"Birdie" played for South Africa in 1903, and in all probability he was also a member of the British occupation forces.

During the 1951/52 tour, when we were playing at Newport, one of the Springboks came to me and said: "Doc, there's a man in the crowd wearing a Springbok tie - who is he?"

I introduced myself to him and he told me that his name was Partridge and we had a brief chat about old times. A lovable person. I mentioned that I would like his address as I intended writing to him for information regarding the early history of South African rugby.

He replied: "That's easy - my name is Partridge and my address is "The Trees".

When we sent over a schoolboy team to Wales some years later they traced his grave and placed a wreath on it.