Following its ground breaking relationship with the Huddersfield Giants, the University of Huddersfield has now boosted the promotion of Rugby League heritage by awarding an £85,000 grant to fund the ‘Up and Under’ oral history project, which will preserve and celebrate the sport’s rich social and cultural past in West Yorkshire.

For generations, Rugby League has provided an important focal point for many people throughout the region. The memories of fans, players, coaches, administrators and officials of the game not only provide an irreplaceable record of Rugby League’s past, but also offer a window into a vital part of the social and cultural history of West Yorkshire.

Our aim is to record the reminiscences of those who have been, and remain, part of the Rugby League community in West Yorkshire. This will not only enable their experiences to be preserved for posterity, but will also make them available to anyone with an interest in the social and cultural history of Rugby League and the places in which it is played.

The project is the brain child of two lecturers from the University, Stephen Kelly, who is also a leading football writer and historian, and Dr Peter Davies, who was the man behind the successful Calderdale and Kirklees Cricket Heritage Project which he continues to direct.

Rob Light, a sport history PhD student at the International Centre for Sport History and Culture, De Montfort University, has been appointed project manager. Rob is a lifelong Leeds Rhinos supporter and also worked on the cricket heritage project at the University of Huddersfield.

Help has also been enlisted from the popular radio and television Rugby League commentator Dave Woods, who also lectures at the University, and the official RFL archivist and historian Professor Tony Collins, who recently published ‘Rugby League in Twentieth Century Britain’, his second major work on the history of the game.

In order to set up a permanent archive, we would like to interview anyone associated with professional or amateur rugby league in West Yorkshire, including supporters, players, referees, administrators and journalists.

The oral history recordings will also be made available to the public in a through:

• A dedicated website
• Exhibitions across the region
• Books and CDs
• Special radio programmes

The University recognises the important role Huddersfield has played in the history of the game and we are delighted that, along with the heritage centre at the George Hotel, such important work is being done to promote the history of Rugby League in the town where the sport was born.