Early Years

The Committee of the newly formed Kersal Rugby Football Club met again at The Deansgate Hotel a week later on 22 March 1897. It was a very productive meeting and by the end of the evening they had completed most of the formalities relating to a new club. They had elected a President and Vice-President, adapted and adopted a code of rules from the South Manchester Lacrosse Club as their own rule book; agreed the Club colours as black and dark red, the jerseys would be black with red cuffs and collars. They also accepted an offer of a field in Prestwich on which to play. Finally, they agreed to play two Trial matches on 27 March and 3rd April against A.S Robinson's XV's in the hope they would be able to select a suitable team to play Broughton Park as the Kersal Club's first official match on 6 April. The Secretary indicated about nineteen men had already agreed to become members. The Club, therefore, was up and going - especially when both trial games took place and Kersal were able to select a reasonably strong side for the game against Broughton Park. There was no report in the Manchester Guardian'~ nor the " Evening News " of that first match although it was recorded that the result was a draw - six points each. A report, however, appeared in the "Guardian" of a game against Manchester "A" four days later at Manchester's Whalley Range ground. Kersal scored first with a try just before half-time in which they had been attacking most of the time. In the second half it was Kersal's turn to be on the defensive and, eventually, they were caught off-side; Manchester kicked a penalty goal for the game to end as a 3 - 3 draw. Two games - two draws; not a bad start for the new club. No other games are recorded before the end of the 1897 season. A valedictory, and authentic, glimpse into the formation of the Club was to be gained from a remarkable letter written over fifty years later by one of the founder members, and the Club's first Secretary (E.Arthur Miller) to the Club Secretary (A.D.Lennie) in 1951. Mr Miller, despite over thirty years managing his father's business in India (1902 - 1934) had maintained contact with the fortunes of Kersal for fifty years. "Late in 1896 or early 1897 the late Dr A.E. Barclay and myself were both Old Leysians and lived in Kersal and Prestwich. At the time I used to play Lacrosse for Owens College with Dr Barclay; my father pressed us to play for a team that played in the District as at the time it meant we were always away on Saturday afternoons when our respective fathers were at home, so Dr Barclay and I with two or three other fellows decided to try to start a Rugby Club with a ground in Kersal or Prestwich... My father knew the senior partner of Bleakleys Bleach Works, Prestwich, viz, Mr Horace Bleakley who very kindly offered one of his company's fields at a very nominal rent as we were a newly formed club, and he, being an Old Oxford Rugby enthusiast, was anxious to encourage the Rugby game in the District... At the first meeting Dr Barclay was elected Captain, R.Bazley Hon Treasurer, and myself, Secretary... A.S.Robinson and myself were the half backs, and during our first season we never missed playing in a single match, usually losing our games to the tune of anything from fifteen points to sixty against us. Were we downhearted at our beatings? No! No!! No!!' In retrospect, the speed and efficiency with which the Club was established was quite amazing - reflecting the enthusiasm and dedication of E.A.Miller and his colleagues - only twenty-six days from the very first meeting in the Deansgate Hotel to the second Club game against Manchester on 10 April. The first full season 1897/8 was not a good one so far as success on the field was concerned. Slowly, however, fortunes began to turn as the club began to attract good players. Dr Barclay, the first Kersal captain, won his Lancashire County Cap in 1898/9 which was a good advertisement for the Club; Frank Kershaw, an Oxford Blue, joined in 1902 bringing with him several other good players. In 1904/5 Kersal only lost two games and had an all-county three-quarter line including D.Pape of Durham County and C.S.Williams of Cheshire. As the playing strength began to improve so did the fixture list. By 1905/6 the opposition included a range of well-known clubs: Manchester University; Manchester; Broughton Park; Waterloo; New Brighton; Sale; Bowdon Rangers; Heaton Moor; Preston Grasshoppers; Kendal; Bedford; Hartlepool Rangers. The Club were also now running an "A" team which was providing solid support for the first team as well as good rugby for both the up and coming and veterans.

Kersal had affiliated to the Lancashire County Rugby Football Union in its first season and changed the jerseys to red, black and white stripes and dark blue trousers and by 1906 had changed grounds at least three times. Initially, the move was from Prestwich to Old Trafford, then to Higher Broughton, back to the Prestwich area at Heaton Park and finally, to Oaklands Road, Kersal with changing rooms at the Kersal Hotel, Moor Lane. They were to remain at Oaklands Road until 1914 and the First World War.

It was surprising that Kersal did not gain the nickname, "The Wanderers", with all the to-ing and fro-ing between South and North Manchester especially as they "wandered" in a different sense as well. From very early on they went on rugby "Tours" on a regular basis - a feature of the Club throughout its history. They went to the Lake District, to North-East England and to the South West and once, later, to the North of France.

At that time most rugby clubs - Kersal included - advertised their games at local railway stations. Such advertisements had a dual function, that of informing the general public about sporting events and also to inform players who might be seeking a club or looking for a game. Tours were similarly advertised; as a result touring teams might be strengthened in two ways - by personal contacts through colleges and clubs as well as from the railway notices. Kersal seemed to have a strong affinity with players in the North East with a number of Northumberland County players who as honorary members of the Club assisted on tours in their area as well as joining in with the tours elsewhere.

Games were recorded in the North East against Durham City, Novocastrians, Hartlepool Rovers and West Hartlepool. In the West Country there were games against Stroud, Bristol Saracens, Bridgewater, Taunton, Newton Abbott, Torquay Athletic and Bath. The latter fixture was recorded for posterity with a team photograph in 1908. Players who represented their counties and also played for Kersal whilst on tour included: W.Dodds, C.Dodds, R.Stewart, R.B.J.Heads (Northumberland and North of England.) Others were: S.Walton-Brown, N.R.C.Wilkinson, R.Gibson, W.B.Croxford, J.Bainbridge (Heaton Moor and Lancashire). On Tour in both 1910 and 1911 Kersal were able to field 6 or 7 Northumberland County, North of England and other County players. The Club might very well have been stronger at times whilst on tour than at home for their seasonal games!

