Edward John Lewis (5 December 1859 – 8 June 1925)
Scrum.com 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 ...

medical doctor and international

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 ...

half-back who played club rugby for

Llandovery College , image = Llandovery College (geograph 5927072).jpg , image_size = , motto = Gwell Dysg Na Golud(here areno riches better than learning) , established = , closed = , type = Independent day and boa ...

and international rugby for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. He won just a single game for Wales when he was selected for the first Welsh rugby international.

Personal life

Lewis was born in 1859 in

Llandovery Llandovery (; cy, Llanymddyfri ) is a market town and community in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It lies on the River Tywi and at the junction of the A40 and A483 roads, about north-east of Carmarthen, north of Swansea and west of Brecon. Histo ...

to John Lewis, and was educated first at Llandovery College and then graduated to

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

in 1878. He gained his BA in 1882 and his

Bachelor of Medicine Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

in 1887 from

St Bartholomew's Hospital St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

. Lewis continued with his studies throughout his career, and was awarded his LSA in 1884, MRCS in 1884 and his

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal C ...

in 1890. He completed his

senior house officer A senior house officer (SHO) is a non-consultant hospital doctor in the Republic of Ireland. SHOs are supervised in their work by consultants and registrars. In training posts these registrars and consultants oversee training and are usually their ...

period at St Batholomew's, before becoming a consulting physician at Kilburn Dispensary. He began his speciality in

pediatrics Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...

when he took up a position as

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

at Clergy Orphan School in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also , ) is a district in the West End of London, in the City of Westminster. Oxford Street, Europe's busiest shopping street, forms its southern boundary. An Civil parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish and latterly a ...

, later taking a post as Senior Resident Medical Officer at

Great Ormond Street Hospital Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospital ...

. His final post was as Resident Medical Officer at the

Royal Free Hospital The Royal Free Hospital (also known simply as the Royal Free) is a major teaching hospital in the Hampstead area of the London Borough of Camden. The hospital is part of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs services at Barn ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Rugby career

When Newport Athletic secretary,

Richard Mullock Richard Mullock (3 May 1851 – 1920) was a Welsh sporting administrator and official, who is most notable for organising the first Welsh rugby union international game and was instrumental in the creation of the Welsh Football Union, which bec ...

, was successful in gaining an agreed fixture from 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 ...

between the English team and a yet to be formed Wales side; he had a short period to recruit a Welsh team. Mullock had future plans to form a

Welsh Rugby Union The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU; cy, Undeb Rygbi Cymru) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in the country of Wales, recognised by the sport's international governing body, World Rugby. The WRU is responsible for the running ...

, so selected a team of 'gentlemen players' that represented a wide spread of clubs from around Wales. Lewis was not only an ex-

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

student, having graduated from Christ's College but also represented Llandovery, and was called up to represent the first Welsh team.Smith (1980), pg 40. Lewis was placed at the key position of half-back, paired with Llandaff's

Leonard Watkins Leonard Watkins (7 December 1859 - 7 February 1901) was a Welsh international rugby union half-back who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Football Club and international rugby for Wales. He won just a single game for Wales when he was selected ...

. The game was a disaster for the Welsh team. The team was badly organised, having never played together before, and several players out of position. In the first ten minutes of the start of the game, both Lewis and Wales forward

B. B. Mann Bathurst Bellers Mann (15 May 1858 – 17 November 1948) was an Irish-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Cardiff and international rugby for Wales. He won a single cap for Wales, in the country's first international ...

were injured, both eventually leaving the field of play before the final whistle.Smith (1980), pg 57. Wales were totally out-classed, losing by eight goals to nil, and Lewis never represented his country again.

International matches played

Wales * 1881

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Edward John 1859 births 1925 deaths 19th-century Welsh medical doctors Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge Alumni of the Medical College of St Bartholomew's Hospital British surgeons Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England People educated at Llandovery College Rugby union players from Llandovery Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Rugby union halfbacks