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Object No. 17, Willie Llewellyn’s cap, is a rare example of a Rugby Football XV dark blue cap that signified that the wearer had been awarded his ‘Colours’.
Though Green and gold is now a very visible feature of the Christ College ‘livery’, with the light and dark blue as its everyday colours, it was not always the case. The school colours were originally light and dark blue, the colours of the Varsities (Cambridge and Oxford).
Green and gold did not become the XV team colours until 1896. The change appalled many Old Breconians. One of them wrote,
A British flag in green and gold, a Breconian jersey of green and gold. The two ideas seem equally incongruous. That Light and Dark Blue Jersey was well known on every football ground in South Wales, and many an English ground too, as the colours of Christ College, Brecon. Those are still the colours of Christ College, Brecon, and why should the ones who are most likely to have the opportunity of proclaiming their School to the outside world be doomed to the disguise of green and gold?
It is very easy to imagine these shirts as green and gold, but the halves were light and dark blue.
Object No. 17 is all the more rare because it is accompanied by another cap given to Willie Llewellyn. The green velvet cap with its twisted metallic tassel was introduced for the 1896/97 season, when school colours changed. Together, the two caps evidence the change of the XV colours.
W Llewellyn (Morton’s 1889-1896) played for the Rugby Football XV from 1893-1896, and also for the Cricket XI from 1893-1896. He is one of our most well-known Old Breconians. Known as ‘Spider’ because of his long, agile arms, he played Rugby Football for Llywnypia and for London Welsh, including as Captain. First capped in 1899, he gained 20 Welsh caps in his career including as Captain (1904/05). He also played as a British Lion in 1904.
W Llewellyn was one of 9 Old Breconians who played for Wales in the golden era of Welsh rugby from 1899/90 to 1910/11. During this period the Welsh team won 35 matches out of 43 played and no school contributed more to this legendary run than Christ College.
In 1902 the news that Willie Llewellyn was to be joined by Edward ‘Teddy’ Morgan (Morton’s 1892-1899) and Arthur ‘Boxer’ Harding (Morton’s 1890-1897) to play for Wales against England caused much excitement at the time. The Lent term of 1902 was due to begin on 18th January but it was delayed by three days so that Christ College boys could watch them play the match at Blackheath.
On 1st February 1902 the whole school travelled by train from Brecon to Cardiff to see them play for Wales in the team that beat Scotland 3-0.
Three Internationals. Left to right. W Llewellyn, A F Harding, E Morgan.
