In 1940, because of the war, rugby had all but ceased in Hawick, and a meeting was called to discuss the formation of a semi-junior league in an effort to keep the game alive in the town.

One of the teams entered was the Combined Trades, drawn from apprentices in the building trade, and it is to the men who brought that team together - Jimmy Murray, Tom Wright and Alec Middlemass - to whom the current Trades Rugby Club owes its existence.

We are fortunate to have here a fine article by Jock Imrie setting out the beginnings of the club and following its history through 50 years and more.

Norman Pender, Derek Turnbull, Colin Deans, etc... all these played for the Trades, and all these went on to represent Scotland at rugby.

Six former players have set down their reminiscences on paper, in an entertaining and very revealing section of the site.

Read the articles by Derrick Grant, Scott Macleod, Colin Deans, Norman Pender, Derek Turnbull and Greig Oliver

For our 50th anniversary booklet in 1995, we invited several teams we knew to contribute a few words.

The result was a number of warm and informative articles by Cartha, Gala YM, Haddington and Heriots, giving fresh and different slants on our tussles on the pitch, and we are pleased to reproduce them here.