The camaraderie of the Woodpeckers that developed during those Rugby playing years was highlighted by an annual Ball held in Cambridge in the 1950s, always a sell-out occasion. The Barn at Fen Ditton was the preferred venue and transport to it by hired barge was a riotous start to the evening. 

 

Such Balls largely gave way in the 1960s to select gatherings of old friends in London hostelries and meetings in the traditional pub (reputedly where the Woodpecker name originated) on the road between Oxford and Cambridge where Darts matches  were held.

 

However in the 1970s, Mike Lusty, a devoted character for Club social matters, made great efforts to revive the Woodpecker Balls and the last was held in I978. More informal annual dinners were then held on the night before the Varsity matches at Twickenham in December, only fading away when many members moved away from the London area.

 

Two memorable and larger dinners were held in Cambridge colleges in 1988 and a 50th anniversary in 1999. Memorable photographs of these occasions are preserved in the archives. A special 75th anniversary lunch was held at the Royal Wimbledon Golf Club on October18th 2023. 

 

Young Rugby players touring glamorous venues in Europe and in the British Isles generated much post-match revelry. Many friendships were formed with opponents as well as great camaraderie amongst touring members. Various incidents are alluded to in Mike West's article in the Rugby History section.

 

Festivities after UK tour matches were possibly less restrained. Ian Turner, the match manager on a Welsh tour, reports on the unreasonableness of the local constabulary in Cardiff arresting a Woodpecker attempting to place a Bellisha beacon on the City's flagpole. "After all it was only borrowed".

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The landlady of the Unicorn Inn in South Molton, Devon, desperate to accommodate all 25 Woodpeckers in her limited space wrote suggesting that "the forwards should be packed in as tight as possible, with the scrum half sharing a bed and with the wing forwards naturally sleeping on the outside. The backs should line out in single beds with the addition of the referee as a deterrent to foul play".

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