We have followed Sydney Sylvester from his debut at Saracens, through his volunteering for service with the 10th (Service) Battalion Royal Fusiliers (aka the ‘Stockbrokers Battalion’) in 1914 and his subsequent experiences in training camp as the Battalion prepared to be sent to France. Finally, they received their instructions, and crossed the Channel to Boulogne…
George Perraton Mayne was born on 28 December 1885 and grew up in Penzance, Cornwall. His family seems to have been struck by the loss of the male figures in the household, as both his grandmother Frances Perraton and mother Frances Mayne are already widowed by 1891. He and his younger brother William grew up…
War broke out at the height of J.S. Greer’s playing career at Saracens, as we have seen, where playing as 1st XV half-back, he was repeatedly identified as a leading member of the squad. Once war had been declared, Stanley (as he was known by his family) volunteered for active service at Shoreham on 12th…
As we have already seen, the sport of rugby moved quickly to suspend participation upon the outbreak of the First World War, with the RFU Committee recording their decision on 4th September 1914 that “Club and County fixtures arranged for this season be cancelled and that, all being well, they should be carried over to…
During the course of our research on the Saracens players of the 1914 era, we have become accustomed to tracing their migratory routes from all corners of the UK to North London, where many of them settled as young men, combining employment in the capital with lacing on their rugby boots at Saracens each weekend.…
The Saracens WW1 project is fuelled by a lot of hard work from everyone concerned in trying to trace the players who served in World War One, and more often than not the research is done from behind a desk with the aid of email, digitised records, telephones, and networking within the rugby business. But…
Percy Heddon makes his first appearance in our surviving Club records in the team photo of 1912-13, where he is standing between AL Baker and DH Keith and behind two especially long-serving players CJ Leach and WA Andrew. His earliest recorded match for the 1st XV was on 26th October 1912, where he played as…
Sydney Sylvester’s Postcard to Home 4th February 1915 We have followed Saracens scrum-half Sydney Sylvester in earlier blogs, including ‘Sydney Sylvester Joins Up!’ as he volunteered for duty in 1914 with the 10th (Service) Battalion of the Royal Fusiliers. This body of men had quickly acquired the nickname ‘The Stockbrokers’ Battalion’, due to the very high…
Our research to-date suggests that Paul Peter Capelli, who played at Saracens between 1906 and 1912 was, indeed, “Il nostro primo giocatore Italiano”….our first Italian-heritage player! As we will read, he served with distinction both on and off the field at Saracens during these years, before going on to join the Royal Flying Corps in…
Saracens Rugby Club and W.W.1 