In 1863 the newly formed Civil Service club was playing football under both Association and Rugby rules, and sources suggest that the club was similar to
Clapham Rovers in that it was a single club playing both codes. It is not clear when the
Civil Service Rugby Club became a distinct entity from the association football club. The histories published by the respective clubs do not refer to a joint history past 1863, but the club was still a unified entity when it became a founding member of the
Rugby Football Union in 1871 who included fellow civil servants
Charles and
William Baillie-Hamilton and
William Lindsay in the team, while the England XI included
William C. Butler and
Evelyn Freeth. Civil Service played a significant role in the introduction and popularisation of the game of football in Europe early in the 1900s through touring, undertaking their first continental tour in 1901. In recognition of its contributions, the club is an honorary life member of
Real Madrid and
Slavia Prague. Civil Service first played Real Madrid in Madrid in 1921, drawing 1-1 before losing 2-7 a few days later. Both sides met again in Madrid in 1924 with Civil Service winning both games. Early in the club's history, the decision was taken to remain an amateur side in the face of the emergence of the professional game. Civil Service was subsequently active in the formation of several amateur leagues, including the
Amateur Football Alliance, the
Isthmian League (1906), and the
Southern Amateur Football League (1907). CSFC enjoyed its greatest success in the years leading up to
World War I, with several wins in other cup competitions to its credit including the
London Senior Cup (1901), the
Middlesex Senior Cup (1908 and 1913), and the Amateur Football Association Cup (1910, and again later in 1920 and 1930). They also captured the
Southern Amateur League (SAL) title in 1913 and 1914. In later years, the club's accumulation of honours was modest with a SAL title in 1939 and two more league triumphs in 1969 and 1971. They captured the
AFA Senior Cup in 1997 with a 4–3 win over Lensbury, securing the trophy for the first time in 67 years. The club has eight sides competing in the Southern Amateur League and a Vets side playing in the West London Veterans League. It has also established a women's section with a view to them entering a league in 2019/20. The club played in the first ever official football match at
Buckingham Palace in October 2013, playing
Polytechnic F.C., to mark the FA's 150th anniversary. ==Records==