".... one of the most precious aspects of Rugby Football is its symmetry. Rugby, like no other, is a game that offers itself to all known specimens of two-legged men & it has specific positions for all of them.

It was probably accidentally so but it has worked out perfectly as an enormously enjoyable pastime for short fat men, big fast men, little lean men and big lean men.

It is for near static labourers & it is for athletes..." Michael Blair 1987

The War ended in August. Jim Thompson and Dick Harpur had AOE Rugby back in action after the three lost seasons by November. This combination of veterans, school leavers and men on leave, captained by Dick Harpur, won 8-0 at Dunlop on 3rd November 1945 :

Full-back : L Homer
3/4s : R Watson, R Harpur, N Griffith, R Neighbour
Half-backs : A Smith, B Taylor
Forwards : A Bloomer, S Pimley, D Walker, L Addicott, E Fell, R Rush, C Arthurs & T Adams

Dick Harpur organised fixtures where he could and yielded the captaincy to Reg White in the New Year. Jim Thompson roped in men on leave - Jim Connor and Eric Collis played in the first game of 1946 (a 0-14 defeat by Old Dixonians) and Viv Woodward and Eric Collis helped the team to its first win of the new year 24-0 against Walsall at Perry Common on 26th January.

By the end of the 1945-46 season, dspite mid-winter frosts, the Club had played 20 games; won 6, lost 14, scoring 190 points against 249. And Aston had joined Camp Hill for an Easter Tour, enormously enjoyed.

Frank Jones presided at the 1946 AGM. The pace of demobilisation was quickening, so Dick Harpur had had the confidence to draw up fixtures for two XVs (against Burton, Old Dixonians, Old Yardleians, Old Veseyans, Five Ways OE, Camp Hill OE, Moseley United, Handsworth, Walsall, Sutton Coldfield, Erdington, Stoke-On-Trent & Old Centrals).

Jim Connor presented accounts for the war years showing an excess of expenditure over income of £4-15s-5d, and cash at the bank amounting to £133-9s.

Jim Thompson was asked to contact Mr Brandon, Headmaster of the School since 1937, and Mr Cyril Sharp, PE Master for permission to start a Tuesday evening Physical Training class in the school gym.

Frank Jones reported on the second war memorial appeal - the two wars cost Aston 193 lives and FJ had known them all.

Inevitably FJ was re-elected President, Harold Richards Chairman of the Committee, Jim Thompson Secretary and Match Secretary, and Dick Harpur Fixture Secretary : Jim Connor was elected Treasurer.

Colin Arthurs, briefly back at the School as a master was elected Club Captain, with Alan Wilcox as vice. Horace Wall took on the 2nd XV.

A cruel winter prevented rugby from 25th January till 2nd March.

Nevertheless, by the end of this first, full post-war season, the Club had organised 44 matches for three sides and had won 34 of them. Frank Jones, now 73, was rewarded for his 26 years of service since its inception, with the Presidency of the North Midlands Rugby Football Union. Colin Arthurs played for the county against Leicestershire, and Norman Green completed a 15 year, 18 appearance county career at the age of 34. Halfway through the season a 3rd XV was raised, but 10 of its matches were called off by opponents.

Results for 1946-47 :

1st XV Played 19 Won 13 Drew 2 Lost 4 Points For 212 Points Against 93

2nd XV Played 20 Won 17 Drew 0 Lost 3 Points For 402 Points Against 67

3rd XV Played 5 Won 4 Drew 0 Lost 1 Points For 85 Points Against 28

At the 1947 AGM, held at the School on 1st September, Jim Connor's accounts showed a record £93 excess of Income over Expenditure - Jim was thanked and £50 was sent to the Trustees by way of rent. The Tuesday evening gym classes run at the school by veteran PE master Sharp were voted a success - in order to enhance attendance, the club decided to pay all expenses. Cyril Sharp served on the rugger committee through the 50s, steered members of School XVs to Perry Common, as well as exercising the more dedicated players each Tuesday evening in the School's antiquated gym upstairs in the old building in Frederick Road.

Ken Topping was elected Captain and held office for two seasons of cheerful leadership in dour post-war times of rationing and restriction. The Board of Trade would not allow the manufacture of inessentials like striped rugger jerseys, so the players turned out in white for 1st XV games; 2nd, 3rd and when revived in 1949, 4th XV games were motley affairs, with part of the referee's tasks being to arrange the swaps of shirts between opponents to achieve the most uniform effect. As they were to do right up to the 1970s, players purchased their own jerseys. Petrol was in limited supply for private motoring, and indeed only about half a dozen players owned cars; so away teams met at Stephenson Place or the Hall of Memory to travel by train or tram or bus, or hired motor coach for the more distant away games. Team travel expenses and teas accounted for a third of the Club's out-goings ; £52-7s-3d in the 1948 Accounts - four times greater than 'Ground Expenses', and more than the £50 rent paid to the Trustees, (the Club's income of £182-2s-10d came from Jim Connor's tireless badgering of Vice Presidents who subscribed £101-15s, from playing members' subs of £59-18s-0d, + £8-19s-6d profit on a dance + £4-0s-4d Bank Interest + £7-10s from renting a pitch to the School.

