Friday 13 September 2024 saw Hunslet RLFC join in with the Heritage Open Days festival for the first time.
Archives were put on display which are usually locked away due to their fragility. Perhaps the star of the show was the 1883 Minutes Book which starts with:
“Proposed that there be a Rugby Football Club in connection with the Cricket Club.”
Other memorabilia included many photographs from the 1965 Wembley Challenge Cup Final trip; a set of 4 beauty queen sashes won by Hunslet supporter, Jill Robinson MBE; old wooden football-style rattles, and a set of 11 medals won by Arthur Spinks when at Hunslet Carr School in the early 1920s.
The Lord Mayor, Cllr Abigail Marshall Katung, kindly graced the event, chatting to fans and ex-players and showing great interest in the exhibit on Lucius Banks, who, in 1912, became the first person of colour to play in any type of professional sport in the UK.
The successful event will be repeated next year, with another selection of archives.
This post was written by Pat Benatmane
Main photo: Old friends and past players caught up in the convivial atmosphere, with the 1965 Wembley final on the screen
We encourage anyone living or working in South Leeds to use this website to tell their news. You can either use the Create an article for South Leeds Life page, or email us at: info@southleedslife.com
While you’re here, can we ask a favour?
South Leeds Life is published by a not-for-profit social enterprise. We keep our costs as low as possible but we’ve been hit by increases in the print costs for our monthly newspaper which have doubled in the last two years.
Could you help support local community news by making a one off donation, or even better taking out a supporters subscription?
Donate here, or sign up for a subscription at bit.ly/SLLsubscribe
