World Rugby Museum commemorates Battle of the Somme with special group tours

Twickenham’s World Rugby Museum is launching a season of group tours that will highlight rugby’s close connections to World War One.

The tours will run throughout the anniversary of the Battle of Somme, between the 1st of July and the 18th of November, and will tell the stories of the 27 England rugby players who lost their lives fighting for their country.

The visits will last for around 90 minutes and will take in key areas of the Twickenham stadium and will be followed by a visit to the World Rugby Museum.

Highlights of the tour will include a glimpse of the England caps board, which is in the England dressing room and features all 27 players, and the Lest We Forget – Rugby and the First World War exhibition.

The special exhibition, Lest We Forget – Rugby and the First World War, is dedicated to the memory of all the rugby players who lost their lives.

Groups will also have the chance to see a 1914 painting named Forever England, by Shane Record. The painting depicts the last England team to play before the outbreak war. Six of these players in the artwork were killed.

The special group tour will also include visits to all key areas of the stadium including the VIP rooms the England dressing room and the pitch side.
Rugby’s connection with World War One

Shortly after the outbreak of war in 1914, the Rugby Football Union called on all Rugby Union players to enlist and subsequently cancelled all club matches for the duration of the war.

This resulted in 90 per cent of all rugby players enlisting, and led to tens of thousands of players dying, including 27 players capped for England.

Further information

The special group tours will be available for groups of 15 or more and will include a ten per cent discount.

For more information visit www.englandrugby.com/twickenham/world-rugby-museum.