Injuries, the continued demands of military service, the retirement of pre-war stalwarts, and strong fixture lists made for uphill work : in 1947-48 the 1st XV played 32, won 11 drew 1. lost 20 (and the Club's three other teams as a whole played 77 games, winning 31 of them). For the last time the Club had the low satisfaction of winning a game with a 4-point drop goal (4-3 against Five Ways OE, on 25th October 1947).: the RFU revalued the drop goal to 3 points, the same as a try, the following season.

In 1948-49, the 1sts had another tough and injury-ridden season, winning only 8 of 31 games and drawing 4. The 2nd XV won 11, drew 2 and lost 14. The 3rds, captained by Horace Wall, alone won more than half their games. But things were looking up : the Trustees allowed the opening of the old cricket pavilion for teas after the game : plans were laid to celebrate a Diamond Jubilee in 1949-50; and Miss Bertha Pepper, fiancee of the late WO Bailey, a most generous supporter of Old Boys' and School rugger, was unanimously elected Life Vice-President. (For years Miss Pepper had funded the Bailey Memorial Tea, an annual and joyful bun-fight for all the School's rugger players, and the inter-house Rugby Shield is her gift.)

Diamond Jubilee Season 1949-50

At the School two flanking bronze panels were added to the War Memorial recording the names of the 70 old boys, the majority RAF aircrew, killed in the Second World War. Building restrictions, the only-just-ended requisition of the piece of land by Sunnybank Avenue, and the pervading austerity of the post-war years delayed the erection of the Aston Old Edwardian Memorial stand till 1956.

Alan Wilcox took over the captaincy. The 1st XV for the first game of the Diamond Jubilee season (a 6-19 defeat at Old Centrals - who then played at Metchley Lane) :

Full-back - Dick Phillips - a fine ball player & accurate place kicker, successful competitions in the 1950s

3/4s - TM Dillon - very fast. Now Q.C.

RH Mousley - slight and gifted player, , superb when a schoolboy

CM Stanway - marvellously robust back. As goal-kicker through the 50s, he won many games on his own. Memorable cricketer too.

E Williams - enduring fast winger; vice-captain 59-60; jeered at by Coventry crowd when discovered wearing vest under jersey

Half-backs - A Wilcox - captain and goal-kicker

- DB Wright - took over captaincy from AW in 50 and held it for five good years. Atomic Weapons Research scientist who organised AWRE Aldermaston sides to play us on London International trips.

Forwards - J Hughes

- B Martin

- H Barton

- B Quinn

- B Taylor - most taciturn of all AOEs

- N Frenzell - long serving committee-man in various offices - Fixtures, Team Treasurer - through 50s and 60s.

- Eric Collis - patriarch of distinguished AOE clan - sons Mike and Jon both Club captains of Rugby and cricket , Chairman AOE since 81. President AEA ; captain of record setting 2nd XV; golfer

- K Topping - vice-captain; captain 47-49.

The Diamond Jubilee season officers were led by the enduring and devoted quintet of :

Frank Jones - President (his 39th year in that office)

Jim Thompson - Secretary (24th year)

Dick Harpur - Fixture Secretary

Jim Connor - Treasurer

& Harold Richards - Chairman of Committee (& member since 1921)

Ron Avery captained the 2nd XV (and was to become Club Secretary from 1956 to 1966). Horace Wall captained the 3rds, and Gordon Pursall undertook the non-playing captaincy of the first 4th XV raised since the war.

The 60th (Diamond) Jubilee of the Club was celebrated on 8th October 1949 with a drawn game between AOE and a Past & Future XV. The photograph on page 38 (of the Centenary book) shows many of the faces that have sustained the Club through 100 years. It also betrays the jersey problems of those austere days; the long demolished cricket pavilion is in the background.

The Jubilee Dinner at the School was attended by nearly 300 old boys and guests, and John Bate organised a team of researchers to trawl the newspapers file sin the splendid old Reference Library (with its high, leaky, domed roof) and produced the Souvenir Book which was up-dated for the 75th Anniversary and on which I have drawn heavily in writing this for the Centenary.

National Service, and university education were still interfering with playing strength, and the town sides that provided a third of our fixture list were entering a period of growth and ambition - recruiting men introduced to Rugby Football in the services, and youngsters from schools which were taking up rugger for the first time and had no Old Boy's organisations. AOEFC took Cyril Sharp and Ted Pickering (masters at the School) onto committee, sent the Club Captain to the Bailey Tea, and contacted school leavers. Bob Simpson, captain of the Club 1959-62 and Charlie Sitch, the School's first post-war English Schools cap, were among the recruits, and soon playing 1st XV football until called up for National Service.

