John Warburton Sagar (6 December 1878 – 10 January 1941) was a former

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 ...

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 ...

fullback and British diplomat in the Sudan.

Life history

Sagar was born in

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

in 1878 and was educated at

Durham School Durham School is an independent boarding and day school in the English public school tradition located in Durham, North East England and was an all-boys institution until 1985, when girls were admitted to the sixth form. The school takes pupils a ...

. In 1898 he gained entry to

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

and was awarded his degree in 1901. On leaving university he became a private tutor in Yorkshire, before leaving to accompany a friend on a voyage around the world. On his return in 1902 he joined

Loretto School Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 0 to 18. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. History The school was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. L ...

in Scotland as an assistant master. In 1903 he joined the

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Political Service, remaining with the service until 1924. He gained several promotions during his time in Sudan, becoming the Governor of

Kordofan Kordofan ( ar, كردفان ') is a former province of central Sudan. In 1994 it was divided into three new federal states: North Kordofan, South Kordofan and West Kordofan. In August 2005, West Kordofan State was abolished and its territory di ...

from 1917 to 1922, and the Governor of

Wadi Halfa Wādī Ḥalfā ( ar, وادي حلفا) is a city in the Northern state of Sudan on the shores of Lake Nubia near the border with Egypt. It is the terminus of a rail line from Khartoum and the point where goods are transferred from rail to ferr ...

from 1922 until he left the service in 1924. Sagar died of myocardial degeneration in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, England in 1941.

Rugby career

While at Jesus College, Sagar played for

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

and in 1899 and 1900, played in

The Varsity Match The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford University RFC, Oxford and Cambridge University R.U.F.C., Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions ...

against

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

winning two sporting Blues. He played twice for England in the 1901 Home International championships. He was the first captain of the newly formed

Wakefield RFC Wakefield RFC was an English rugby union club, founded in 1901 and folded in 2004 as a result of poor finances, with a trading loss of £105,000 for the season and unsecured creditors' loans of approximately £640,000. The club's final season w ...

in September 1901, the chairmen William Ticken Smith "had great pleasure in proposing that Mr Sagar be appointed captain, observing that they all knew his capacities as an International, Varsity and Yorkshire County player".Wakefield and the West Riding Herald 3-8-1901

References

Sources

* Wakefield Rugby Football Club—1901-2001 A Centenary History. Written and compiled by David Ingall in 2001. * A biographical dictionary of the Sudan By Richard Leslie Hill. Page 324. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sagar, John Warburton 1878 births 1941 deaths Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Anglo-Egyptian Sudan people Barbarian F.C. players British colonial governors and administrators in Africa England international rugby union players English rugby union players People educated at Durham School Rugby union players from Easington, County Durham Sudan Political Service officers Wakefield RFC players Rugby union fullbacks