Rugby union lost 185 capped international players from within the eight major rugby playing nations and ‘Gone But Not Forgotten’ celebrates the lives of eight of these players, one from each of the major rugby nations.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Michael Stear, the current Royal Air Force Commissioner on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and a member of the RFU Committee from 1987-1998 said, “This exhibition can inevitably only put the spotlight on a few individuals out of the hundreds of international rugby players who lost their lives in the two world wars. The visits in successive weeks of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa around Remembrance time provides added poignancy and meaning as we remember the fallen.”

Wallabies coach, Eddie Jones, visiting the exhibition said, “Playing for your country is a lot different to fighting for it but these men did both. They fought as part of a united Commonwealth effort to defend our freedom. We remember today the skill they showed on the rugby field and the selfless courage with which they fought for the values and liberties which they believed in and which we enjoy today. The Wallabies are proud to support this exhibition. It is a chance for us to honour, and to thank, our rugby war heroes,” he added. Clive Woodward, England Head Coach, said, “I’m supporting the exhibition on behalf of the England squad. Remembering the young people who lost their lives in the two World Wars is essential and their memory must be respected by successive generations. We must not forget the huge sacrifices they made.”

Attending the launch alongside Clive Woodward, RFU President Derek Morgan and Sir Michael Stear were Tom Kemp and Hal Sever, both of whom represented England in the 1930s. Tom is England’s oldest surviving captain. Born in 1915, he represented England five times at fly half winning pre-war caps against Wales, Ireland and Scotland. After the war Tom appeared for the national side twice captaining the side in his final game against Wales at Twickenham.

Said Tom, “The lives of many splendid rugby players have been claimed by war, often in heroic circumstances, with great loss to the game and to society. My uncle, another Tom Kemp, a Lancashire player who had emigrated to Chile, died in the first hour of the Somme offensive in 1916. This exhibition will help to keep alive their memory and to salute the sacrifice of these eternally young men whose days of rugby comradeship and competition were cruelly shortened.”

“We should salute also the organisers of wartime rugby, which united league and union players, and which flourished wherever men were serving, even in prison camps. There was a determination to continue if at all possible the playing of our fine game which has enriched so many lives. Let us hope that there will never again be the need for wartime rugby.”

During the exhibition donations are being accepted for the Poppy Fund. The funds donated by visitors during the course of the exhibition will go towards the £48 million they spend each year on the care and support of ex-servicemen, their families and other dependents.