Herbert Waddell (19 September 1902 – 5 January 1988) was a Scottish

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 ...

fly-half who played club rugby for

Glasgow Academicals The Glasgow Academical Football Club is the third oldest rugby football club in Scotland. The club was also a founder member of the Scottish Football Union (the future SRU) in 1873. History Glasgow Hawks In 1997 the decision was made to ...

and international rugby for

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 ...

and 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, ...

. Waddell was heavily involved with the invitational tourist team, the Barbarians, not only playing for the club, but also became the fifth president of the club in 1973

Personal life

Waddell was born in Scotland in 1902 and was first educated at

The Glasgow Academy The Glasgow Academy is a coeducational independent day school for pupils aged 3–18 in Glasgow, Scotland. In 2016, it had the third-best Higher level exam results in Scotland. Founded in 1845, it is the oldest continuously fully independent ...

before switching to

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 ...

and later completed his education in France.Starmer-Smith (1977), pg 214. Waddell fought in 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 ...

during 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 ...

, commanding the 11th

Highland Light Infantry The Highland Light Infantry (HLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army formed in 1881. It took part in the First and Second World Wars, until it was amalgamated with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1959 to form the Royal Highland Fusi ...

. He remained with the 11th during their change to a tank unit, commanding the second battalion, the 141st regiment RAC. Waddell finished the war with a

Mention 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 ...

and 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 ...

.Starmer-Smith (1977), pg 216. He was the father of the rugby player

Gordon Waddell Gordon Herbert Waddell (12 April 1937 – 13 August 2012, born Glasgow, died London, was a Scottish rugby union player, a South African politician, and the son of Herbert Waddell. He played for , the Barbarians and on two British and Irish Lio ...

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Waddell became a keen rugby player whilst a schoolboy and captained the Fettes College team. On leaving education he joined Glasgow Academicals, a team he would represent throughout his international career.

Provincial career

Waddell played for Glasgow District.

International career

Waddell first represented Scotland in the opening game of the 1924 Five Nations Championship, played against France. Although Scotland lost, Waddell scored his first international in the game with a dropped goal, and was reselected for the rest of the tournament. During the 1924 Championship, Waddell scored a

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

in a humiliating win over

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 ...

, and a pair of tries in a home victory over

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Although the tournament ended in a poor loss to the eventual champions, England, it turned into a good year for Waddell, with an invitation to tour with the Barbarians immediately after the England game;Starmer-Smith (1977), pg 215. and then selected to represent the British Isles on their tour of

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 ...

. The South African tour turned into a difficult and injury prone affair, with the British losing three of the four tests. Waddell played in all three loses, missing the Third Test, a draw at Port Elizabeth, when he was replaced by

Bill Cunningham Bill Cunningham may refer to: People *Bill Cunningham (rugby union) (1874–1927), New Zealand rugby union player * Bill Cunningham (footballer), Irish international footballer active in the 1890s *Bill Cunningham (infielder) (1886–1946), profe ...

. On his return to Britain, Waddell was back in the Scotland team for the 1925 Championship, which saw Scotland win all four matches and take their first

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

. Waddell played in two of the wins, away to Ireland at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

and the first International at Murrayfield, a narrow victory over England. Waddell scored a dropped goal in both matches. Waddell played for Scotland a further nine times, bringing his total caps for his country to 15. His final game was during the

1930 Five Nations Championship The 1930 Five Nations Championship was the sixteenth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the forty-th ...

, having missed the 1928 and 1929 tournaments due to an ulcer and then a shoulder injury.

Administrative career

In 1926, Waddell was elected to the Committee of the Barbarians, a rarity for a member who was still a player. In 1956 he was elected vice-president, and in 1974 succeeded Brigadier Glyn Hughes as president. He became the 77th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. He served the standard one year from 1963 to 1964.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Waddell, Herbert 1902 births 1988 deaths Scottish rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves Barbarian F.C. players People educated at the Glasgow Academy British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Scotland People educated at Fettes College Highland Light Infantry officers British Army personnel of World War II Scotland international rugby union players Glasgow Academicals rugby union players Glasgow District (rugby union) players Presidents of the Scottish Rugby Union Royal Armoured Corps officers