Burnham On Sea RFC

Club History

1919/1935

During the autumn of 1919, arrangements were made to hold meetings in Burnham & Highbridge to consider the formation of a rugby club for the local district.

At the meetings, held in the town hall, Capt SMJ Woods ‘Sammy’ the old somerset cricketer presided. The highbridge meeting, held in the Adult School, was chaired by GF Tilley Esq. of Huntspill.

Both meetings were well attended and carried unanimously the proportion to form a club.

At the announced AGM of the Burnham & Highbridge Rugby Football Club, Col RA Saunders, MP for Bridgwater, had written to accept the post of being the President of the newly formed club.

It was agreed that the subscription would be two shillings and sixpence per annum and that the clubs headquarters should be The Victoria Hotel in Burnham, which is still a well used drinking establishment for the current players and members.

It later transpired that the club had obtained the use of a field belonging to Mr Frost of Love Lane Farm. This field, to the north of Love Lane, is now the south end of St Marys Road. The club colours were green and white.

The first season for the club was extremely successful, both on and off the field.

Some of the opponents within the first season were, Bath, Clifton and Wiveliscombe.

Home gates were generally good and often outstanding with a record crowd of over 400 for the game against Bath, which was played on Wednesday afternoon.

At the 1920/21 AGM held in the town hall, the chairman, Dr Worger, remarked that considering it was the first year of the club they had done very well and he congratulated the officers of the club for their efforts.

Mr ES Nichols stated that the new jerseys would be scarlet and he hoped that players would purchase stockings to match. He also stated that ladies would be charged an admission fee to the ground.

In the season of 1921/22 it was announced at the AGM that the club was now in debt and a number of members were critical of the away match fees, as they were considered to be excessive.

In the meeting it was decided to accept the offer of financial assistance from Bridgwater RFC.

From this, in September 1921, a practice game was played and the proceeds, amounting to £13, were devoted to Burnham & Highbridge RFC. Thus, the club was able to start the season free from debt.

Over the next 8 years, Burnham & Highbridge RFC continued to thrive with the headquarters remaining at the Victoria Hotel.

In 1923/24, it was decided to award Caps to those player who played a set number of games during the season. The Caps would cost two shilling and three pence.

In 1924/25, it was decided for the club to be renamed as Burnham On Sea RFC.

In 1925/26, the club was informed by Somerset RFU that all referee fees would be paid by them, together with four other clubs in Somerset.

J Burleigh, CR Dyer, J Hoveys, J Pugsley and W Orledge were all awarded Caps in the season of 1927/28.

In the early thirties the club found it difficult to survive but at the AGM’s between 1930 and 1934 it was agreed to “struggle on”, which they did.

In 1933 it was announced that the entire team had paid their subscriptions in full and a Mr Iredale offered to present the new jerseys to the 1^st XV team for the forthcoming season.

Records show that halfway through the 1934/35 season players were not attending training or matches and it was decided by the committee to dissolve the club but retain the finances.

1946

After the Second World War, in 1946, there was a small attendance at a public meeting in the Victoria Hotel, called by the trustees of Burnham On Sea RFC.

The meeting had been called to decide on the best way to dispose of the Funds of the Club, which were invested in War Savings and with interest amounted to £18.

At the time, there was little prospect of the club reforming so it was decided to to divide the sum equally between Burnham YMCA Football Club and Burnham Cricket Club.