Today is Armistice Day, and at 11am, people across Bedford Borough will pause to remember those who gave their lives in service to their country during World Wars and conflicts since.
But in some parts of the Borough, the legacy of that sacrifice may be closer than many realise.
At Goldington Road, the home of Bedford Blues, rugby fans will know of the backdrop of trees behind the far end posts, without realising they may stand as living memorials to players who never returned from the First World War.
That connection was uncovered by Tim Jones and Geoff Read, whose research into the club’s wartime history has revealed a growing list of names and stories of players who fought and died more than a century ago.
The trees behind the posts
Read: Bedford Ian writes… (7 November)
The trees behind the posts nearest the Former Players Bar are believed to have been planted to honour the Blues who fell in the Great War.
When Jones and Read began their work in 2022, they identified nine Bedford players who lost their lives during the conflict. Since then, further research has brought that number to 14.
“The understanding is that the trees were planted as a memorial to the First World War casualties,” said Tim Jones.
“However, I haven’t found anything that actually confirms this. Three of the fourteen only played twice for Bedford; others had moved away before the war, so it’s possible their links had been forgotten.
“Many of the players were graduates of Bedford’s rugby-playing schools. They often stayed with the club for a few seasons before taking up careers, some in the military.”
The players who never came home
Among those remembered is Second Lieutenant Claude Oliver Fowler, son of the club’s long-serving groundskeeper, Tommy Fowler. He played 21 times for Bedford before joining the Bedfordshire Regiment and was killed just weeks before the Armistice on 23 October 1918.
Also, Lieutenant Gerald Cecil Kingsley, who boarded at 75 Goldington Road as a child and later played ten times for Bedford, died early in the war on 23 October 1914.
Meanwhile, Serjeant Reginald James Minahan, who scored three tries for the club in the 1911–12 season, was killed in France in July 1916.
The complete list of identified First World War casualties now includes 14 players, among them Mobbs, Gillam, Fowler, Kingsley, Maclear, Minahan, Stafford and others who once wore the Blues shirt.
Edgar Mobbs
One of the most famous names on that list is Lieutenant Colonel Edgar Mobbs, the Bedford Modern School, Olney, Bedford, Northampton and England rugby legend, later inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame.
Mobbs made only two appearances for Bedford, one of which was a special occasion, the Blues’ historic match against New Zealand in 1905.
His heroism is remembered each year through the Mobbs Memorial Match, first played in 1921 to honour his life and sacrifice.
The fixture was traditionally contested between the East Midlands and the Barbarians until 2011, and has since been revived as a biennial clash between Bedford and Northampton, and the Army Rugby Union, up until 2014.
Today, it’s played annualy against Bedford Blues and Northampton Saints, with each club taking turns to host the match.
From Scrum Bar to battlefield
Goldington Road itself played a part in the war effort. During 1914–18, the ground was used by the Scottish Division stationed in Bedford. The Scrum Bar became the Quartermaster’s Stores, and a temporary cookhouse and cinema were erected on the pitch.
Rugby was suspended, though school matches continued. Even after the Armistice, the army’s delayed release of the ground meant no official club match was played there during the 1918–19 season.
When the guns finally fell silent on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, Bedford Rugby Club, like so many others across the country, had lost some of its finest.
Jones and Read’s ongoing work has since extended to the Second World War, identifying at least 19 further casualties connected to the club. Many, said Jones, served in the RAF, reflecting Bedfordshire’s role in wartime aviation through bases at Henlow and Cardington.
Second World War sacrifice
One story stands out. Horace Gray Gilliland played ten times for Bedford after leaving school in 1906. Wounded and captured in the First World War, he escaped German imprisonment and was awarded the Military Cross.
In the Second World War, he rejoined the forces through the RAF, serving at Bentley Priory. He died in 1941, aged 55, and is commemorated at Enfield Crematorium.
Today, the trees behind the posts remain a quiet feature of Goldington Road, their origins uncertain, but their symbolism undeniable.
And on Friday (14 November), just before kick off when the Blues face Caldy in this year’s closest match to Armistice Day, the ground will once again fall silent.
Players, supporters and staff will pause to remember those who gave their tomorrows for our today, with those same trees standing silently, watching over the ground as those former players and soldiers once watched over us all.
Whether they were planted to honour the fallen or not, perhaps matters less than what they now represent.
Their presence invites reflection on sacrifice, remembrance, and the enduring work of Tim Jones and Geoff Read, whose research has ensured that the men who once played for Bedford and later served their country will never be forgotten.
