Clubs > Siddal > Origins of Siddal ARLFC

Origins of Siddal ARLFC

In an age when school leaving age was 12,  youngsters up to the age of 18 often continued their education after work, when evening schools operated in day school buildings. Siddal Evening School established a Northern Union team and joined the Halifax Intermediate League in 1913. The team was the first ever winner of the Halifax Courier Bowl in 1914 on Easter Tuesday beating Parkinson Lane Evening School at Thrum Hall.

Although it was an evening school team to start with, it grew into the Siddal club that plays today – the first of the present-day Halifax-based clubs to be formed. Whilst the line through to the present day is not a straightforward continuous one, with mention in the press of the club being “re-formed” in 1922 to take over Gledhill’s League fixtures for example, there is enough of a link with 1913 to make the connection. So, when in 1918 half-back Frank Hopkinson signed for Halifax he became the first “ex-Siddaler” to turn professional.