Arthur James Wilson (29 December 1886 – 31 July 1917) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player who competed in the 1908 Summer Olympics and represented the England national team. He was a member of the British rugby union team, which won the silver medal.

Early life

Arthur Wilson was born on 29 December 1886 in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, the son of Henry and Emily Wilson. He attended the Glenalmond School and then the

Camborne School of Mines The Camborne School of Mines ( kw, Scoll Balow Cambron), commonly abbreviated to CSM, was founded in 1888. Its research and teaching is related to the understanding and management of the Earth's natural processes, resources and the environment. ...

Rugby career

Wilson was selected to play for Cornwall on seventeen occasions. He was part of the Cornwall team that reached the County Championship final for the first time in 1908, against Durham. The match, contested on 28 March 1908 at Redruth, Cornwall, was won by Cornwall 17–3. In 1908, the Olympic Games were hosted in London, and it was decided to include rugby in the event. Although several international teams had initially entered the tournament, the Home Nations were unable to decide amongst themselves who should represent the United Kingdom, and France, the previous winners, withdrew. The Wallabies were then on a tour of the Home Nations, and were the only team left. The RFU asked Cornwall, the day after Australia had beaten them 18–5, to represent the United Kingdom and to provide some opposition to Australia, rather than allow them to win by default. The match was held on 26 October. The previous day, the Cornwall team took the train to London, stopping off at Plymouth to have lunch and consume alcohol, then continued their festivities on reaching London. On the day of the match, the Cornish team took a tour of the city in the morning, followed by lunch at the Garden Club, at the invitation of the President of the Cornish Rugby Union. The match was played at White City alongside the outdoor swimming pool. Australia won the game 32–3. ''The Times'' reported "Cornwall completely failed to find their game, their forwards executed a few good rushes but their backs, without exception, were not only too slow but were continually failing in their fielding. One expected better football from the champion county side." The Australian newspaper ''The Age'' remarked: "The Cornwall forwards were good, but their backs were outpaced and beaten by the cleverness of the Australians." At 21 years of age, Wilson was the youngest player on the team, but Australia's Dan Carroll was younger aged 16.

International appearances

Military service

At the start of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Wilson enlisted in the

Royal Welsh Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers ( cy, Ffiwsilwyr Brenhinol Cymreig) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales' Division, that was founded in 1689; shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated ...

, and was killed when serving in the 12th battalion of the Royal Fusiliers in the

Battle of Pilckem Ridge The Battle of Pilckem Ridge (31 July – 2 August 1917) was the opening attack of the Third Battle of Ypres in the First World War. The British Fifth Army, supported by the Second Army on the southern flank and the French (First Army) on the n ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, reportedly aged 29. He is commemorated at the

Menin Gate The Menin Gate ( nl, Menenpoort), officially the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves ...

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...

, Belgium.

References

Bibliography