History
A Brief Note on the History of the Club
Originally there was but one Civil Service Football Club, when goals were all that counted and a touch down over the goal line gained only a “try” at goal.
The Football Association was formed in 1863, and those of the club’s players who chose to play under its rules went their own way. Those who remained, preferring to play under laws devised by Rugby School, formed what is the Rugby Club. The earliest game of which there is a record was against Blackheath in 1863.
On 26th January 1871, the Club was one of those who met at the Pall Mall Restaurant to form the Rugby Football Union. Of the 20 clubs which sent delegates only 7, apart from the Club, remain, viz.Blackheath, Guy’s Hospital, Harlequins, Kings College, Richmond, St. Paul’s School and Wellington College. Exactly 100 years later, on 26th January 1971, the Centenary of the Rugby Football Union was celebrated with a Founder Member Clubs’ Banquet at the Guildhall in London, at which the Lord Mayor of London and the President and Officers of the Rugby Football Union were our guests.
The Club was one of the founders of the Surrey RFU in 1879, and has been a member of the Middlesex RFU since the 1880s.
Early home venues were Battersea Park, Wimbledon Common, Kensal Rise and The Old Deer Park, Richmond. At Richmond the Club had a settled home for 30 years. In 1921 the Civil Service Sports Council was formed, and in 1926 the Club gave them full support by leasing the principal pitch on their new ground at Duke’s Meadows, Chiswick.
Among the more noteworthy events in the Club’s history was the defeat, at the Richmond Athletic Ground, on the 13th February 1893, by a penalty and a try to nil, of the first French International XV to visit England. The Club had previously played French teams, and were the hosts for this first visit of an international XV.
The Club has a great touring tradition. Records show that the first tour was in 1889 to Llanelli and Gloucester, and in the following year the opposition was Penarth, Llanelli and Swansea. The West Country, particularly Devon and Cornwall, was the favourite destination for many years. In 1973 the Club made its first foreign tour to France. In Europe the Club has also played in Belgium, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
One hundred years of touring was marked in 1989 by the first trans-Atlantic trip to Canada with games in Vancouver and Edmonton. In 1992 the tour was to California playing in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The Veterans had their own touring tradition tours to Amsterdam,Galway,Paris,Cardiff and Jersey. There are many tales of their tours to Ledbury in Herefordshire and of their games in Rome on international weekends, in February 2008 featuring on Sky’s World of Rugby programme.
The Club has always been honoured with distinguished Presidents, The first was Sir Rowland Hill who was President for 43 years, and probably the greatest administrator the game has produced. He was Honorary Secretary of the RFU from 1881 to 1904 and President of that body from 1904 to 1907. He was succeeded in 1929 as President of the Club by Sir Edward Crowe, who held that office until 1937.
For the next 29 years until 1966, our President was Commander W.J.A. Davies. The Commander was, with arguably only the recent exception of Jonny Wilkinson, the greatest stand-off to have played for England: he played 22 times, 11 as captain, when the side was unbeaten. The Commander was followed as President by Sir Harvey Druitt for the next 7 years, and then Sir Louis Petch for the following 8 years until 1981. Both Sir Harvey and Sir Louis were Chairmen of the Civil Service Sports Council.
Mr. Martin Creasey was our President from 1981 until 1994. He joined the Club in 1935, his greatest contribution being as Hon.Secretary from 1947 to 1964, his term of office culminating in the very successful centenary celebrations. Only our present Hon.Secretary Nick Alway has served longer.
Mr Ray Allwood succeeded Martin in 1994 and stood down at the end of the 2006/7 season. Ray joined the Club in 1949 and has the unique distinction of having played rugby at the Club in five different decades, only retiring after the Veterans match in 1982. He is a past captain who served on the committee for 30 years. He was also Treasurer of the Civil Service Sports Council for 17 years and was awarded the ISO in the New Year’s Honours List in 1984.
Our current President is Mike, also known as “Henry”, Lee. A prop forward, he joined the club in 1960 and was Extra 1st XV captain in 1969 and 1st XV captain in 1971-72. He served as Fixture Secretary in the 1970s and as Chairman first from 1980-85. Remarkably he has also done some coaching and has a fine tactical awareness of what to do if a scrum is on the left. He is Mr Civil Service and the club’s principal sponsor. He was Chairman again from 1999-2007, a very successful period (see below!) and enjoys a very much hands on presidential role.
On the playing field the Club had very successful seasons in 1980-81 and 1981-82 when under coach Mike Gosling we reached the quarter finals and semi finals of the Middlesex Cup, losing to Wasps on each occasion.
Following the introduction of leagues in 1988 we were neither promoted nor relegated for 13 seasons until 2001 when we won the Herts/Middlesex League 2 title. The following season we won all our games and were chosen Rugby World Team of the Year.
