Horace William Finlinson (9 June 1871 – 31 October 1956) was an

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

international.

Life

Horace William Finlinson was born in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

on 9 June 1871. He was educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in Bedford Charity, The Harpur Trust, born from the financial endowment, endowments le ...

where his father was headmaster. Finlinson’s test debut was against

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 ...

at Swansea on 5 January 1895. He played two further internationals that season against Scotland and Ireland. He played his club rugby for

Blackheath FC Blackheath Football Club is a rugby union club based in Well Hall, Eltham in south-east London. The club was founded in Blackheath in 1858, and is the fourth-oldest rugby club in continuous existence in the world, after Dublin University Fo ...

(76 matches 1892-98), and Bedford RUFC (38 matches 1891-1906). He also played for the

Barbarians FC The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, p ...

. He later became a schoolmaster at

Lancing College Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...

. On his retirement he returned to

and served as the club's President from 1933-1945. Aside from rugby, Finlinson's main hobby was natural history and he was for many years associated with the Ornithologists' Union and the Zoological Society.Obituary in ''The Eagle'', Magazine of

, Vol.XXXI(I) No.233, Christmas 1956 Finlinson died in

on 31 October 1956.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlinson, Horace William 1871 births England international rugby union players People educated at Bedford Modern School 1956 deaths Blackheath F.C. players Bedford Blues players Barbarian F.C. players Rugby union players from Bedford Rugby union forwards