Albert Lewis Stewart, (19 February 1889 – 4 October 1917) was an Irish

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 its m ...

player and decorated

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer. He played for

North of Ireland Football Club North of Ireland Football Club is a former Irish rugby union club that was based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was the first rugby club formed in what is now Northern Ireland and only two other clubs - Dublin University and Wanderers - were ...

from 1907 to 1914, and made three appearances for the

Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Champi ...

. During

World War I 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 ...

, he served in the

Royal Irish Rifles The Royal Irish Rifles (became the Royal Ulster Rifles from 1 January 1921) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army, first created in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 83rd (County of Dublin) Regiment of Foot and the 86th (Royal County D ...

and the

Machine Gun Corps The Machine Gun Corps (MGC) was a corps of the British Army, formed in October 1915 in response to the need for more effective use of machine guns on the Western Front in the First World War. The Heavy Branch of the MGC was the first to use tank ...

. He was killed in action in the

Battle of Broodseinde The Battle of Broodseinde was fought on 4 October 1917 near Ypres in Belgium, at the east end of the Gheluvelt plateau, by the British Second and Fifth armies against the German 4th Army. The battle was the most successful Allied attack of t ...

during the

Battle of Passchendaele The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by t ...

Early life

Stewart was born on 19 February 1889 in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, to James and Isabella Stewart. His father was a solicitor. Between 1902 and 1907, he was educated at the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

, an all-boys

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

in Belfast.

Sporting career

School level

Stewart started playing

while he was still at school. From 1903 to 1907, he played for the first XV of the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. He played as a full back in his first year on the team, then switched to playing as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for the remaining years. From 1905 to 1907, he also played for

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

in the schools' inter-provincial competition. In addition to rugby, Stewart played a number of other sports while at school. From 1904 to 1906, he played

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

with his school's first XI. He was both a good batsman and a good fielder. He was also a successful swimmer, specialising in the

relay A relay Electromechanical relay schematic showing a control coil, four pairs of normally open and one pair of normally closed contacts An automotive-style miniature relay with the dust cover taken off A relay is an electrically operated switch ...

. He was part of the team who won the junior gymnastics competition in 1904, and personally won a number of prizes for

sprinting Sprinting is running over a short distance at the top-most speed of the body in a limited period of time. It is used in many sports that incorporate running, typically as a way of quickly reaching a target or goal, or avoiding or catching an op ...

Club level

After leaving school in 1907, Stewart joined the

(NIFC), a rugby union club based in Belfast. He played centre. In 1909, his team won the Ulster Senior League, and he was awarded the NIFC Honour Cap. He served as Vice-Captain of his club in the 1911/1912 season, and was

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of his club in the 1913/1914 season.

Rugby international

In February 1913, Stewart was selected to play for the

. He achieved three

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

during his international career, and would have achieved more if it wasn't for the outbreak of

in 1914. He scored a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

in his debut international match. He played in the following matches:

Military service

In September 1914, Stewart applied for a commission in the

. He was commissioned into the

as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

on 22 September 1914. He was assigned to the 10th

Service Battalion A service battalion (Svc Bn; or ) is a unit of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) that provides combat service support to a brigade group and its elements. It is able to fight in a defensive role as well as provide the vital logistical support to su ...

(South Belfast Volunteers), Royal Irish Rifles. He then underwent training at

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

, County Down. On 23 November 1914, he was made a temporary

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. Next, he was posted to Ballykinlar Camp,

Ballykinlar Ballykinler (), often transcribed as Ballykinlar, is a village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies 12 kilometres south west of Downpatrick, in the parish of Tyrella and Dundrum. In the 2001 Census it had a population of 34 ...

, County Down, as part of the 36th (Ulster) Division. In Spring 1915, he was appointed his battalion's Machine Gun Officer. In May 1915, he and the division moved to Seaford, Sussex, England. From there, they moved to

Bramshott Camp Bramshott Military Camp, often simplified to Camp Bramshott, was a temporary army camp set up on Bramshott Common, Hampshire, England during both the First and Second World Wars. Camp Bramshott was one of three facilities in the Aldershot Comman ...

, a temporary army camp on Bramshott Common, Hampshire. On 25 August 1915, he was promoted to temporary

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. Stewart spent the first year of his military service, serving within the United Kingdom. On 1 October 1915, he and his battalion departed for France and the Western Front. On 18 December 1915, he was transferred to the

in the rank of temporary lieutenant with seniority from 23 November 1914. He was involved in fighting during the winter of 1915/1916. On 1 July 1916, the

Battle of the Somme The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...

began. Stewart saw action and survived the deadliest day the British Army had ever seen (roughly 60,000 casualties, with 20,000 men killed). On 10 July 1916, he was promoted to temporary

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, and appointed

officer commanding The officer commanding (OC), also known as the officer in command or officer in charge (OiC), is the commander of a sub-unit or minor unit (smaller than battalion size), principally used in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. In other countries, ...

the 22nd Machine Gun Company. On 1 January 1917, he was promoted to temporary major.

Death

Stewart was killed in action on 4 October 1917 during the

near

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 co ...

, Belgium. He had been fighting in Glencorse Wood and was trying to seize ground from the Germans when he was killed. He was aged 28. Stewart was buried in

Hooge Crater Cemetery Hooge Crater Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the World War I, First World War located in the Ypres Salient in Belgium on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front. Hooge Crater Cemetery is named ...

, a

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is an intergovernmental organisation of six independent member states whose principal function is to mark, record and maintain the graves and places of commemoration of Commonwealth of Nations mil ...

burial ground in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

, Belgium.

Personal life

Stewart was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Christian and was a member of the Windsor Presbyterian Church in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Honours

For action during the Battle of the Somme, Stewart was recommended for the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

(the highest award for bravery in the face of the enemy), but the award was not approved. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

twice; in 1916 and in 1917. On 1 January 1918, he was posthumously awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...

(DSO) "for distinguished service in the field".

References

External links

*
CWGC: Albert Lewis Stewart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Albert 1889 births 1917 deaths Rugby union players from Belfast Presbyterians from Northern Ireland People educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution Irish rugby union players Rugby union centres North of Ireland F.C. players Ireland international rugby union players Royal Ulster Rifles officers Machine Gun Corps officers British military personnel killed in World War I Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Irish Presbyterians Burials at Hooge Crater Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery British Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Belfast