547 Dartfordians met to celebrate the past, but also look forward to the future and were joined by RFU CEO Bill Sweeney and his partner Helen. Many of the guests had arrived during the day and spent time catching up throughout the afternoon in different parts of Twickenham, with some watching the Red Roses beat Ireland.

The pre-dinner drinks were held next door to the Rose Suite and it was evident how excited those attending were and it was great to see so many making their way to HQ to celebrate this brilliant event.

As guests made their way into the Rose Suite they were welcomed by current Chairman, Jarrod Lawrence and then dinner began, with lots of anticipation for the evening. Throughout the dinner the speeches took place, with Bill Sweeney talking about Community rugby, the current performance of the England squads, his enjoyment of the time he attended Dartfordians and in particular his time spent watching the Minis/Juniors on the Sunday.

Next up to speak was Jarrod who spoke about the formation of the club, the important relationship that we still have with Dartford Grammar School (DGS) and mentioned various key figures throughout the first 100 years. Major Pochin, who was DGS Headmaster back in 1924, thought it would be a good idea to launch an Old Boys rugby club, given the success of school rugby. The main man and one we will come back to was Toby Price who became Hon.Secretary upon the launch of Old Dartfordians. They need to work out where to play, who to play and how to pay for it - pitch rental back then was £15 and the costs for the whole season was £90. Key people spoken about were: Arthur Jones - upon returning from military service in 1947 Arthur became Club Captain/Chair/Vice Chair/Assistant Treasurer (everyone paid their subs, that was for sure) and gave the club 50 years of service, Ron Standen who scored 3000+points for the club/Club Captain/Chairman and member of the 1971 Middlesex 7s Finals squad, Ian Bell - Chairman/Hon.Sec/Captain and ODA Chair/member of the 1971 Middlesex 7s Finals squad/Son of Founder Member, Paul Govier - Club Captain/member of the Middlesex 7s Finals squad/Chairman of Selectors for Yorkshire and Yorkshire Country RFU President, Ron Marsh - 40 years playing career, from 1st to 6th teams where in his latter time as 6th team captain he supported the nurturing of new players into the club, Derek Eastley - Club Captain/ODA Chairman and Trustee and Dave Phillips, who received a truly deserved standing ovation - the first non DGS Club Captain and Chairman and 55+ years of service to the club.

Big changes at the club occurred in the early 1950s when the club moved from Dartford to the Black Prince, Bexley with the current footprint being built in 1968 and in the same year the AGM approved that non-DGS Old Boys could become full members. In 1975 the 'Old' was dropped and the club has played as Dartfordians RFC ever since.

Back to Toby Price and he was instrumental in the foundation of the club and shows the calibre of the people who have been involved throughout the years - Toby was a private in the 1914/18 war, before becoming a commissioned officer in the Royal Welsh Fusillieres and an intelligence officer at Bouzin Court, France. He also was awarded the Military Cross for Bravery, before heading home and becoming a Chemistry teacher at DGS............

Minis/Juniors rugby across boys and girls has been a huge area of success since launching in 1979 (Juniors) and 1990/91 (Minis) and are an important feeder in the senior club. Many volunteer coaches were in the audience and I would like to thank them all. The Girls coaches for the 16s/18s also had to head off early on the morning after the D&D to support both age groups in Kent Cup Finals.

The first toast of the evening was to 'departed friends' some who we have lost during the 100th season - Phil Thompson/Mark Ludlow/Doug Blake/Cliff Williams/David Wright and Greg Wright.

Jarrod then thanked all for attending, calling out those from DGS (including Julian Metcalf, the current Head), RTS for their long term sponsorship and other sponsors in attendance, all the volunteers in the room and huge thanks to Sandra Soler-Gomez and Tim Geoghegan for arranging what was a brilliant night of celebration - thank you once again.

A quick call out to Matt Smith who travelled back from Australia for the function and Chris Burman who came over the the US, with Paul and Enid Govier making their way down from Yorkshire.

Dartfordians RFC epitomises all that is good about Community Rugby, with strong values and with the hard work meaning we all make friends for life and help change peoples lives.

Finally Jarrod called out the Mens 1s for their promotion from Kent Counties 1 back into Regional 2 South and the final toast was to 'Dartfordians RFC' and the future of the Club.

Guests were then entertained by an excellent DJ and danced away the night.

Thanks for all who attended and I hope you all had a great time enjoying the occasion and catching up with old friends.

COYD!!!! Here's to many more years........