For the first season since the war the Club raised a 4th XV. In its 60th Anniversary season AOEFC played 96 matches, won 38, drew 8, lost 50, scoring 785 points and conceding 931.

The season by season records of all teams 1949-64 are to be found in the souvenir book published for the 75th Anniversary season in 1965.

Chapter 7 : 1949-1959 'The Second Book of Jim'

"...... On a day of much sporting activity, Perry Common had its own major occasion in the 100th recorded match between Aston & Camp Hill OE .........CHOE was much the more polished side & ............contrived to win with something to spare.

Prospects of individuality in the home team, inspired by an impressive Bohemianism in dress were not fulfilled. Aston was sadly impoverished outside although the centres Stanway & Belcher might have been satisfied in better company. ***** at scrum half-back perpetrated several burlesque passes which ******, who played badly, tried to receive in the spirit in which they were sent. The Aston forwards had their share of the set scrums & gave nothing away...... but useful work was frittered away by the passengers at the back......."

By Our Own Correspondent - The Birmingham Post 21st March 1949

(Note of explanation - the 103rd Aston-Camp Hill encounter in 1951, was the first 'Teddy Parker' Cup. And for the record, the April 1989 match was the 161st between the clubs and the 39th Cup game.

The 1949 AGM had been held in June: the 1950 meeting was held in May (breaking with the old inefficiency of meeting in the first week of the season and only then selecting the captain). The 1950 meeting was the last to be held at the School : Alan Wilcox was re-elected captain: Jim Thompson was relieved of some of his long-held responsibilities by the election of Gil Rush as Secretary, Jim retaining the Match Secretaryship, of course.

Dick Harpur, Jim Connor and Jim Thompson again took office. Frank Jones made a further attempt to retire from the presidency : much discussion ensued and he was persuaded to serve for one more year (in fact he served till his death in 1961, and the question of his retirement was not allowed to recur). So long had been the debate that the meeting had to be adjourned and re-convened on 12th September in the tea pavilion at Perry Common : at that meeting, David Wright, youngest and longest-serving of the post-war captains, was elected to the Club Captaincy in place of Wilcox who had unexpectedly moved away.

Dave Wright, a post-graduate student at Birmingham University, brought to the captaincy ; versatile playing ability; ingenuity, imagination and clarity of Rugby thinking; great determination; and a huge, sometimes mordant, sense of fun. The Club's most distinguished player of the four decades following the war is Brian Collinson, who played 15 times at second-row for North Midlands between 1952 and 1959 - a period when the County Championship was very important and when players from unfashionable or junior clubs hardly got a look-in. Brian Collinson played for AOE, RAF service apart, from 1946 till he moved to Scarborough in 1961, and was Dave Wright's vice captain 1951-54. He was characteristically generous in what he wrote for the 75th Anniversary book :

"........ I personally learned more Rugby from Dave than anyone..........The period under his captaincy was most enjoyable. He was a great leader on the field and socially in the fun and games that followed. No matter how late the Saturday night revels kept us up, he was there again on Sunday mornings driving us on in the practices.......... I can remember now what a relief it was to crawl exhausted into bed on Sunday afternoons............."

The Wright seasons coincided with all manner of wider change. The 1951 'Festival of Britain' signalled the end of the post-war period of austerity. Queen Elizabeth II succeeded George VI. Television arrived in the Midlands in time for the Coronation. Quite soon, International Rugby was televised. Rugger jerseys in the Club stripes of red, white and green became available again, at last, @ 14/11d from Rowan's Gents' Outfitters at the top of New Street ( a great man of Rugby, Jas.Birkmyre Rowan TD, JP - an immaculately turned out referee who arrived at matches in a limousine, ready changed; Secretary (1950-1952) and Chairman (1953-54) to the North Midlands Society of Referees; his firm printed valued little yellow Midland Rugby Hand-books and gave them away).

Public house licensing laws, imposed under the Defence of the Realm Act of the First World War and not repealed, were restrictive - in Birmingham, evening pub opening was 6 to 10.30pm on Saturdays, 7 to 10pm on Sundays. However, Clubs enjoyed greater freedom. Some, but by no means all, of the clubs we played had licensed bars; at others, in the early dusk of mid-season, there was a long and thirsty wait between 'no-side' and pub-opening, which brought singing in the communal bath to a high point. Alf Allen organised the circumvention of the licensing laws : Secretary Gil Rush collected the match fees before the game and used part of the proceeds to buy a crate of Nut Brown Ale from the 'Crossways' before they closed at 2.30pm. The beers were given away in the cricket pavilion after the game. The old pavilion, where tea and after-the-game sausage, mash and beans were served, was decorated, licensed as a bar in Coronation Year, and refurbished in 1956 by the AOE Association.

