Rogerstone Directory - Editorials - Newport Fugitives
There are Fugitives Among Us!!!
You may be surprised to learn that in excess of 200 fugitives are living in the local area. But before you start planning to emigrate or contact your local MP, I am, of course, referring to the members of Newport Fugitives Athletic & Cricket Club who regularly enjoy visiting the establishment on High Cross Road of an evening or weekend.
The club has not always boasted such an extensive patronage and in contrast to the grand celebrations planned to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2008, the club’s beginnings were extremely modest when just a handful of local young bachelors saw the chance to escape from the depression of the early thirties even for just a couple of hours by bowling leather onto willow.
They established the Cricket Club in 1933 and at first the party could only play away fixtures but soon they seized the opportunity to use Cullimore’s Field which could, at best, be described as meadowland and is where High Cross School now stands. Few pre-war records remain of their exploits but the determination that those early Fugitives should enjoy their leisure time in such an impoverished era has not been forgotten by players today and while the emphasis is “hard but fair” on the pitch the social aspect of the club is the cornerstone of our ethos.
After having moved to its present site next to High Cross School, the club enjoyed a post-war boom and to reflect this growth Newport Fugitives renamed itself an Athletic Club to illustrate the many different activities on offer to members. The cricket section still enjoyed success by winning local leagues in their various guises and most recently won the South Wales Cricket Alliance in 1997. Since then neither the 1st or 2nd XI has been out of the first division of the league and is currently basking in the glory of having made a perfect start to the 2006 season by winning every game played (at the point of writing anyway…)
As well as boasting three senior weekend cricket teams, The Fugies also has a youth cricket section, two snooker teams, a darts team and a function room ideal for hosting events for up to 90 people. They also host the South Wales Dragons Visually Impaired Cricket Team who are the current UK National League Champions. Local groups such as Rogerstone Rangers Youth FC and the famous Rogerstone Brass Band also use The Fugies as a regular haunt.
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