CHARACTERS AND CHARACTER

Hard evidence about the characters and personalities of those early Kersal members was not easy to come by. Some indications, however, that rugby players have not changed down the years might be gained from one or two anecdotes, which have survived from those early years.

In 1908 the captain and team members were unhappy that one of their more boisterous members, and Club official - Stanley Carrington - had not turned up at departure time for a tour of the West Country. He sent a message, however, that he would be joining the team later. When he finally arrived at the hotel in Bath he was dressed in flowing robes as the "King of Persia" and had driven through the town in an open landau, a large opulent horse-drawn coach. It was only when he called for a pint of beer in the hotel bar did his teammates recognise him. He then proceeded to "help" the police who had come to disperse the crowd outside the hotel by scattering pennies into the crowd. As a result even greater chaos was created as people jostled the police whilst scrabbling for the money.

Mr Carrington regularly took over police "traffic control" in any town where the Club was playing as well as running through the streets in shorts and singlet carrying a banner" I am playing this afternoon". Before readers condemn such "activities", they might cast their minds back to register some of their own - or teammates' antics somewhere, sometime along the way!

A number of incidents are recorded which demonstrated the will to play and the principle "not let the Club down". For example, the Club was due to play at Castleton in 1902 - an away game for which the Cohen brothers had been selected. They knew they would not get away from business matters in time to join the team at the meeting point. They sent a telegram to the captain saying they would be late and would join the team at the ground. To reach the ground on time they chartered a special train. They duly arrived, played - and the team won!

One of the early Kersal captains had a business in Newcastleon-Tyne and lived there for a time. To ensure he could play and attend the weekly Monday selection meetings he lived in digs in Prestwich from Friday to Tuesday each week.

The Kersal Club would seem to have been fortunate in having attracted enterprising, dedicated, good players from its inception, who were also capable administrators with wide contacts with clubs, colleges and universities. Such a one was A.S.Robinson -known in rugby circles throughout the North West for almost fifty years as 'Robin". He was present, by invitation from E.A.Miller, at the first meeting in The Deansgate Hotel in March 1897. At that time he was a playing member of the Broughton Football Club and Secretary of the Broughton School Old Boys' RFC. Both clubs went out of existence in 1897 and "Robin" joined Kersal and the Kersal Committee in November 1897. He was first a team player for many years and involved with the Club in many capacities -Committee Member, Chairman, Life Member, President, Club Representative to the Northern Rugby Union world - until his death in 1956. Throughout the next hundred years there would be many similar "personalities" who would combine playing ability with administrative competence plus total dedication to the Kersal Club.

End of an Era

The end of the Edwardian era in 1910 and the five or six years just before the First World War were very successful years for Kersal. The Club was well established with a good fixture list and was well regarded as a senior club in the area alongside Broughton Park (with whom Kersal were always to have a special affinity), Sale and Preston Grasshoppers. The teams, especially on tours, contained a range of county players; one England international, EG.Handforth (subsequently Manchester), had turned out for the Club in 1908/9, indeed, he was shown in the Fixture Card as Vice-Captain for the season. Many of the "traditions" of the Club were established in those early years a Club Cap for outstanding play; various categories of membership - Patrons, Vice Presidents and Life Members for the dedicated and committed Member; the understanding that a scheduled match should take place no matter how decimated the first team might be through injury or other absence; Club Tours as part of Club life; Club Dinners, Club Dances, Hot Pot Suppers; sound administration; good sportsmanship on and off the field; solid support for the Referees' Society, for the Lancashire County Union and for the English Rugby Union. In one season games with Manchester Welsh were cancelled because the latter club were thought to be fielding Northern Union players! -an RFU ruling.

The 1913/14 Season was reasonably successful but, with the outbreak of World War One in August 1914, it was to be the last for five years. The Club had been in existence for sixteen seasons -established during a burgeoning period for sport generally and a difficult one for Rugby Union in particular - and had survived. The membership in 1913/4 was shown as one hundred and one, of whom seventy-three were shown as players and forty-five as full playing members. Forty-one of the forty-five are known to have joined the Armed Forces, twenty-five did not survive in that terrible war with six million dead in Europe.

The period immediately after the Armistice in November 1918 was a difficult one for sport generally. Whilst clubs were re-formed and were attempting some semblance of normality it was difficult to field teams as so many men had been killed or disabled. Indeed, in the case of Kersal it fell to the same people who had initially established the Club in 1897 to attempt to put the Club back on its feet in the post-war era - R.Barker, A.S.Robinson and E.A.Miller (on home leave from India). A ground to rent was found on the Heys, Prestwich (behind the railway station) with changing facilities at The Wilton Arms. Although the Club had fixtures from September 1919 they were unable to raise more than nine playing members for their first two games. Luckily, both games were cancelled due to a railway strike. For the third game against Sale at home a full side was found and the Club recorded its first post-war victory.

Kersal remained in Prestwich until September 1922. At that time they made a major move -from Prestwich to a ground in Norwood Road, Stretford. Whilst the move was by no means the last for the Club they were never to return to the Prestwich area and remained in South Manchester for the whole of the inter-war period, moving from Stretford to Flixton, to land owned by the Flixton Golf Club in 1926. Changing facilities at Flixton were in the cellars of The Greyhound Hotel in Church Road.

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