Our outstanding volunteers are Aylesbury Rugby Club’s most valuable asset. Whether as a coach, team manager, first aider, committee member, festival, or tour organiser, or volunteer supporting car parking duties our Club could not function without you offering your time, effort and expertise to ensure the continued success of the Club - We are extremely grateful for all of you.
***Brought to you by Paul Casey, our very own Volunteer Co-ordinator.
Volunteer of the month
Club Annual Person(s) of the Year Award
2025
Gaz Williams!!
RFU Volunteer Awards
Club nominations for the Honda Volunteer of the Year Award - 24 May 2025 - Dan O'Donnell, Tim Armstrong & Paul Andrews (L to R)
Paul's Annual Volunteer Report
Aylesbury Rugby Club Person of the Year trophy - A Māori warrior holding a taiaha (a Māori spear)
The Trophy, generously donated by Papamoa Lions Club, is part of the Tony Taylor story told here by Derek Spence.
'Tony was a New Zealander who was on a farming exchange in the UK in the 1970s. He played in the centre for ARFC while he was over here. In 1974 he suffered a severe spinal injury playing for Aylesbury against Welwyn RFC. He was a quadriplegic for the rest of his life. His fiancée, Hildegard Curschmann, happened to be a nurse on the spinal unit at Stoke Mandeville and she helped care for him and continued his care as his wife, for the rest of his life.
Various fund-raising events were established by ARFC supported by the RFU Charitable Trust and The New Zealand High Commission. These included a charity walk, a dance in the Stoke Mandeville Dining Room with the Humphrey Littleton Band, a visit by the London Māori Group and Royal Polynesian ballet. Max Boyce visited, and a charity match refereed by Mike Litcombe, then an international referee, was kicked off by Terry Wogan. A Charity Ball was attended by both the New Zealand High Commission and the President of the RFU. All the food at this function was provided free by local firms and the bar was run by club members. Tony and Hilda repatriated to New Zealand and the funds raised were used to help buy a specially modified and equipped house.
Marlow RFC were active partners in the fund raising and The New Zealand High Commission presented a trophy “The Tony Taylor Trophy” to mark the efforts made by both clubs. The Trophy was contested between the two clubs for many years. It now has pride of place at ARFC.
The story doesn’t end there. Many of us from ARFC visited Tony and Hildegard in New Zealand and Tony and Hildegard made a trip to ARFC in 1991 to help celebrate ARFC’s diamond Jubilee. The celebrations included a visit by the New Zealand High Commission and a Tony Taylor Trophy match between Aylesbury and Marlow. Tony and Hildegard’s visit was made possible with the assistance of the Papamoa Lions Club. (Papamoa is a town near Tauranga on the East Coast of the North Island in New Zealand). The Papamoa Lions Club presented a trophy to ARFC to commemorate the visit. It is this trophy that is presented annually to ARFC’s Club Person of the Year – chosen by the Chairman to recognise the person who has made a significant contribution to the Club during the season.
Tony died in New Zealand on 29 August 2011, nursed to the end by Hildegard. Hildegard visited Aylesbury sometime later and scattered his ashes in and around the places he loved in Aylesbury.'