The need had been seen to rationalise AOE affairs and to improve the loose and increasingly under-funded structure whereby Trustees provided the Memorial Ground on which Rugby and Cricket Clubs ran separate organisations, not always paying their way. The Trustees derived income from something over 100 Ground Members, from investments, and from erratic rents paid to them by the two sports clubs in good years. The wobbly financial position can be read in the Rugby Club

Income & Expenditure Account for the Year ended 26th May 1952

Debit To

Rent £50 - 0 - 0

Light & Heat £23 - 18 - 0

Printing etc £18 - 17 - 0

Postages £19 - 12 - 6

Ground Expenses £12 - 18 - 2

Travel & Teas £53 - 8 - 11

Subscriptions £4 - 2 - 0

Gymnasium Exes £14 - 0 - 0

Decoration of Pavilion £12 - 17 - 7

Sundry Exes £5 - 0 - 10

Excess of Income over Expenditure £1 - 13 - 1

£216 - 8s - 7d

Credit From

Presidents & Vice-Presidents Subs £138 - 19 - 6

Playing Members Subscriptions £58 - 13 - 6

Profit on Dance £2 - 10 - 6

Bank Interest £6 - 15 - 4

Ground Collections from Spectators £9 - 9 - 9

£216 - 8s - 7d

Jim Connor, RFC Treasurer from Jim Holland's death until the office disappeared after the formation of the Aston Old Edwardians' Association in 1966, recruited and reminded the Ground members and the RFC Vice-Presidents whose gifts accounted for three-quarters of the income in which the Club depended.

Among those who threw themselves into re-organisation unstintingly, argumentively but united in their enthusiasm for AOE were three then young men of a new post-war generation. All were good rugger men, as well as forceful proponents of new ideas.

Charles Thackery, latterly Headmaster North Leamington School, a serious, large and able second-row, Dave Wright's successor as Club Captain, was chosen to chair the amalgamated Aston Old Edwardians' Association. That association became the umbrella organisation, answerable to the Trustees, which administers all social and financial affairs.

Bob Simpson, captain of Industry, another second-row, Club Captain after Charlie Thackery (and his antithesis), master of all revels, lent his name to the appeal that funded the building of the new club-house, and prodded the Rugby Club to expand its vision to match the Elizabethan Age. He once played rugger for Peru against Ecuador, and says he intends to turn out in Centenary season to make good a boast of playing for AOE in six decades - the 1940s to 1990s.

Alan Haynes TD, JP (The General) was generously and influentially in the middle of all AOE affairs throughout the 50s, 60s, 70s and early 80s, and at the same time making a successful career as Estate Agent & Auctioneer, another in the Territorial Army and a theirs as an A1 referee with the Warwickshire Society – capped by them, awarded the running of a line at an Arms Park international, but denied by illness and injury the referring of an International game which he well deserved. AAH was behind the building schemes for the new 1962 Squash Courts, and the Jim Thompson car park. He organises rugger tours, end of season suppers, Boxing Day parties, AOE Dinners, served the Association as Secretary; when recovered in health, refereed junior games; has been Secretary to the Trustees for 30 years; played cricket elegantly if creakily in the field for AOE and organised an annual ‘Cardinals’ game of huge cheerfulness.

Whilst constitutional reform was being painstakingly implemented, the Rugby Club, sustained as ever by Jim Thompson, Dick Harpur and Harold Richards, played on – short of sparkling talent in the backs, usually effective up front.

Results for 1950-51
Played Won Drew Lost For Against
1st XV 28 11 4 13 169 207
2nd XV 26 10 4 12 131 138
3rd XV 23 4 1 18 111 293
4th XV 4 1 0 3 22 53

In Dave Wright’s first season as captaincy : FJ celebrated 40 years in office, WJT 25. Camp Hill’s Teddy Parker was commemorated by the ‘Teddy Parker’ Cup first contested in 1951 and held for 6 months by each side after a drawn game.

At the AGM cautious support was given to the idea of a Combined Old Boys’ representative XV.

There followed a run of good seasons. Rugby at School was enjoying a period of success under the benign guidance of Watcyn Thomas, with a startling climax in the famous 1952-53 John Murray-Barry Mordike side, which lost only one of 30 games (to an AOE XV), scored 769 points and conceded just 46. John Murray captained the England Schools \Under 19 XV that year and Barry Mordike and GC Carter were capped alongside him. (John Murray played little AOE rugger in his prime as work soon took him away; Barry Mordike played less for similar reasons. They were selected for North Midlands in 1954 – Murray from AOE and Mordike from the university XV: they were the last AOEs for more than 30 years to win selection for North Mids direct from the Club.

