Have you ever thought about why Sandbach Rugby Club built its home on Bradwall Road? Have you ever wondered when the club changed its name from the Old Sandbachians to Sandbach RUFC? These answers and much more are all revealed in the club’s new online archive.

A treasure trove of material has been uploaded to the club’s website, to preserve the club’s history for future generations. It contains documents, photographs, newspaper cuttings and other memorabilia, arranged by season.It starts at the formation of the club in 1935 and goes right through to 2020. This is a live archive with more information being added as and when it materialises.

This project was started by Pad Davenport, who also features in the archive. Pad has had a long association with Sandbach RUFC, having made his senior debut for the then Old Sandbachians in 1972 at the age of sixteen. He went on to make over 400 1st XV appearances for the club.

Over the fifty plus years he has been involved at Sandbach RUFC he has undertaken a variety of roles including captain of the colts, club captain, director of rugby and president. During that long association he has acquired a collection of various documents and memorabilia. Over the years, as members sadly passed away, further souvenirs were given to him. Together with information from surviving older club members, who were senior players when he first made his debut, he was able to piece together the sizeable archive.

“For some time now, I have thought these items ought to be preserved for posterity, so that future generations understand the work and achievements that was undertaken by their forerunners and, as we see each week, continues to this day,” Pad said.

The archive covers a period way before Pad’s involvement at the club. Some of the original material is fascinating, particularly when the club formed back in 1935 and reformed after the war in 1956.

One intriguing document is a spreadsheet of original members from 1935/36 and also a document of press clippings that covers 1935 to 1956. One player, Syd J Brassington, who played on the wing and made his debut on 10th December 1935, was a prisoner of war in Germany, where he remained for most of the second world war. At some point Syd wrote to J. L. Hind asking when the next match would take place, showing a true passion for the club and the game. “The old ground has been doing its bit and the goal-posts are waiting to be erected once more for the opening match, which won’t be long now” was the response in a newspaper clipping from 25th December 1943.

Another curious document from 1956shows Old Sandbachian’s Chairman, F. G Hubbard, writing to Sandbach Town Hall and asking for their “sympathetic consideration” to use the Drill Hall for a dance. This was around the time when the club reformed and they were “finding it extremely difficult to carry on due to lack of funds and facilities”.

For Pad though, the 1980s resonates most with him: “A special personal period for me is the late eighties, when leagues were in their infancy and the club got to the dizzy heights of North 2, only for it to fall back as professionalism hit rugby union.

“Sandbach, having elected to remain an amateur club, saw several quality players leave to seek remuneration for playing. This issue remains to some degree but thankfully having seen several clubs come unstuck pursuing unsustainable payments to players, Sandbach has managed to thrive and develop into arguably one of the best truly amateur clubs in the area.”

What’s interesting is how personal data changed over the years. Contact details of club officials, including addresses, home phone numbers and even business phone numbers, were readily available to members. Although some contactinformation for current officers will be available now, this level of detail is not required today, especially with modern technology and data privacy.

The archive documents the ups and downs of an amateur rugby club, but if you have enough time to delve deep into the detail, you may be surprised at the progress of Sandbach RUFC over the years. You may also recognise faces andnames still visible at the club to this very day.

You can find Sandbach RUFCs online archive HERE Scroll down through the years and delve into the club’s rich history.