For the 1983-84 season the Royal Navy Rugby Union re-introduced the publication of a handbook.  I say re-introduction because they produced a handbook between the wars.  In the 1983-84 handbook 15 Life Members were listed including two members marked as 'deceased'.  This was clearly not the full list of those who Life Membership had been conveyed upon as correspondence and published minutes of the Union painted a different picture.  In later editions of the handbook the Royal Navy Rugby Union changed it's practice and only printed those Life Members still living.  This meant that over time they lost sight of other Life Members who they had recorded in the 1983-84 handbook.  Alligin Photography has always taken the view that the full list of Life Members, both past and present, should wherever possible be used to ensure that as time passes those early Life Members never become just a list of names without context.  Their stories are at the very heart of why the Royal Navy Rugby Union became the Union it is today.

The earliest record of Life Membership of the Royal Navy Rugby Union was made at a Committee Meeting held, at the Admiralty, on 4th September 1929.  At that meeting the minutes of the March 1929 Annual General Meeting were confirmed and as agenda item 4 some changes were made to the election of officers for the 1929-1930 season.  Engr Capt Start's position on the Committee is confirmed and is annotated as Life Member.  Minute 5 went on to note:

A hearty vote of thanks was passed to Engineer Captains S.P. Start R.N. for his past services, and to the Rev W. H. Goudge for stepping, at great personal inconvenience to himself, into the breach created by Engr Captain's Start's appointment abroad.

By the September 1930 meeting both Engr Capt Roberts and Engr Capt Start were shown on the minutes holding committee positions as Life Members but currently there is no available record of when the honour was conferred upon Roberts.  Both Roberts (as Captain) and Start played in the first Navy v Army match played after the formation of the Union in February 1907 and were, at the time of the match, serving together at BRNC Datrmouth.

The table of past and present Royal Navy Rugby Union Life Members is now, I believe, to be complete, but you can never be 100% sure and I am always grateful for any information that can add to the history of Navy Rugby.  A few of people of note in the table are Steve Harland, Paula Rowe and Mark Sugden OBE.  Steve was the first Life Member who did not leave the Naval Service as an officer; as with the history of selecting players it took the Union a while to look outside of the officer cadre.  Paula Rowe was the first women to be invited to become a Life Member of the Royal Navy Rugby Union.  Mark Sugden OBE remains the only Life Member who was a civilian, having worked as a modern languages teacher at Britannia Royal Navy College for many years.

Geraint Ashton Jones June 2017

 

Rank Surname Forenames From 1st Cap Total Caps LM No
Radm Start Sydney Phillip 1929 1969 1907 1 1
Engr Capt RN Roberts Ernest William 1930 1933 1907 1 2
Lt Cdr RN Forrest John (Jeff) William 1948 1963 1925 12 3
Surg Radm (D) Osborne LDS Leslie B (Ginger) 1954 1989 1927 4 4
Capt RN Browne CBE DSO Hugh Christopher 1954 1983 1928 3 5
Cdr RN Hammond OBE Richard J Leslie 1959 1991 1934 14 6
Mr Sugden OBE Mark 1962 1990 n/a n/a 7
Vadm Brockman KCB CSI CIE CVO CBE KStJ Sir Ronald Vernon 1966 1992 n/a n/a 8
Capt RN Aldous Alan R 1966 1992 n/a n/a 9
RAdm Watkins CBE John Kingdon 1967 1970 1933 12 10
Surg Capt (D) Inverdale CBE John B 1970 1987 n/a n/a 11
RAdm Callaghan CB Desmond N 1971 2000 1936 5 12
Capt RN Waller M A 1971 1997 1945 3 13
Inst Cdr RN Kirby T K M (Rip) 1974 1976 1949 5 14
Inst Capt RN Meredith Alun 1974 2003 1948 5 15
Capt (E) RN Gosling OBE Charles G 1975 1980 1928 14 16
Lt Cdr RN Brickwood MBE Harry J 1977 2014 n/a n/a 17
Capt RN Randle Geoff Dereck O 1982 2020 n/a n/a 18
Capt RN Jacobsen John 1982 2020 1956 4 19
VAdm Horlick KBE Sir Ted 1983 2021 1948 3 20
Capt RN Alcock CBE R Ken 1983 2007 n/a n/a 21
Adm of the Fleet Lewin KG GCB LVO DSC Rt Hon Lord Terence 1985 1999 1947 4 22
Capt RN Pearey Mike A 1987 1998 1954 15 23
Cdr RN Godfrey Roger A 1988 2018 1959 16 24
Lt Cdr RN Thomas Glyn P 1988 1954 16 25
Lt Cdr RN Gatehouse MBE Trevor (Binge) 1991 2019 1967 14 26
RAdm Dow CB Douglas M 1991 2022 n/a n/a 27
Cdr RN Weeks Brian F 1991 2006 n/a n/a 28
Lt Cdr RN Rowland MBE Derek E 1992 2015 n/a n/a 29
Adm Livesay KCB Sir Michael 1993 2003 n/a n/a 30
Cdr RN Easson R (Bob) K 1994 2016 1971 7 31
Capt RN Hallett A (tony) 1995 2025 1966 8 32
Surg Cdre Crean Dermot M 1996 2012 n/a n/a 33
Cdre Parker Roger M 1996 n/a n/a 34
Cdre Lewis CBE Doug S 1998 n/a n/a 35
Lt Col RM Williams Roger J 1998 n/a n/a 36
Lt Cdr RN Hambrook MBE Dave 1998 1966 16 37
Capt RN Tuffley LVO Chris R 2001 1966 9 38
Cdr RN Le Manquais Terry W D 2002 2012 n/a n/a 39
Adm Boyce KG GCB OBE DL Lord Michael 2003 2022 n/a n/a 40
Cdre (Now HHJ) Blackett Jeff 2003 1981 3 41
Lt Cdr RN Lambshead Clive 2005 n/a n/a 42
CCY Harland Steve 2005 n/a n/a 43
VAdm McClement KCB OBE Sir Tim 2006 n/a n/a 44
Cdre Harris Tim 2007 n/a n/a 45
Cdr RN Gray R (Bob) 2008 n/a n/a 46
Adm Band GCB DL Sir Jonathon 2009 n/a n/a 47
Lt Cdr RN Rowe Paula E 2010 n/a n/a 48
Lt RN Wrigglesworth Steve 2011 n/a n/a 49
Lt Cdr RN Ashton Jones Geraint 2012 n/a n/a 50
Cdre Thompson CBE Rob J 2013 1980 4 51
Lt RN Connolly Mike H 2014 1974 12 52
CSgt RM Armstrong R (Bob) 2015 1989 31 53
Maj RM Melbourne Steve 2015 n/a n/a 54
Capt RN Alcock OBE Chris 2016 1982 19 55
CPO Coates Ash 2017 n/a n/a 56
RAdm Morisetti CB Neil 2017 n/a n/a 57
Cdr RN Cunnigham John 2018 n/a n/a 58
Adm Jones GCB ADC DL Sir Philip 2020 n/a n/a 59
Cdr RN Roberts Chris 2021 n/a n/a 60
Capt RN Kellett MBE Andy 2022 1986 10 61
Brig RM Murchison DSO MBE Ewen 2022 1998 4 62
PO (CIS) Moore Nathan (Pony) 2024 n/a n/a 63