On Saturday 8 November, Churcher's played a block rugby fixture against Emanuel School, Wandsworth. The fixtures were of particular significance, especially over Remembrance weekend, and commemorated the longstanding relationship between the two schools.

In 1939 Emanuel School relocated to Churcher's College where they were hosted for almost six years until the end of the war in 1945. Petersfield was deemed to be a far safer place than London and offered fresh air whilst being surrounded by beautiful rolling Hampshire countryside. The boys from Emanuel were billeted to various homes in and around the town and some of their lessons were conducted in various locations including pubs! A.H.G Hoggarth, the Headmaster of Churcher's College, reports in The Churcherian ''The war brought some changes in our organisation. We are working under a shift system... We have a long morning's work and our guests Emanuel School have a long afternoon.' He recalls 'relations between Emanuel School and ourselves are excellent... I need hardly say that Churcher's has welcomed them the more readily because they are a Rugger-playing school.' 

Sport played an important part during this time, with the two schools developing a friendly rivalry not just in rugby but also cricket, athletics, cross country, joint sports days, fives, tennis, shooting, fencing, table tennis and even ice hockey. 

The war was often the cause of the fixture cancellations, and this meant that 'Churcher's V Emanuel', across multiple age groups, became the most frequent fixture and ensured that sport was not a casualty of the war. If space was short, matches were played in local fields. When not competing there were often joint training sessions between the two schools, with the connection reaching beyond sport with film clubs, drama, debating and Christian Union meetings.

As a tribute to this era and to honour the latest chapter in their long held rivalry, Emanuel School commissioned a new trophy for the Remembrance weekend matches. The 2025 'Gurling McMichael Memorial Cup' named after the rugby captains from each school who competed in the original fixtures. In 1939 Kenneth Gurling was both Emanuel School Captain and Rugby Captain, later serving in the Royal Army medical Corps, reaching the rank of Major. After the war he had a distinguished medical career in Derby, Sheffield and Nottingham. From Churcher's College, the trophy is jointly named after John S McMichael who in 1941 was both Captain of College and Captain of Rugby and was an outstanding sportsman. He was sent to Australia after leaving Churcher's by his parents and then joined the Indian Army, reaching the rank of Captain. After the war he returned to the UK for a short period before working within the government in Zambia. He was awarded an MBE in 1975.

The 2025 'Robert Fielder and Bernard Lister' Man of the Match Awards' named after two soldiers, one from each school, who lost their lives in the conflict. Robert Fielder learned how to shoot whilst evacuated, and wrote to his sister 'I have been shooting on Churcher's firing range... The First five shots missed the target altogether. I hit the target with four of the next five.' Robert lived in Petersfield until 1941 and by 1944 was preparing for Operation Overlord, later known as D-Day, where he lost his life on June 6th 1944. Bernard N.P. Lister was an outstanding pupil, becoming Captain of College and Captain of Rugby amongst many other accolades. He was commissioned into the Hampshire Regiment in 1940, and in November 1942 sailed to Algiers as part of the Operation Torch invasion force. Lister was killed gallantly attacking positions on high ground.

The matches played on Saturday 8 November were fitting tributes to those matches played during the war years at Churcher's College. Churcher's old rivals, who were so generously billeted in Petersfield during the war years, won the 1st XV fixture 17-15 in the last few minutes of the game, after a very valiant fight by Churcher's College. It was a fitting tribute of Remembrance, after 80 years, bringing the two schools together and history to life once more - this time on Emanuel's soil....