David Wright decreed a policy of youth, so Eric Collis, a mighty and canny second row forward and still in his prime, took on the captaincy of the 2nd XV and retained it for 9 seasons, two of them record-setters. And a number of players made youthful 1st XV debuts : Colin Hadley (Club Captain 1965-76), Brian Roberts (Match Secretary 1973-84) in 1952; John Murray, Barry Mordike and Maurice Whitehouse (Club Captain 1962-65) in 1953 ; Gerry Manders (Chairman of the Aston Old Edwardians Association in the 70s) and Jim Hullah – both Schoolboy caps – in 1954 etc..

For the first time since the war, and in the face of difficulties caused an old boys’ club by new discontinuities that saw almost all school-leavers called for national Service, and a far larger number than before go on to universities, the 1st XV, still finding half its fixtures with town sides getting stronger each season, achieved more wins than defeats.

Played Won Drew Lost For Against
1951-52 29 14 2 13 235 206
1952-53 27 13 4 10 162 167
1953-54 26 12 5 9 182 144
1954-55 27 11 5 11 205 163

Eric Collis’s 2nd XV made a habit of doing even better :

Played Won Drew Lost For Against
1951-52 30 24 2 4 253 99

The 3rd XV, variously captained through the 1950s by Ron Avery, Dick Phillips(with Alf Allen as his vice) and by Alf himself, set about going one better than the 2nds eg

Played Won Drew Lost For Against
1952-53 26 20 2 4 356 122

In an effort to improve finances, a weekly match fee of 2/- (or 1/6d for games below 1st XV or players under 21) replaced the 30 year old £1-1s (or 15/-) seasonal subscription. (As a rough guide – in Coronation Year 1953 1/6d would buy a pint of mild, or ten of the cheaper cigarettes)

In 1953-54 it was necessary to raise the subs to 2/- plus 2/- for an away game buy coach or train: the formation of the AOE Association had pointed to the rugger club’s obligation to cover its travel expenses from players subs.

In 1952 Brian Collinson was awarded the first of his county caps : the season after his last, in 1959, his brother, Roy, vey like him in appearance, took over in the county second row. Roy had not played rugger at his school (Handsworth) but had developed a taste for it training with Brian under Dave Wright’s tutelage. Unable to play 1st XV rugger with AOE because of an unwritten but absolute membership rule, not relaxed until 1971, that non-old boys might not play above 3rd XV, Roy went to Moseley. That old boy-only rule did mean that we had from time to time some formidable players in our 3rds. Best remembered are John Waterstreet, the local curate, a Cambridge LX Club and Old Edwardian forward, who would arrive over the Hawthorn Road fence in a cassock, having conducted a Saturday morning wedding, with his football kit on underneath; Ken Johnston, a superb Cumbrian forward who led the 3rds, playing there by choice, for two successful seasons in the mid-70s. On his appointment to a headship in the New Forest, he presented our ‘Young Player of the Year’ trophy.

The 1954-55 season was marred by the death of Colin Follis. A splendid half-back in the mould of Cross and Phillips, he suffered from an enlarged heart, quite undetected in dozen sparkling seasons at School, RAF and Old Boys’ Rugby, That large heart stopped one sad autumn Saturday afternoon. His photograph hangs at Perry Common.

At the 1955 AGM the Club celebrated Steve Thorpe’s retirement after 46 years of loyal and linguistically colourful service with gifts of a cheque and a pair of silver mounted pipes. Dave Wright, who had taken up an appointment at AWRE Aldermaston, resigned as Captain. He was able to play irregularly thereafter, but served as vice-captain in 1956-57 and stood again, in absentio, as captain in 1958-59 when there were four candidates and postal votes were accepted. His successor as Club Captain for the difficult seasons 1955-56 through to 1958-59 was Charles Thackery. The ups and downs of his years show in the results :

Played Won Drew Lost For Against
1955-56 27 5 2 20 155 306
1956-57 28 14 4 10 206 162
1957-58 30 8 5 17 155 255
1958-59 28 8 - 20 130 376

The second half of the 1950s saw the beginning of 25 years of law changes from which Rugby Football eventually emerged as the fast, open, strenuous game seen in all AOE sides in the 100th year of the Club. However, the early years of the revision were painful and some of the consequences dire.

The law-makers did away with the goal-kicker’s placer, and a quaint skill disappeared (but more conversions were made); the law requiring that the ball be played with the foot after tackle was abolished – and rugger in the Northern Hemisphere entered a long and sour period in which the maul, sluggish and macho, and ground wrestling for possession, became the chief sources of the now admired ‘second-phase ball’. Dribbling and foot-rushing disappeared and the ‘pile-up ‘ blighted the game.

In the words of John Reason and Caerwen James :
“..... well-intentioned but misguided law changes devalued the low tackle round the legs, one of the classic fundamentals of the game, to the point where its very existence was threatened. The same thing happened to the ruck or running scrum which has been the one classic development of the game in modern times and which therefore should be treasured and preserved......”

