The ‘Old Boys’ team was formed in the autumn of 1930 when a group of former pupils of City of London Freemens School arrranged two fixtures. The first match was played in Ashtead Park at the school grounds against Dorking Town. The Old Boys were victorious with a 21 – 3 defeat against the local neighbouring side.
In August 1931, under the leadership of Bernard Williams and Johnny Johnson the newly formed club, which was now known as the ‘Old Ashteadians’, became affiliated to the Old Freemen’s Association and the real history of the club began. The first season began in 1931/32 and by 1933/34 the fixture list had expanded to 22 games and the club set the standard for the rugby it expected.
Over the decades that followed Ashtead Park continued to play host to the highs and lows of the game, with Old Freemen’s RFC fielding up to 3 sides. There were particular highlights in seasons such as 1975/76 where the 1st XV played 29 games, only losing 4, with 631 points for and 250 points against. Twenty years later in 1995/96 saw a similar level of success, playing 20 games, winning 18, with 586 points for and just 114 points against.
In it’s more recent history the 1st XV have won the Surrey Shield multiple times (2005, 2006, 2011, 2017, 2018) and 2010/11 and 2014/15 saw league promotions. The 2nd XV continue to excel, playing in the Surrey Merit table. The teams still continue to play at Ashtead Park whenever possible.
