Forged in the cold heat of the Nation's struggle for supremacy in armed strength, Aldermaston saw an influx of highly skilled and educated scientists, technicians and workers to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment.

Among these people there were sufficient number of young fit men who had a passion for the game and in 1954, after a spell of playing rugby with local clubs, a number of them joined forces and formed a team which took the title of AWRE Aldermaston.

In its early life the club found life hard with no home pitch and often not enough players to make up a full side. Determination persevered and steady progress brought them to a point where abetted by the growth of the establishment, the Club and its incumbent facilities grew with it. Sir William Penney, head of the establishment, was a keen supporter and became the Clubs first Life Member.

By 1957, the Club was strong enough to field a second team and in the next season found themselves able to compete at 1st XV level with most of the clubs in the area, playing against the likes of Basingstoke, Henley, Marlow and Camberley. Both the establishment and the club continued to grow and by the early Sixties, were able to field four senior sides, a colts team and Sunday minis.

Times have changed and with it the fortunes of the establishment and the Club, which waned in later times and with this change the Club has had to look to attracting more players. To which end the Club opened its doors to players from outside the establishment. This eventually led to the AWRE prefix being dropped from the Club name.

Until the introduction of league rugby, the Club's opponents were found in an area stretching from Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire in the north, down to Hampshire and the Isle of White in the south, and west as far as Swindon. League rugby has changed this and Aldermaston are currently playing in a league covering Berks, Bucks & Oxon.

The other effect has been the erosion of our links with those teams we used to play as the spare non-league days have disappeared and some old and valued fixtures have gone.

This has also meant that the number of new recruits has diminished as well. It speaks well for the health of rugby in this area that two rugby clubs can exist within such a confined catchment area. Although it should be said that if more is not done to get rugby into the schools and get more youngsters into the game, the situation may deteriorate.

For their part, Aldermaston are working with the local schools to remedy this, maintaining links with the local colleges to promote and support rugby in education. Not withstanding all its trials, Aldermaston have a strong conscience and pride of their past and their responsibility to it and are determined to continue to be a presence in the game for some time to come.

The Club has a 50 year history behind it and has seen and survived hard times and enjoyed good times in equal measure. They have met both promotion and relegation many times in their career and have seen high days and low times in the days of friendly fixtures, which preceded the leagues. We are currently in Berks,Bucks & Oxon league division 1 (South) with a growing Sunday Youth and Minis section.

New members will always find a warm and friendly welcome at Aldermaston Rugby Club. Social members and families are as valued as much as the of the players in our quest to keep alive the game for everyone. Young or old, player or supporter. We all make the game what it is.

Win or lose, above all else... FUN!