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First Rugby XV 1906-7
(Photograph by kind permission of the school and with the help of Dave Smart)
Back row (L. to R.): Aston, J H Hewell, Plenderleith, H Davis, J Thain, O R Dickson, W G Gething, C E Withey
Middle row (L. to R.): L H Kay, V A Roberts, W S Thain, A E Foster, R W Mott
Front row (L. to R.): H H Clews, D Price, C H Glassey, L W Chillingsworth
Having successfully met the challenge of getting to school by 8.30am for the first time in nearly fifty years, the opening scenes for this special assembly had a vague familiarity about them.
Despite the size of the modern assembly hall, compared with 'Big School', it is still a 'shoe horn' job squeezing 750+ boys into it. The ordered chaos of so doing was accompanied by admonishments to the garrulous to shut up, and the tieless to complete their wardrobe. The poppy seller was doing a roaring trade as the poppyless sought to rectify this omission, perhaps flush with this week's allowance.
Once all were in place and seated the Headmaster and I joined the by now completely silent throng. Proceedings were opened by David Smart, a veteran of 18 years on the staff, with a warm and generous introduction and welcome to me as the representative of the school's 'old boys'. The response from the present generation was equally warm, and very gratifying.
David then showed, on two large screens placed at right angles so everyone present could see, a photograph of the first Rugby XV of 1906-7. They had played 8, won 6 and drawn 2. But his next statistic was more sobering: one third of them had died during World War I.
One by one, members of the Sixth Form came to the podium and gave an account of each those casualties, their family backgrounds, time at Aston, service branch and rank, the manner of their deaths, and the place - where known - of their burial. These accounts were accompanied by photographs of the man thus honoured and of the (military) cemetery of his interment.
Those young lives summarised, Ban Son Khoo then sounded 'Last Post' whilst all stood in silent commemoration. At the end of this School Captain Christopher Cooney (Temperley House) took down the wreath of poppies from the podium and, accompanied by Zachary Johnson (of house unknown but, with a birth date of 31st August, unchallenged youngest pupil), led the Headmaster and I out across Frederick Road and into the west wing of the old building.
In a respectful silence we climbed that oh so familiar staircase to the War Memorial, where these representatives of the present generation laid their wreath alongside one already there.
While we were doing this, back in the hall the bugler sounded 'Reveille' and the school's day began - as it has done thousands of times since 11th November 1918.