Frederick Charles Belson (13 February 1874 – 10 August 1952) 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 ...

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 ...

forward who played club rugby for

Clifton Clifton may refer to: People *Clifton (surname) *Clifton (given name) Places Australia * Clifton, Queensland, a town **Shire of Clifton *Clifton, New South Wales, a suburb of Wollongong *Clifton, Western Australia Canada *Clifton, Nova Scotia ...

and

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, and county rugby for Somerset. Belson played international rugby for the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

on their 1899 tour of Australia.

Personal life

Belson was born in

Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in 1874 to Berkley George A. Belson, a retired Royal Navy Commander originally from

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

and Sarah Belson from

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. His family were originally from Portsmouth, but Belson moved to the South-West of England as a child, where he was educated at

Clifton College ''The spirit nourishes within'' , established = 160 years ago , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent boarding and day school , religion = Christian , president = , head_label = Head of College , head ...

. As an adult he entered the banking profession and worked for the

National Provincial Bank National Provincial Bank was a British retail bank which operated in England and Wales from 1833 until 1970 when it was merged into the National Westminster Bank. It continued to exist as a dormant non-trading company until 2016 when it was vo ...

. He followed a banking career for several years taking up positions around the Somerset and Wiltshire areas, and even took a post in

Abergavenny Abergavenny (; cy, Y Fenni , archaically ''Abergafenni'' meaning "mouth of the River Gavenny") is a market town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales. Abergavenny is promoted as a ''Gateway to Wales''; it is approximately from the border wi ...

in Wales in 1896; but by 1897 he was back in Somerset. In 1899, Belson was invited to join the British Isles rugby team on their tour of Australia, but was denied the six-month leave by his employers. He decided to take the opportunity regardless, and left for Australia in May that year, understanding his job was forfeit. In September 1899, a month after the end of the rugby tour, the Bath Chronicle reported that Belson had taken an appointment in Sydney, showing a commitment to stay in Australia. In 1900, Belson joined the newly formed

Imperial Yeomanry The Imperial Yeomanry was a volunteer mounted force of the British Army that mainly saw action during the Second Boer War. Created on 2 January 1900, the force was initially recruited from the middle classes and traditional yeomanry sources, but su ...

, and travelled to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

to serve the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

. He joined Thorneycroft's

Mounted Infantry Mounted infantry were infantry who rode horses instead of marching. The original dragoons were essentially mounted infantry. According to the 1911 ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', "Mounted rifles are half cavalry, mounted infantry merely specially m ...

, and reached the rank of Lieutenant. He left South Africa on 16 July 1902, leaving Cape Town on the SS Canada and returned to Britain a war invalid. Between leaving Africa and the outbreak of the First World War, Belson moved to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

in Canada, but returned to Britain to serve his country after the outbreak of war in 1914. He joined the

Royal Army Service Corps The Royal Army Service Corps (RASC) was a corps of the British Army responsible for land, coastal and lake transport, air despatch, barracks administration, the Army Fire Service, staffing headquarters' units, supply of food, water, fuel and dom ...

, but did not appear to have seen active duty. During the War years Belson saw the birth of two sons, in 1916 and 1917. Between 1920 and 1924, he returned to British Columbia to continue his governmental duties. He died in

Southsea Southsea is a seaside resort and a geographic area of Portsmouth, Portsea Island in England. Southsea is located 1.8 miles (2.8 km) to the south of Portsmouth's inner city-centre. Southsea is not a separate town as all of Portsea Island's s ...

in 1952.

Rugby career

Belson joined Clifton RFC in 1891 and continued playing for the team until 1894 when he began playing for Bath. After his banking job was moved to Wales in 1896, he played several games for

Abergavenny RFC Abergavenny Rugby Football Club is a Rugby union in Wales, Welsh rugby union club team based in Abergavenny. Today, Abergavenny RFC plays in the Welsh Rugby Union WRU Division Two East, Division Two East league and is a feeder club for the Dragons ...

, but was back in the Bath team by February 1897. During the same period (late 1896 to early 1897), Belson is also recorded as playing several games for

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. In September 1897, Belson turned out for a trial game for

Newport RFC Newport Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Casnewydd) is a Welsh rugby union club based in the city of Newport, South Wales. They presently play in the Welsh Premier Division. Until 2021 Newport RFC were based at Rodney Parade situated on t ...

, but there are no records of him playing a full game for the senior XV. In 1899 Belson was invited to join

Matthew Mullineux Matthew Mullineux MC (8 August 1867 – 13 February 1945) was an English rugby union scrum-half who, although not capped for England, was selected for two British Lions tours. He gained one cap during the 1896 tour to South Africa and cap ...

's British Isles team, on their tour of Australia. There is conflicting evidence to how many games Belson played out of the 21 matches of the tour, ranging from four to seven.Frederick Belson Lions career
lionsrugby.com There is no doubt over Belson's single international game, and all sources state that he played in the First Test against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Belson, Frederick 1874 births 1952 deaths English rugby union players Rugby union forwards People from Ramsgate British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Bath Rugby players Abergavenny RFC players People educated at Clifton College British Army personnel of World War I British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Royal Army Service Corps officers Imperial Yeomanry officers Clifton RFC players