David James MacMyn (18 February 1903 – 16 March 1978) was a

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 ...

international who represented

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

from 1925 to 1928, later becoming 72nd president of the

Scottish Rugby Union The Scottish Rugby Union (SRU; gd, Aonadh Rugbaidh na h-Alba) is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. Styled as Scottish Rugby, it is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873. The SRU oversees the national league s ...

.David MacMyn Profile on scrum.com
/ref> He also practiced as a surgeon.

Early life

MacMyn was born on 18 February 1903 at

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of C ...

the son of a doctor. He was educated at

Kirkcudbright Academy Kirkcudbright Academy is a state funded, six-year secondary school in Kirkcudbright, Scotland with about 400 pupils and 87 staff including teaching, support and administration. Notable alumni *Jennie Adamson was a Labour Party politician in t ...

, then

Fettes College Fettes College () is a co-educational independent boarding and day school in Edinburgh, Scotland, with over two-thirds of its pupils in residence on campus. The school was originally a boarding school for boys only and became co-ed in 1983. In ...

from 1916 where he was assigned to Glencorse House. He then went up to

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

where his rugby ability developed at Fettes won him his blue as a fresher at Cambridge. He took the BA with honours in 1924 before studying medicine at

King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed by K ...

, London.

Rugby union career

Amateur career

His club career had seen him play for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, London Scottish and

Provincial career

MacMyn was picked for the

Anglo-Scots Anglo is a prefix indicating a relation to, or descent from, the Angles, England, English culture, the English people or the English language, such as in the term ''Anglosphere''. It is often used alone, somewhat loosely, to refer to people ...

for their match against North and South District on 22 December 1928. MacMyn was capped and the Anglo-Scots won the match 22 - 11.

International career

MacMyn made his international debut on 24 January 1925 at

Inverleith Inverleith (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Lìte'') is an inner suburb in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the fringes of the central region of the city. Its neighbours include Trinity to the north and the New Town to the south, with Canonmills a ...

in the

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

match. Of the 11 matches he played for his national side, he was on the winning side on 10 occasions. He played his final match for Scotland on 2 January 1928 at

Colombes Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019, Colombes was the 53rd largest city in France. Name The name Colombes comes from Latin ''columna'' (Old French ''colombe'') ...

in the

match. In 1927, he was chosen to captain the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

tour to Argentina which was won by four Tests to nil.

Administrative career

After his playing career he remained involved in rugby and for many years he was also a Scottish selector with the

He became the 72nd President of the Scottish Rugby Union. He served one year from 1958 to 1959.

Medical career

In 1928 he graduated MB, BChir at King's College Hospital. In 1932 he obtained a Rockefeller Travelling Fellowship in surgery, and he studied neurosurgery at the

Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...

. He returned to London eighteen months later and having had difficulty in qualifying for the FRCS, he accepted a partnership in a West End general practice, abandoning a career in neurosurgery. After his military career during and just after the Second World War, he joined his father in his long-established general practice at Kirkcudbright. His father, John MacMyn, died on 13 May 1948 aged 86. David succeeded him in running the practice.

Military career

MacMyn was in the Territorial Army and in 1928 became a Territorial RAMC officer. By September 1939 he had reached the rank of major and at the beginning of 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 ...

was posted to a field ambulance in the 52nd (Lowland) Division, which he commanded soon afterwards. The division landed at St Malo and re-embarked at Cherbourg ten days later. The division then trained in Scotland for mountain warfare and in 1944 crossed the channel once more. David was

mentioned in dispatches 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 ...

for services in north-west Europe. He was ADMS to the 49th (WR) Division and so was with the occupation forces in Germany. Afterwards he served with the 3rd Division in Egypt and Palestine and in 1947 was demobilised with the rank of full

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Personal and later life

MacMyn was known to enjoy a number of hobbies including golf, troutfishing, rereading the classics, and his garden, in which he grew roses that were much admired. He retired in 1965 and maintained an active lifestyle, enjoying golf and bridge. In addition, his association with rugby never waned and even after a slight stroke in December 1976 he accompanied a Scottish touring team to Japan in July 1977. Just a fortnight before his death he was at Murrayfield to watch the

Calcutta Cup The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy contested be ...

. He never married.Obituary in the British Medical Journal, 22 April 1978 He died suddenly at Harbour Cottage, Kikrcudbright.

References

External links

Portrait at National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macmyn, David 1903 births 1978 deaths 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland London Scottish F.C. players People educated at Fettes College Presidents of the Scottish Rugby Union Rugby union locks Rugby union players from Kirkcudbright Scotland international rugby union players Scottish rugby union players