Page 156 - Mind, Body & Spirit Number 104 2020/21

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APTC v ARMY 30 Mar 1983
(who happened to be the ASPT Commandant and Assistant Commandant APTC from 1965 to 1967) and persuaded him to turn out an Army select XV for the APTC to play against. He agreed and the match took place at the military stadium in Aldershot; the final score was Army Select XV 27 – 0 APTC.
1984–1993
This was a difficult time for the APTC rugby team; a lot of fixtures were cancelled due to the Army’s commitment to exercises and operational tours. The few games that were scheduled were cancelled due to the unavailability of opposition and APTC players.
September 1985 was the APTC 125th Anniversary reunion in Aldershot and the APTC were able to arrange a fixture against 7 RHA; the final score was APTC 23 - 12 Gunners. 7 RHA were asked to provide the opposition and a chance to beat the APTC at our Corps reunion in 1986. Perhaps we should not have offered them another ‘bite of the cherry’ for this time it was 7 RHA who showed their ability to run well. Although the Corps managed a late come back in the second half it was not good enough to defeat the Gunners on this occasion; the final score was APTC 16 - 27 Gunners.
In 1991 the Inter-Corps merit tables were inaugurated to enable the various Corps to compete against each other in a structured format which conformed to the Army Rugby Union season. The APTC volunteered for Table 3 and won every game. The ‘Champions Shield’ was presented at a Corps subcommittee meeting in August 1991 which saw the APTC promoted to Table 2. The merit table season got off to a flying start at the Corps annual reunion and was followed by a tour to Hong Kong. The details [in part] of this tour can be found in the 1991/92 MBS.
Performance peaked in the season 1997/98 with the team producing some notable performances and having one of their most successful seasons; the Corps ended the season as Merit Table 2 Champions.
The Army Physical Training Corps ‘Go League’
In May 2004, the APTC competed in Army Rugby League (RL) for the first time. An ad hoc team was assembled by SSgt (SSI) Eddie Williams APTC to enter the Army Rugby League 9s Inter-Corps competition at SEME Arborfield. This competition was particularly special as it commemorated 10 years of RL being recognised as an official Army sport. At this time there were only a limited number of league players within the Corps and these individuals played on an individual basis for their units or for civilian clubs. SSI Williams who was serving at CTCRM on exchange at the time had played RL for both the Parachute Regiment and the Infantry prior to transfer and had a keen interest in establishing RL in the Corps.
As the Corps did not have an official club or strip at the time, SSI Williams sought to gain support to enter the competition and to get hold of a bespoke strip. This was provided for free by Ex-APTC SSgt ‘Harry’ Harrison of Go Sport Ltd who personally drove this strip from Newcastle to Aldershot the day before the competition.
The inaugural team was a mixture of APTCIs and some unit PTIs who gave an excellent account of themselves; the team made the plate semi-final. Considering the team only met on the morning
to have a quick practice in the car park before the competition speaks volumes of the tenacity, spirit and courage this young APTC RL squad.
However, it would be many years later before APTC / RAPTC RL really took off with the sport being embraced officially in 2011, set up by then Capt (MAA) Eddie Williams and SSgt (SSI) Gareth Slade-Jones. The first official outing was an Inter-Corps competition at Andover rugby club on one of the hottest days of the year; the Corps played and won against an established and well drilled RAMC RL team.
2017 was a real turning point and saw the RAPTC rugby team adopt a club name, a brand, a moniker like many other successful rugby clubs. We needed a name and identity that we could all relate to, a distinct sense of belonging that we could all turn to no matter how hard the game was. It was agreed that we would be called the ‘Apostles’ from that date onwards. We also voted that all Apostle members should receive a club number, these numbers would be unique to each member and incorporate every RAPTCI past and present who had contributed to RAPTC rugby. From the 2017 AGM, these Apostle numbers were assigned to an individual after their first game; the club numbers are also accompanied by a club pin badge which corresponds to the time spent contributing to the club.
The Apostles club culture has never been stronger and continues to go from strength to strength; the rugby club continues to reinforce its foundations and is set to propose its next set of initiatives at the forthcoming AGM; watch this space.
RAPTC Rugby Dinner and Awards
An APTC Association award called the Bruce Trophy was first presented in 1982, this was awarded to the Officer or Instructor who had done the most to enhance the sport of Rugby. The first recipient of the Bruce Trophy was Capt R F Monk, a former Chairman of RAPTC RFC and one of the founders of the APTC RFC. In addition, there are 3 other players and committee members who have won the Bruce trophy on 3 separate occasions; Lt Col (Retd) G Davies, Lt Col (Retd) P Appleby and Maj (Retd) M Jerrard.
The first Rugby Dinner and awards took place at the WO’s & Sgt’s Mess, Hammersley Bks, Aldershot on 21st March 1997 by kind permission of WO1 (RSM) Martin Garrett with sports colours and awards being presented by Lt Col (SMAA) P Stallard and Lt Col (MAA) B Lillywhite, CO ASPT. Trophies awarded on this occasion were Player of the Season and Most Improved Player, more trophies have been included since such as the President’s award, Chairman’s award the Apostles Apostle.
After this initial event the Rugby Dinner continued annually aligning with the Army vs Navy game. The Rugby Dinner initially morphed into the Sports Dinner in 2008 but had minimal attendance from other teams until 2013 when the SMAA & RSM took control of the
RAPTC RL Team 2004