BEDFORD RUGBY FOLLOWERS ASSOCIATION

The Followers were formed on Tuesday 18th November 1949 at Captain Percy Burke’s home on Castle Road with the original purpose of arranging transport to away games. Bedford Blues, captained by R. C. Dickie Furbank, were doing well and home gates were good, but it was difficult for supporters to get to away games often entailing an all -day rail journey. In 1949, few people had their own transport.

The first Followers away trip to Gloucester eleven months later, took two coaches. In 1975 ten coaches travelled to Twickenham for the Cup Final where Bedford beat Roselyn Park. Twenty-nine coaches took followers to the 2005 Cup Final which Bedford won against Plymouth and 2006 saw forty coaches go to watch the Cup Final which Bedford unfortunately lost to Harlequins.

In 2024 The Followers celebrated their 75 Anniversary - a remarkable feat for a rugby supporters’ group.

The name ‘Followers’ was chosen to emphasise the objective of getting people to away games rather than getting involved with the Bedford Blues club itself. The first president was Rex Alston, a well-known journalist and broadcaster who was a Master at Bedford School and Captain of Bedford Blues. That objective has changed little although we have been able to fund many projects to help the club.

The Followers faced many challenges after the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, but the Friends of the Blues (FOB’s) stepped into offer support enabling a flat £10 coach fare. Since the fare initiative, The Followers and FOB’s have worked more closely and realised it would make sense to merge and unite under one name to offer clarity and greater opportunities for growth and support for the club.