Lieutenant Charles Arthur Crompton RE, was a rugby union international who played for

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 ...

in the first rugby international against Scotland in 1871. His Irish birth made him also the first Irish-born player to play in a rugby international and he was additionally, along with Lieutenant

Charles Sherrard Charles William Sherrard, RE (25 December 1848 – 1938) was a British Army officer and rugby union international who represented England from 1871 to 1872. Additionally, along with Lieutenant Charles Arthur Crompton RE, he was the first memb ...

RE, the first member of the armed forces to represent their national side.

Early life

Charles Arthur Crompton was born in Cork, Ireland on 21 October 1848. By the age of 13 he was boarding in Congleton, in the Lower Heath area and moved to the London area after leaving school. He entered military service in January 1869, The United service magazine, Volume 139, Page 3 By Arthur William Alsager Pollock
/ref> and having gained a place at the

Royal School of Military Engineering The Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME) Group provides a wide range of training for the British Army and Defence. This includes; Combat Engineers, Carpenters, Chartered Engineers, Musicians, Band Masters, Sniffer Dogs, Veterinary Techni ...

Chatham Chatham may refer to: Places and jurisdictions Canada * Chatham Islands (British Columbia) * Chatham Sound, British Columbia * Chatham, New Brunswick, a former town, now a neighbourhood of Miramichi * Chatham (electoral district), New Brunswic ...

(Brompton Barracks), he played rugby for

Blackheath F.C. Blackheath Football Club is a rugby union club based in Well Hall, Eltham in south-east London. The club was founded in Blackheath in 1858, and is the fourth-oldest rugby club in continuous existence in the world, after Dublin University Fo ...

Rugby career

Crompton played for

, an open membership club originally set up for the old boys of

Blackheath Proprietary School The Blackheath Proprietary School was an educational establishment founded in 1830. In the 19th century, it had a profound influence on the game of football, in both Association and Rugby codes. In 1863, the school became one of the founders of T ...

, which by the time Crompton was playing was dominated by old boys from

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. ...

. Crompton was not one of these Old Rugbeians, but his talent was such that he was a member of the first team in short order. He was selected for the very first international in 1871, alongside his club captain Frederick Stokes. Crompton was not selected for the 1872 return match, in common with the majority of players from the first match. However, his absence may have laid more with the demands of his profession rather than his ability.

Army service and death

Lieutenant Charles Arthur Crompton, of the Royal Engineers, entered service January 1869. Whilst doing duty with the

Bengal Sappers and Miners Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, at Roorkee, he died on 6 July 1875, at

Cherat Cherat (Pashto: چېراټ) is a hill station dating from the 1860s that is located immediately above the villages of Chapri, Saleh Khana, Kotli Kalan and Dak Ismail Khel in the Nowshera District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. Cherat lie ...

, Punjaub. The cause was an abscess of the liver.espn.co.uk stats and profile by Martin Williamson
/ref> His grave is at

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

and his memorial read ''"Charles Arthur Crompton. Lieutenant Royal Engineers. Died Cherat 6 July 1875. Aged 26 years. Strong, brave and straight-forward, faithful, honourable & true."''Officers Died
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crompton, Charles 1848 births 1875 deaths England international rugby union players English rugby union players Army rugby union players Blackheath F.C. players Royal Engineers officers Rugby union forwards Sportspeople from Cork (city) Rugby union players from County Cork