Edward John Richard Thomas (14 October 1883 – 7 July 1916) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

international

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back who played club rugby for

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Early life

He was educated at Ferndale Board School, Glamorganshire. He joined the Glamorganshire Constabulary in November 1904, and was posted to Mountain Ash, remaining there until the start of the First World War. Dick Thomas

Rugby career

Thomas first played rugby for local

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley ('' ...

clubs, Ferndale and

Penygraig Penygraig is a village and community in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. As a community Penygraig contains the neighbouring districts of Dinas, Edmondstown, Penrhiwfer and Williamstown. Penygraig is within ...

before moving to Mountain Ash, the team he would captain during the 1904/05 season. He faced his first international opposition when he was chosen to represent

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

, an invitational county team that faced the touring South Africans in 1906. Glamorgan played well but lost 6-3 though if

Bert Winfield Herbert Benjamin Winfield (5 May 1878 – 21 September 1919) was an English rugby union player who played international rugby for Wales national rugby union team, Wales. He was a member of the victorious Welsh team who beat the 1905 touring All B ...

had completed his kicks the Welsh would have won. Thomas would gain his first cap later that year, when a Welsh team was formed to face the same South African team. Thomas, along with the other newly capped players, John Dyke and John Jenkins were judged not to show great ability, but were far superior to the other non-capped players available.Billot (1974), p. 37. Wales lost the game, which saw the end of many great Welsh players. From 1906 to 1907, Thomas was incapacitated due to appendicitis, but he returned to first-class rugby after his appendix was removed. Unlike Dyke and Jenkins, Thomas was reselected for his country again, but he needed to wait until the

1908 Home Nations Championship The 1908 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-sixth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 18 January and 21 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Although not officia ...

, when he was chosen to face France at the

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. Under the captaincy of

Teddy Morgan Edward "Teddy" Morgan (22 May 1880 – 1 September 1949) was a Welsh international rugby union player. He was a member of the victorious Wales team who beat the 1905 touring All Blacks in the famous '' Match of the Century'' and is remembered for ...

Wales were victorious, as they were two weeks later when Thomas won his third cap against Ireland in Belfast. Thomas's last game was the following year in a match against Scotland.

Billy Trew Billy Trew (1 July 1878 – 20 August 1926) was a Welsh international centre, outside half and wing who played club rugby for Swansea Rugby Football Club. He won 29 caps for Wales and is seen as one of the key players of the first Golden Age of ...

not only led the team but scored the winning

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which

Jack Bancroft Jack Bancroft (9 October 1879 – 7 January 1942),
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converted.

International appearances

Military service

At the start of the First World War, Thomas was in the Welsh constabulary, and was unable to stand down from his police duties and until 16 January 1915, when he enlisted in the 16th Battalion

Welsh Regiment The Welch Regiment (or "The Welch", an archaic spelling of "Welsh") was an infantry regiment of the line of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1969. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of ...

. He was in training with his regiment at Colwyn Bay until August, being rapidly promoted, in the meantime, to Company Sergeant Major by March. The Welsh Division was deployed to the Western Front in December 1915. He was killed in action, shot through the head, in the taking of

Mametz Wood The Mametz Wood Memorial commemorates an engagement of the 38th (Welsh) Division of the British Army during the First Battle of the Somme in France in 1916. The memorial The memorial, erected in 1987 by Welsh sculptor David Petersen, is a ...

on 7 July 1916. He is commemorated at the

Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme The Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme is a war memorial to 72,337 missing British and South African servicemen who died in the Battles of the Somme of the First World War between 1915 and 1918, with no known grave. It is near the ...

.Rugby Heroes who went to War

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Matthew Ferris, November 2008 Another Welsh international died in the same military action, wing player Johnnie Williams.

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Dick 1883 births 1916 deaths Bridgend RFC players category:Glamorgan Police officers British Army personnel of World War I British military personnel killed in the Battle of the Somme Ferndale RFC players Glamorgan County RFC players Glamorgan Police RFC players Monmouthshire County RFC players Mountain Ash RFC players Penygraig RFC players Royal Welch Fusiliers officers Wales international rugby union players Welsh police officers Welsh rugby union players Welsh military personnel