This is a list of international
rugby union players who died serving in armed forces during the First World War. Most of these came from the
British Commonwealth, but a number of
French international rugby players were also killed. A number of major teams, whose nations were belligerents in World War I such as
Japan,
Canada,
Italy,
Fiji,
Tonga and
Samoa had not made their international debuts at this point in time,[1] and the
United States team had only been in existence for around two years prior to the war.
Also, none of the
Central Powers had true national rugby squads at this point although there had been rugby clubs in Germany since the late 19th century,[2] and the
German Rugby Federation is the oldest national rugby union in continental Europe.[3] However, Germany did put forward a team for
rugby union at the 1900 Summer Olympics (although not the
1908 tournament, which involved only two sides) – Olympic rugby was not seen as particularly prestigious – and it is not known if any of that team were war casualties.
The first rugby international to die in World War I was France and Stade Toulousain scrum-half
Alfred Mayssonnié on 6 September 1914.
List by country
Australia
Although many rugby players were killed during the war, a large number were also injured or crippled, leading to their departure from the game. For example, the
Australia and
British Isles player
Tom Richards had his back and shoulders damaged by a bomb blast and suffered respiratory problems the rest of his life, from gas attacks he had experienced on the Western Front, leading to his death from
TB in 1935.[7]
One of the most poignant stories is of
Ronnie Poulton-Palmer, who had played against the South African tourists of 1912–13 only a few years before:
"Those who watched [Ronnie Poulton] play were certain that he was the greatest three-quarter ever to play the game and they held to that opinion all their lives..."
"Poulton later inherited a fortune on condition that he changed his name to Poulton-Palmer; sadly he did not live to enjoy it, being killed by a sniper's bullet in the Great War. His last words before he died were: 'I shall never play at Twickenham again.'"[6]
England had over twenty six players killed in the conflict. This was the second highest number of casualties, after
Scotland. However, many of the Scotland players were "Anglos", i.e. based, born or playing in the England's domestic leagues for teams such as
London Scottish FC or universities, so their loss affected English rugby too.
Henry Brougham is sometimes listed,[8] because he died of war wounds. However, since he died in 1923, after the war had ended, he is also often omitted.
Reginald Harry Myburgh Hands, ("Reggie Hands") died on 20 April 1918, Aged 29[8] Hands was a South African who played cricket for South Africa and rugby for England.
France is different from all the other nations mentioned on this list for two reasons – firstly, it was not part of the British Commonwealth nor English speaking, and secondly, unlike the other nations, it actually had a military front in its border territory.
Maurice Boyau particularly distinguished himself as a
balloon buster and military flying ace, with 35 victories under his belt.[12][better source needed] He spent much of his flying career with
Escadrille 77, known as "Les Sportifs" for the great number of athletes in its ranks.[13] He had been captain of the French team before the war.
Pre-World War I, it was not uncommon for members of the British Isles team (later known as the
British and Irish Lions) to be uncapped for their nation of origin. This never happens now.
Charlie Adamson (English), died on 17 September 1918, Aged 43.
Ron Rogers (English), capped for British Isles in 1904, died Gallipoli 1915, aged 32.[14]
Most British Isles players had been capped for their country, and can be found listed more fully under their respective countries. Capped players include the following.
Scotland and Ireland did not put teams up for either the 1900 or 1908 Olympic rugby events, and most of the players were from England, and in particular Cornwall.
Burgess was commissioned into the
Royal Army Service Corps and served with the
Royal Engineers. He was killed when he was hit by a shell while cycling down the rue de Dunkerque in Armentières.
Smyth joined the
Royal Army Medical Corps in 1904, and served in India until the outbreak of WWI. He served on the
Western Front until he was invalided through exposure to gas, and died a few months later.
Thirteen former
New Zealand representatives – known as All Blacks – lost their lives in the First World War,[28] with three (possibly four) of them dying in the
Battle of Messines.[29]
According to
Allan Massie, "Scotland had suffered more severely than any of the Home Countries from the slaughter of the war. Thirty capped players were lost (twenty six English internationalists were killed)."[30]
While some of these players were clearly retired, others such as
Frederick Harding Turner,
James Huggan and
John George Will had played in the last match before the war, the
Calcutta Cup match in March, 1914, and so had their playing careers prematurely ended.
Walter Sutherland was also considered one of
Hawick RFC's greatest players, and was still remembered fondly as "Wattie Suddie" in
Bill McLaren's playing days.[31] Few surviving Scots were capped before and after the war –
Charlie Usher,
Jock Wemyss and
Alex Angus are some of the exceptions. Charlie Usher spent much of the war in a POW camp.
Adam Burdett was part of the
1906-7 tour to the British Isles. This was the inaugural
South Africa tour and is recognised as the event that coined the word "Springboks" as a nickname for the South Africa team. Poignantly, in the two games he played on that tour in November 1906, he shared the field with
David Bedell-Sivright of
Scotland, and
Basil Maclear of
Ireland, who were also casualties of that war. Likewise,
Toby Moll would probably have rubbed shoulders with
Eric Milroy,
Noel Humphreys or
Phil Waller in the 1910 British Isles tour of South Africa.
Morkel served as a scout with the 1st South African Mounted Brigade in
German East Africa. When the rainy season set in, Morkel's unit was cut off and the health of the troops severely deteriorated. Morkel contracted
dysentery and died.
Thompson served first in the
South West Africa Campaign, and then in
German East Africa with the 5th Regiment of the South African Infantry. His unit was sent in pursuit of German forces in Kangata, near
Pongwe. During the firefight that ensued, Thompson took a bullet through the neck and was killed.
Geen joined the
King's Royal Rifle Corps at the start of WWI. His unit was involved in the failed defence of
Hooge against German forces, equipped with
flamethrowers. He was killed in action leading his men in hand-to-hand fighting.
Garnons Williams was commissioned into the British Army in 1876, and by 1906 had retired. At the start of WWI, he joined the
Royal Fusiliers and was leading the 12th Battalion Royal Fusiliers at the
Battle of Loos when he was shot and killed.
The captain of the All America side that faced New Zealand in California died in the war.[51]
Deke Gard, died on 29 September 1918 aged 26, when killed in action during an advance in the
Argonne Forest..
Deaths after the war
Reginald Lloyd (Wales, 4 matches 1913–14) died in
Bradford on 20 February 1919 three weeks after his discharge from the
Army Service Corps. He already had a cough which developed into
influenza and death was from pneumonia and cardiac arrest. The doctor who attended him wrote 'my opinion is that this condition was undoubtedly brought about by his service in the army.' He taught at
Bradford Grammar School from January 1912, had played for Oxford University, Pontypool and London Welsh, and he had been selected to represent Yorkshire against New Zealand on 8 March 1919.
Sometimes included are two deaths from war wounds after the war, although both are past the
Commonwealth War Graves Commission limit of 31 Aug 1921 (when an order in council declared the war over) to be considered a war death:
^The debuts of these teams were
Japan &
Canada (1932);
Italy (1929);
Fiji &
Tonga (1924);
Samoa (1924) – Western Samoa was technically a German colony until the
Treaty of Versailles, but was seized by New Zealand in 1914.
^Bath, Richard (ed.) The Complete Book of Rugby (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997
ISBN1-86200-013-1) p67; the debut of
Germany was in 1927, and those of the successors of the Central Powers
Austria,
Hungary,
Bulgaria and
Turkey decades after World War II
^Wilkey, Don.
Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University – via Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.
ISBN0-7083-0766-3.