The World of Rugby (1979) Chapter 18

On the credit side, the off-side line, except for scrum-halves, became the rear of the scrum (not the ball); the line-out (where British Lions had unforgivably instituted the notion of ‘getting your retaliation in first’) was eventually successfully codified and encouraged to develop – mindful that the line-out is a unique feature of our game.

Minor change in the shape fo the ball (making it less round) and major changes in the texture of the outer cas3e enabled the adoption of the torpedo throw from American Grid-Iron Football for line-outs, and eventually, by the inspiration of Chris Laidlaw (the All Black scrum-half of the 1960s), the development of spin-passing.

Short penalties were allowed (the ball having originally to travel 5 yards before it could be played again) ; the ‘Australian dispensation’ – first tried 50 years before in new Zealand and Queensland –was adopted, allowing the ball to be gainfully kicked direct to touch only from inside one’s own half, later one’s ‘22’. The goal from a mark disappeared, and the differential penalty – the ‘free kick’ - came in. And to the irritation of many, rugger went metric, so that the 25 yard line became the ‘22’.

Prompted by South Africa (who toured the British Isles in 1951-52 and lost only once) the realisation dawned that Rugby needed coaches. The Club sent Ron Davie, now Professor Davie and a leader in the field of child development, on the first CCPR Coaching Course at Lilleshall in 1957 and appointed him vice-captain and coach. However, the players by and large preferred neither to train nor to be coached, despite urgings and warnings and demotions.

Ron Avery, a cheerful, optimistic man by temperament, who succeeded Gil Rush as Secretary in 1956, sounded an untypically gloomy note in his report on the 1958-59 season:

“Despite the fact that the 1st XV defeated teams of the calibre of Burton.... and Stoke-on-Trent, the team had a most disappointing season. The new laws which place the emphasis on speed, stamina and quick thinking underlined all too clearly that the majority of our players were lacking in these essentials and unless there is a real effort on the part of all Club members to improve their physical fitness and playing ability the outlook for the Club is a poor one.....”

Nevertheless the 1956-57 season had been the best since the war : Old Yardleians (3 times), Old Veseyans (twice), Old Nottinghamians, FWOE, Wolverhampton, Newbold-on-Avon, Nuneaton OE and Derby being the scalps.

The new Combined Birmingham Old Boys recognised with representative games the talents of Brian Collison, captain Charlie Thackery and ‘Spanner’ Stanway- redoubtable full back and vice-captain 1956-57.
By 1957 the Ministry of Supply had at last released the requisitioned land, and the 1st XV pitch was moved to the present position; a very grand War Memorial stand had been ceremoniously opened on the bottom touchline. New floodlights had been installed at a cost of £66-15s.

The Trustees had put up new gates at Sunnybank Avenue in memory of ‘Tid’ Beasley’, and the Aston Old Edwardians’ Association (Thackery, Connor, Haynes and Simpson to the fore) had raised the funds to enable Alf Allen to erect a fine new club-house. The Club learned to refer to the ground as being situate in Sunnybank Avenue and the of Hawthorn Road entrance was closed.

Playing subscriptions went up again- this time a new formula wa tried : 50 shillings, or half a crown per match until the £2-10s had been reached –students and members of the forces allowed ad-hoc reduced rates.

The veteran Dick Phillips and a tall, slender young full-back, Peter Wood, came third in the Greater Birmingham place Kicking competition. In 1958-59 Dick Phillips, this time paired with Don Muray, won the competition.

‘Spanner’ ventured to suggest that, to improve the look of the teams, the Club should pay for an own the jerseys, but AOE was no readier for this than it was to be coached.

Chapter 8 : 1959-62 – ‘The Book of Frank’

[b]“...... in those days I always travelled with a clarinet mouth-piece & rugger boots.........My most vivid memories of the game were the dozen or so fire engines which hosed the ground during play to soften up the sun-baked pitch. Also the fact that as the last new arrival to the team I was obliged ot play on the wing, a position not entirely consistent with my shape and prowess. I don’t remember receiving a pass but do remember being injured by skidding on a wet patch and colliding with a fire engine......”

Bob Simpson, in the 1974 AOE Magazine, recalling an invitation to play for Trinidad.[/b]

Charlie Thackery relinquished the captaincy at Easter 1959 and the committee, now under the chairmanship of Dr Harry Rowan, invited Bob Simpson to take over as Club Captain for the rest of the season; the AGM endorsed the good sense of that decision by electing him for 1959-60.

An ebullient, witty, friend of all the world (and traveller over almost all of it in a successful business career), Bob Simpson held the captaincy for three entertaining seasons, which he then followed by captaining the 2nd XV 1962-70, and by becoming vice-captain (under Ernie Smith) of the Extra ‘A’ XV (4ths) 1973-76.

