Having enlisted in December 1914, Norman made the decision to join the ranks, (a decision discussed in the previous blog), one to which the Aldenham headmaster credited to his “extreme modesty.” He spent a year in training in England: travelling between Kempton Park Racecourse, Warlingham, joining the 100th Brigade at Slipstone Camp in July 2015…
Our starting point and effective ‘bible’ for this project, the ORG Williams ‘Outline History of Saracens F.C. (R.F.U.)’, cannot be leafed through, even in the most casual way, without stumbling across the mention of a Bongard. The first mention of a player by the name is in the 1884/1885 season – Mr. J.L. Bongard –…
Sydney, as we have seen, had fought his way into the Saracens 1st XV in 1909 as a 17-year-old, where his agile running into spaces as the Club’s first-choice half-back had won the appreciation of his teammates. With Britain declaring war against Germany on August 4th, his thoughts clearly turned to how best he could…
Born in 1887, Victor Baron Barnett spent his formative teenage years in Blomfield Road, W9, where the large and gracious family home faced onto the Little Venice basin, the canal no doubt bustling with longboats, just as it does to this day. His parents Baron David and Kate were both central-London born and had married…
The Club’s first official historian, O.R.G. Williams, noted in his 1926 publication that the 1908-09 season had seen a significant growth in the Club’s profile and performance over previous seasons “With the increase in the playing strength maintained it was found possible to run a third side. The playing strength also showed a marked improvement…
Sydney Stuart Sylvester sits calmly in the front row of the 1913-14 Saracens team alongside his team-mates, not staring directly into the camera lens, but rather appearing somewhat reflective as the photographer captured this poignant image of the last Club side that would wear Saracens colours before the outbreak of war. He was just 20 years…
Saracens Rugby Club and W.W.1 