

It was great to see the lovely coverage of Sunderland CC's 1st XI League victory in the Echo yesterday and to see a return to the top...

This has just gone onto the World Rugby Museum web site https://worldrugbymuseum.com/from-the-vaults/players/juan-arzuaga As you will see...