Eric Collis led the 2nd XV for nine seasons 1951-60 and, in the last established a record – Played 30, Won 26, Drew 3, lost 1 Points For 397, Points Against 71.

He stood down in favour of John Lake and was persuaded to take on the Extra ‘A’ XV,. He set a new record for the 4ths in 1961-62 of played 26, Won 21, Drew 2, Lost 3 – scoring 391 points against 86 – by releasing a lively set of backs among whom was a young Carl Savage (Club Captain 1969-72).

The Simpson seasons reflected the gusto of the Captain : 1959-60 in particular saw a big swing in fortunes, with the best tally of wins since the war. Maurice Whitehouse, a most thorough and whole-hearted player and club-man, took on the supervision of training (though not yet styled ‘coach’) and in 1961 the vice-captaincy. He was to follow Bob as Club Captain.

The 1st XV tie was instigated and the very first was presented to Frank Jones at what was to be his last AGM. His 50 years as president were feted at a dinner at the Grosvenor Hotel, and he died at the grand age of 87 in April 1961. Leonard Brandon MA, succeeded him as president to establish the tradition of the not looking beyond the Head of the School. A single departure from that rule gave the Presidency, deservedly, to Dick Harpur for 1984-85 in the inter-regum between Dennis Hawley MA and our Centenary president Neil Gamble BA M Ed.

A Cocktail party was instituted to fortify the revived Boxing Day Game – cocktails were actually served at the first. The cocktails disappeared (not quite the Aston thing) but the party remains, and the game. In Centenary Season we hope to make it ‘Brothers against others as it used to be 8 years ago.

The Haynes-Simpson-Denis Walker combination inaugurated another permanent festival in our calendar by organising an End of Season Supper that now follows the always splendid match between AOE and the Watcyn Thomas XV. (Watcyn raised the first side against us in 1965 – that game was drawn).

In 1961-62, a poor season for the 1sts though the other three sides all did well, Aston drew the 12th ‘Teddy parker’ Cup game against Camp Hill (the 124th game between the two clubs ; the 1st Cup game in 1951 – the 103rd in the series – the 7/114th, the 8/11th, the 12/124th, the 1/133rd were all drawn ; Aston’s 7 wins in the 39 Cup games up to 1989 have come in the 14/128th, 15, 130th, 21/141st, 22/143rd, 23/145th, 26/148th and 35/157th).

The Simpson seasons :

Played Won Drew Lost For Against
1959-60 ** 31 15 3 13 202 240
1960-61 33 14 5 14 195 241
1961-62 31 8 5 18 205 286

** improved the post-war record. One of the defeats – but a well-fought one – was by Nuneaton whose ground we had opened between the wars and with whom we picked up a game through the admirable North Midlands Fixture Pool.

Bill Booth (photo above) was for years 1st XV touch-judge, collector of ‘gate’ money, and president AOE Cricket Club. Alf Allen & Dennis Walker cheerfully shared the refereeing of our Junior games at Perry Common.

Chapter 9 – 1962-95 ‘Jubilee’

“.....In my pre-game pep talk in the dressing room, I did not tell my team, as reported in one English newspaper, “If you see a dark object on the ground, kick it, it might be the ball; or tread on it, and if it squeals say “sorry old chap” and carry on”. What I did say, was for all to prepare to inure themselves to the ....Twickenham roar... to regard the game as a hotted up version of a South Wales club derby game like Llanelli v Swansea... to heel from loose mauls, not to hack the ball as was te old tradition, and above all not to get offside; self-discipline was essential............. from ‘Rugby Paying Man’ (1977) Watcyn Thomas

The 1962 AGM thanked Rob Simpson, John Lake and Eric Collis, who all announced their decisions to step down from their captaincies, and unanimously elected Maurice Whitehead Club Captain for 1962-63, a position he held with thoroughness and distinction until his work in approved schools took him away after the 1964-65 season. His vice-captains were two of the Club’s outstanding long-serving forwards – Vic Lilley, a hard, massive prop, and Colin Hadley, Captain after Maurice, a hooker of superb skill.

The 1962-63 season was over-shadowed by the severest of weather of the century which cancelled all rugby on eleven successive Saturdays.
‘Moss’ Whitehouse’s skill and determination as a trainer and organiser paid off in 1963-64 when AOE at last defeated Camp Hill in the 14th ‘Teddy Parker’ Cup match to take the trophy for the first time.
The winning side, with the trophy is shown below.

The Records for 1962-63-64

Played Won Drew Lost For Against
1962-63 23 8 3 12 107 155
1963-64 ** 32 10 1 21 203 287
** does not include (since not on official fixture list) additional wins 22-3 v AWRE Aldermaston and 14-5 v the School)

In celebration of a life-time’s devotion and (Jim Connor’s proposing words) “... a a mark of our esteem and as a token of our gratitude for all of the hard work he has put in fr 40 years....” W. Jim Thompson was, by acclamation, elected Honorary Life Vice-President of Aston Old Edwardians Football Club. (Jim shared this honour briefly with Bertha pepper, who died that year. The Club elected no more honorary life vice-presidents till 1983 when it recognised the services of Dick Harpur, Eric Collis and Dennis Walker).

