Howard Carston Catcheside

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(18 August 1899 – 10 May 1987) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

rugby union player. He was nicknamed 'Catchy'. He won eight caps for England and in his later life became a rugby administrator.

Personal history

Catheside was born in

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, England in 1899. He was educated at Oundle School in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

. With the outbreak of

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 ...

, Catcheside served in the British Army where posted to the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It came into being when created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of t ...

, reaching the rank of second-lieutenant. He served his country again in the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, once more in the Royal Field Artillery, where he was

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. He received the OBE for military duties in 1945.

Rugby career

Catcheside came to prominence as a rugby player while playing at wing for Percy Park, the team he would represent throughout his entire international career. He was also selected at county level and represented Northumberland. He made his

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

debut on 19 January 1924 against Wales. That year he became the first player to score a try in each round of the then Five nations championship with two tries coming against Wales. This feat was not equalled by another Englishman until 2002 by

Will Greenwood William John Heaton Greenwood, MBE (born 20 October 1972) is an English former rugby union player who played for Leicester Tigers and Harlequins and was a member of England's 2003 World Cup-winning team and the 1997 British & Irish Lions. H ...

. His final game for England came against Scotland on 10 March 1927. Between 1932 and 1940 he was honorary treasurer of the Northumberland Rugby Union and from 1936 until 1962 he was a selector for the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

(RFU). In 1951 he was made chairman of the RFU, a post he held until 1962.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catcheside, Carston 1899 births 1987 deaths British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of World War II England international rugby union players English rugby union players Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Oundle School Royal Field Artillery officers Rugby union officials Rugby union players from Sunderland Rugby union wings