Two more successive promotions as league champions followed in 2003 and 2004. In 2006 we were runners up in London 2 North but lost the play-off game for promotion. We did, however, reach our first ever Middlesex Cup Final, losing 23-36 to Ealing in a game whose outcome was in the balance until the last few minutes.
2006/7 was a particularly dramatic one. Tony Chapman, coach throughout Civil Service’s successful run, might have been forgiven the odd doubt when, after 8 league matches, we had won only 4 and stood seventh in the London 2 North table, 8 points behind the unbeaten leaders. A run of 13 wins followed to secure a fifth promotion in seven seasons, all as champions.
The consequences of our rapid rise up through the leagues were apparent from the 2007/8 London 1 fixture list. First -up was Richmond at the Athletic ground! We struggled initially to find our feet at this level and, despite some gritty performances, particularly in the home fixture against Richmond, we were relegated after finishing 10th out of 12. We did however carry off the Middlesex Cup for the first time in our history with a win against Enfield Ignatians.
A season of consolidation back in London 2 North followed.
The announcement just before the beginning of last season that the Civil Service Sports Council was closing the bar and catering facilities at its erstwhile “jewel in the crown” Chiswick facility might have been expected to dampen club morale. Instead adversity off the pitch was to breed triumph on it. With just three seasons to go to our 150th anniversary we have been promoted to that oxymoron of a league : National 3 London & South East - a level we have attained (see above) only once before and then only fleetingly.
Our first team squad showed great resilience and, under the determined guidance of coach Nigel Rosser, was able to showcase its very considerable flair. Our play-off victory against Dover (31-14) was a tremendous advertisement for rugby at this level.
Including the play-offs we scored over 1,000 points (145 tries) in Competition games : leading try scorer was Phil O’Leary with 22, the most in the league, followed by Scott Hadden with 14 and Chris McKay with 10. Scott Hadden was also the league’s second most prolific kicker. Darryl Gore lead the pack and the team with great determination and on the occasions that we did find ourselves behind we invariably fought back with great tenacity.
The club is hugely indebted to the hard work and ingenuity of our stalwarts in keeping the show on the road and grateful both for the tolerance shown by our opponents towards our catering efforts and for the loyalty of our supporters. The Civil Service Boat Club was for much of the season our home from home. Now with new rugby friendly landlords, an expanded coaching set-up and the challenge of playing again at Level 5 these are indeed exciting times for this founder member of the RFU.
The second team continue to compete in Division 1 of the Middlesex Merit Table and last season just missed out on the play offs.
Originally there was but one Civil Service Football Club, when goals were all that counted and a touch down over the goal line gained only a “try” at goal.
The Football Association was formed in 1863, and those of the club’s players who chose to play under its rules went their own way. Those who remained, preferring to play under laws devised by Rugby School, formed what is the Rugby Club. The earliest game of which there is a record was against Blackheath in 1863.
On 26th January 1871, the Club was one of those who met at the Pall Mall Restaurant to form the Rugby Football Union. Of the 20 clubs which sent delegates only 7, apart from the Club, remain, viz.Blackheath, Guy’s Hospital, Harlequins, Kings College, Richmond, St. Paul’s School and Wellington College. Exactly 100 years later, on 26th January 1971, the Centenary of the Rugby Football Union was celebrated with a Founder Member Clubs’ Banquet at the Guildhall in London, at which the Lord Mayor of London and the President and Officers of the Rugby Football Union were our guests.
The Club was one of the founders of the Surrey RFU in 1879, and has been a member of the Middlesex RFU since the 1880s.
Early home venues were Battersea Park, Wimbledon Common, Kensal Rise and The Old Deer Park, Richmond. At Richmond the Club had a settled home for 30 years. In 1921 the Civil Service Sports Council was formed, and in 1926 the Club gave them full support by leasing the principal pitch on their new ground at Duke’s Meadows, Chiswick.
Among the more noteworthy events in the Club’s history was the defeat, at the Richmond Athletic Ground, on the 13th February 1893, by a penalty and a try to nil, of the first French International XV to visit England. The Club had previously played French teams, and were the hosts for this first visit of an international XV.
The Club has a great touring tradition. Records show that the first tour was in 1889 to Llanelli and Gloucester, and in the following year the opposition was Penarth, Llanelli and Swansea. The West Country, particularly Devon and Cornwall, was the favourite destination for many years. In 1973 the Club made its first foreign tour to France. In Europe the Club has also played in Belgium, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Hungary, and the Czech Republic.
One hundred years of touring was marked in 1989 by the first trans-Atlantic trip to Canada with games in Vancouver and Edmonton. In 1992 the tour was to California playing in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
The Veterans had their own touring tradition tours to Amsterdam,Galway,Paris,Cardiff and Jersey. There are many tales of their tours to Ledbury in Herefordshire and of their games in Rome on international weekends, in February 2008 featuring on Sky’s World of Rugby programme.
