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Duration 34:47

The Final Whistle: the Great War in 15 players – a London rugby club at war 1914-1918

A missing war memorial first inspired a quest to discover club members who fell in the Great War. 85 names have now been identified. Some remarkable stories paint a miniature portrait of the whole war – every service, arm, theatre and front – through their experiences. Stephen Cooper tells of the research that led to his book.

Stephen Cooper worked in advertising in London, Toronto and New York after reading English at Trinity College Cambridge. He now runs a military charity. He has played and coached rugby, and headed youth rugby at Rosslyn Park for many years. His grandfather fought at the Somme, survived but refused to tell the tale – as did so many – and so inspired a lifelong curiosity and fascination for the Great War.