The 1964-65 season marked the celebration of the Club’s 75th Anniversary. Ron Avery’s last report as Secretary (he moved to Leicestershire at the end of 1965 with our profound thanks and a silver tankard) sums up a happy year, also captured by the photograph below.
“Altogether a most eventful season, the highlight being November 21st 1964 when we celebrated the 75th Anniversary of the foundation of the Club in defeating a Combined Birmingham Old Boys side by 23 points to 6 before a large crowd which included our Guest of Honour, Mr DH Harrison, Vice-President of the Rugby Football Union. At the same time, our Second and Third XVs were playing AOE ‘Exiles’ XVs- so that in one afternoon we fielded five teams comprising entirely of Aston Old Edwardians – not a bad record for these days.

Our thanks are due to Colin Hadley for al of the work he put into organising the Commemoration Dinner which followed and which was attended by more than 200 Old Boys – to Bob Simpson and George Beale for their efforts in raising the two ‘Exiles’ teams and to John Bate for producing the souvenir record of events in the club’s 75 years history.

The 75th Anniversary closed with a match against a representative side raised by our good friend Watcyn Thomas, which included England International RE Rowell and which comprised almost entirely County players – the game fittingly enough, ended in an 8 point draw. We would like to express our thanks to Watcyn Thomas for his efforts on our behalf and to Bob Simpson, Alan Haynes and all their helpers for the highly successful End of Season Supper which followed.

After an indifferent start to the season, the first XV began to improve, finishing up with the best record for some years.
We completed the double over Camp Hill OE and in doing so, retained the ‘Teddy Parker’ Trophy. Five Ways OE who were having a very good season, were also defeated twice.

The remaining teams, whilst not equalling the previous season’s records, played some good football and had some good wins – the Extra ‘A’, under Eric Collis, who took over the captaincy when it was found that Peter Sneade was not available, appeared to play Old Coventrians every other week (four times in the season to be precise) the result of the series was in favour of Aston by two wins, one draw and one lost.

We again fielded an old Boys XV against the School, the School reversed last year’s result and deservedly ran out winners of a first rate game – our congratulations to the School, incidentally, on having their best season since the Mordike – Murray era.”

The Club record for the 1964-65 (75th Jubilee) season :-

Played Won Drew Lost For Against
1st XV 32 14 3 15 274 331
2nd XV 29 10 2 17 232 303
‘A’ XV 27 11 - 16 222 298
Extra ‘A’ XV 18 9 2 7 200 204

Chapter 10 – 1965-89 'The Book of the Collises'

“....on 6th September 1981 I saw the New York Giants lose their opening game of the American NFL season to the Philadelphia Eagles. NY fans jeered their team’s feeble performance yet no-one suggested that remaining home fixtures would fail to fill the 77,000 seater Meadowland Stadium.
Six days later I played for AOEFC 3rd XV against Old Saltelians on the top pitch at Perry Common. The game was watched by something approaching a dozen people, though never the full twelve at any one time. ..... No-one bothered to speculate whether our remaining home fixtures would be so well attended...... American pro football is a spectacular and splendid affair....but that is all it s – there are no overweight fumblers playing the same code in the parks of NY or LA. What you see from the luxury of your seat in the stadium is, effectively, all there is – a game with an impressively muscled top but no bottom......compare this to the situation of a rugby player in Britain.... he will almost certainly find that someone can accommodate him. That is a splendid thing to be able to say about our game.....My father holds that “if a game is worth playing, it’s worth playing badly”..I think I’m beginning to understand what he means...” DH Roberts in the 1982 Aston Edwardian Association Magazine.

Here are the facts for the seasons between the 75th Anniversary and the Centenary. First the officers :-

President Chair Secretary Match Sec Fix Sec
(since) 1961 1962 1956 1924 1958
1964-65 L Brandon RWG Harpur R Avery J Thompson J Lake
1965-69 “ “ E Collis “ “
1969-70 “ “ “ “ V Lilley
1970-71 D Hawley “ “ “ “
1971-72 “ “ “ “ B Roberts
1972-73 “ “ “ RWG Harpur “
1973-75 “ “ “ B Roberts A Corner
1975-79 “ D Walker “ “ C Hadley
1979-80 “ “ C Savage “ “
1980-81 “ “ JP Wood “ “
1981-84 “ E Collis “ “ D Roberts
1984-85 RWG Harpur “ “ K Furlong “
1985-86 N Gamble “ “ “ “
1986-87 “ “ J Silverwood “ “
1987-90 “ “ “ “ A Stafford

To Be Continued..........