This week’s episode talks to former England schoolboys’ rugby union captain and St Helens centre/stand-off of the 1960s Peter Harvey about his life in rugby. Peter grew up watching rugby league in St Helens, but he passed his 11+ exam and went to grammar school, where he began playing rugby union. He played for Lancashire and captained England schoolboys, before signing for St Helens and becoming a central part of the great Saints side of the mid-1960s.
His life is, in many ways, that of the archetypal working-class grammar school boy of the post-war era, and Peter’s social awareness and understanding gives him an insight into how his experiences reflected British society at that time. This is a fascinating insight into one man’s journey through rugby and the British class system.
Peter’s 2014 autobiography, Redhead With Fire in his Boots, is still available (at £7.50 including postage and packing) and can be ordered directly from him at redheadbooks2440@gmail.com