The Club has always been honoured with distinguished Presidents, The first was Sir Rowland Hill who was President for 43 years, and probably the greatest administrator the game has produced. He was Honorary Secretary of the RFU from 1881 to 1904 and President of that body from 1904 to 1907. He was succeeded in 1929 as President of the Club by Sir Edward Crowe, who held that office until 1937.
For the next 29 years until 1966, our President was Commander W.J.A. Davies. The Commander was, with arguably only the recent exception of Jonny Wilkinson, the greatest stand-off to have played for England: he played 22 times, 11 as captain, when the side was unbeaten. The Commander was followed as President by Sir Harvey Druitt for the next 7 years, and then Sir Louis Petch for the following 8 years until 1981. Both Sir Harvey and Sir Louis were Chairmen of the Civil Service Sports Council.
Mr. Martin Creasey was our President from 1981 until 1994. He joined the Club in 1935, his greatest contribution being as Hon.Secretary from 1947 to 1964, his term of office culminating in the very successful centenary celebrations. Only our present Hon.Secretary Nick Alway has served longer.
Mr Ray Allwood succeeded Martin in 1994 and stood down at the end of the 2006/7 season. Ray joined the Club in 1949 and has the unique distinction of having played rugby at the Club in five different decades, only retiring after the Veterans match in 1982. He is a past captain who served on the committee for 30 years. He was also Treasurer of the Civil Service Sports Council for 17 years and was awarded the ISO in the New Year’s Honours List in 1984.
Our current President is Mike, also known as “Henry”, Lee. A prop forward, he joined the club in 1960 and was Extra 1st XV captain in 1969 and 1st XV captain in 1971-72. He served as Fixture Secretary in the 1970s and as Chairman first from 1980-85. Remarkably he has also done some coaching and has a fine tactical awareness of what to do if a scrum is on the left. He is Mr Civil Service and the club’s principal sponsor. He was Chairman again from 1999-2007, a very successful period (see below!) and enjoys a very much hands on presidential role.
On the playing field the Club had very successful seasons in 1980-81 and 1981-82 when under coach Mike Gosling we reached the quarter finals and semi finals of the Middlesex Cup, losing to Wasps on each occasion.
Following the introduction of leagues in 1988 we were neither promoted nor relegated for 13 seasons until 2001 when we won the Herts/Middlesex League 2 title. The following season we won all our games and were chosen Rugby World Team of the Year.
Two more successive promotions as league champions followed in 2003 and 2004. In 2006 we were runners up in London 2 North but lost the play-off game for promotion. We did, however, reach our first ever Middlesex Cup Final, losing 23-36 to Ealing in a game whose outcome was in the balance until the last few minutes.
2006/7 was a particularly dramatic one. Tony Chapman, coach throughout Civil Service’s successful run, might have been forgiven the odd doubt when, after 8 league matches, we had won only 4 and stood seventh in the London 2 North table, 8 points behind the unbeaten leaders. A run of 13 wins followed to secure a fifth promotion in seven seasons, all as champions.
The consequences of our rapid rise up through the leagues were apparent from the 2007/8 London 1 fixture list. First -up was Richmond at the Athletic ground! We struggled initially to find our feet at this level and, despite some gritty performances, particularly in the home fixture against Richmond, we were relegated after finishing 10th out of 12. We did however carry off the Middlesex Cup for the first time in our history with a win against Enfield Ignatians.
A season of consolidation back in London 2 North followed.
The announcement just before the beginning of last season that the Civil Service Sports Council was closing the bar and catering facilities at its erstwhile “jewel in the crown” Chiswick facility might have been expected to dampen club morale. Instead adversity off the pitch was to breed triumph on it. With just three seasons to go to our 150th anniversary we have been promoted to that oxymoron of a league : National 3 London & South East - a level we have attained (see above) only once before and then only fleetingly.
Our first team squad showed great resilience and, under the determined guidance of coach Nigel Rosser, was able to showcase its very considerable flair. Our play-off victory against Dover (31-14) was a tremendous advertisement for rugby at this level.
Including the play-offs we scored over 1,000 points (145 tries) in Competition games : leading try scorer was Phil O’Leary with 22, the most in the league, followed by Scott Hadden with 14 and Chris McKay with 10. Scott Hadden was also the league’s second most prolific kicker. Darryl Gore lead the pack and the team with great determination and on the occasions that we did find ourselves behind we invariably fought back with great tenacity.
The club is hugely indebted to the hard work and ingenuity of our stalwarts in keeping the show on the road and grateful both for the tolerance shown by our opponents towards our catering efforts and for the loyalty of our supporters. The Civil Service Boat Club was for much of the season our home from home. Now with new rugby friendly landlords, an expanded coaching set-up and the challenge of playing again at Level 5 these are indeed exciting times for this founder member of the RFU.
The second team continue to compete in Division 1 of the Middlesex Merit Table and last season just missed out on the play offs.
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