As Tynedale Rugby Club marks its 150th season, this Armistice Day provides a particularly poignant opportunity to remember the generations of Tynedale men who exchanged their rugby shirts for military uniforms, and those who never returned.

During the First World War, 49 past and present Tynedale players lost their lives. A further 27 were killed during the Second World War. Their names remain commemorated at Tynedale Park, a permanent reminder of the extraordinary sacrifice made by members of our club.

The Tynedale team of 1914

In the years leading up to the First World War, Tynedale RFC was enjoying one of the most successful periods in its history. Playing at Dene Park in Hexham, the club collected fifteen trophies between 1888 and 1914, including three Northumberland Senior Cups and four consecutive Senior Shields between 1909 and 1912.

In 1914, Tynedale again lifted the Northumberland Senior Cup. The team photograph from that year captures fifteen players at the height of their sporting achievements.
Within months, their lives would change completely.

With the outbreak of war, Tynedale suspended its fixtures as practically every member of the First and Second XV volunteered for military service. Of the fifteen men in that cup-winning side, five would never return:

William Braidford
Percy Braidford
Fred Nevison
George Potts
George Walton

They were among 49 past and present Tynedale players killed during the conflict.
Among those who lost their lives was Noel Forbes Humphreys, a gifted fly-half who had represented the British and Irish Lions on their 1910 tour of South Africa. Serving as a captain in the Tank Corps, he was awarded the Military Cross and died from wounds sustained in March 1918.

The bravery of Tynedale's servicemen was recognised with no fewer than 35 medals and decorations, including five Distinguished Service Orders and fourteen Military Crosses.

Sammy – the mascot who went to war

One of the more remarkable stories from this period concerns Sammy, the half-bred Border Terrier who had become the much-loved mascot of Tynedale's 1914 cup-winning team.

When the players departed for war, Sammy accompanied them.
Like so many of the men whose company he kept, Sammy never returned. It is a small but particularly moving detail in the story of a rugby club whose players, friendships and community were so profoundly affected by the conflict.

Lewis Moody and The Rose and Poppy Film

A century later, Tynedale's story attracted the attention of former England captain and 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Lewis Moody.

In April 2016, Moody visited Tynedale with Formidable Films while researching and producing The Rose and Poppy, a series of films commissioned by the Rugby Football Union to commemorate rugby's contribution and sacrifice during the First World War.

The films explored how rugby clubs across Britain responded to the outbreak of war, how players enlisted together, and how the conflict devastated teams and communities. Tynedale's experience was particularly significant.

Moody had discovered the story of the club's collective enlistment, its 1914 cup-winning side and the extraordinary number of players who lost their lives.

During the visit, Moody and the film crew met members of Tynedale's 1st XV as they departed for their fixture at Harrogate. They also spoke with club stalwart Douglas Hamilton about Tynedale's history and wartime sacrifice. The crew visited Barker House Farm, meeting Dicky, Chris and Michael Hall to explore the lives of local young men and draw comparisons between generations.

These conversations helped connect the experiences of the Tynedale players of 1914 with the club and community that continues today.

The project formed part of the RFU's wider Great War commemorations, which included the installation of the Rose and Poppy Gates at Twickenham in April 2016.
The three-part film series, introduced by Prince Harry, told the stories of rugby players who left the field for the battlefield, from international players to ordinary clubmen.

In a subsequent interview in 2018, Moody explained that his interest in the Great War had begun with the medals of his great-grandfather and had developed into a determination to understand the experiences of those who served.
He specifically recalled how Tynedale RFC had enlisted together and acknowledged how deeply that story had affected him.

For Tynedale, it was a significant recognition of the club's history and a valuable opportunity to ensure the stories of its fallen players reached an audience far beyond the Tyne Valley.

WATCH: The Rose and Poppy Film Series – Part One
https://youtu.be/MNJy-ZvkLJw

Remembering the fallen

In January 1921, Tynedale opened a new pavilion at Dene Park as a memorial to those who had lost their lives. The pavilion, originally a former army hut, was purchased through public subscription and erected by voluntary labour.

At its opening, a brass memorial plaque bearing the names of the 49 men was unveiled and dedicated. More than a century later, that plaque remains in the entrance hall of the clubhouse at Tynedale Park, alongside another commemorating the 27 past and present players who lost their lives in the Second World War.

Their sacrifice is also recorded in the Imperial War Museums' national War Memorials Register.

The importance of remembrance throughout rugby continues today. On Remembrance Sunday, 8th November 2026, the England and Australia rugby communities came together at Twickenham to honour their fallen, with wreaths laid at the Rose and Poppy Gates before the international fixture.

The gates, the same memorial connected with Lewis Moody's documentary project ten years earlier, remain a lasting tribute to those from the rugby family who served and died.

150 years of Tynedale Rugby Club

During our 150th season, we have celebrated the people, matches and achievements that have shaped Tynedale since 1876.

But our history is not simply a record of rugby matches won and lost.
It includes the stories of men who played together, volunteered together and, in far too many cases, never returned to their families, friends or rugby club.

Prior to the Tynedale v Chester match on 7th November 2026 the six teams, of all ages, playing at Tynedale Park that day lined up in front of the grandstand to observe a minute’s silence – it was a very moving act of remembrance.

On Armistice Day, we remember all those who served, particularly the 76 Tynedale players commemorated on the memorials in our clubhouse.

Their names and their place in the history of Tynedale Rugby Club will never be forgotten.

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."

Further reading and viewing

• Watch The Rose and Poppy Film Series – Part One
• Lewis Moody Documents Tynedale RFC's Great War History – April 2016
• Lewis Moody discusses The Rose and Poppy and Tynedale's story – 2018 interview
• England Rugby: Remembrance Sunday – Honouring England and Australia's Fallen Heroes
• Tynedale RFC Club History – Lest We Forget
• Imperial War Museums – Tynedale Rugby Club War Memorial