Christine Wilson

When I was a student nurse in Wakefield, my bedsit overlooked the College Grove ground, it certainly helped with cleaning the windows if the rugby players were training. I hadn’t realised that they had noticed me watching because about 12 months later, when I was a student midwife at Manygates Hospital I had gone out into Wakefield with a friend for a drink and we got chatting to a group of lads and were talking about me being a student midwife and one of the 4 said that he’d just been to visit his sister, when I knew full well visiting was for fathers only, the little monkey I knew what he was after. After talking further it turned out that they had noticed me cleaning my windows last year and these lads were part of the rugby team from College Grove.

QARANC I nursed in the army for 4 years, stationed in Germany, 1976 – 1980 Hanover and 70 miles away at Minden the Yorkshire Duke of Wellingtons, a rugby playing regiment, were stationed and we used to socialise, especially with the rugby team, they even persuaded me to watch a rugby match. It was a busy department, young families were stationed I loved my time with Army but after my 4 years it was time to come home to Pontefract.

I’ve seen 2 rugby matches one with the Duke of Wellingtons playing one of the Welsh regiments when I was stationed in Germany and a Featherstone match 1974 when doing my training!