James Alfred Bevan (15 April 1858 – 3 February 1938) was a

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 ...

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 ...

three-quarter who played club rugby for Clifton RFC and Newport. He is best known for being the first Welsh international captain, whilst at Cambridge University.

Early life

Bevan was born in

St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 6 km (4 miles) south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip Local governmen ...

, Australia, the son of Elizabeth (née Fly) and James Bevan. James was from

Grosmont, Monmouthshire Grosmont ( cy, Y Grysmwnt or ''Rhosllwyn'') is a village and community near Abergavenny in Monmouthshire, Wales. The population taken at the 2011 census was 920. The wider community (parish) includes the villages of Llangattock Lingoed, Llangua an ...

, Wales, and came to Melbourne, Victoria in 1848. Elizabeth Fly arrived with her parents and 3 brothers John, William and Charles in 1853 on board the Recruit. James Snr met 17 year old Elizabeth in Bendigo, Victoria and married soon after. He was a childhood friend of

Alfred Deakin Alfred Deakin (3 August 1856 – 7 October 1919) was an Australian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Australia. He was a leader of the movement for Federation, which occurred in 1901. During his three terms as prime ministe ...

, the second

Prime Minister of Australia The prime minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia. The prime minister heads the executive branch of the Australian Government, federal government of Australia and is also accountable to Parliament of A ...

; their fathers were partners in a

coaching Coaching is a form of development in which an experienced person, called a ''coach'', supports a learner or client in achieving a specific personal or professional goal by providing training and guidance. The learner is sometimes called a ''coa ...

business. On 11 January 1866, Bevan's parents died when the '' SS London'' sank in a gale in the

Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

. He was sent back to Wales after being orphaned to live with paternal relatives. He attended

Hereford Cathedral School Hereford Cathedral School is an independent, co-educational day and boarding school for pupils of ages 3 to 18 years, from Nursery to Sixth Form. Its headmaster is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school's premi ...

.Smith (1980), pg 24.

Rugby career

Bevan played for

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 ...

before attending university at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...

, graduating in 1881. Bevan played for

Cambridge University R.U.F.C. The Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club, sometimes abbreviated "CURUFC", is the rugby union club of the University of Cambridge. The team plays Oxford University RFC in the annual Varsity Match at Twickenham Stadium every December. ...

, was awarded two

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

for rugby (in 1877 and 1880) and while with Cambridge was selected to captain the first Welsh international, against England. 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 ...

insisted that the England vs Wales match be played on 19 February 1881. This was the same day that

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

were playing

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. ...

at Neath in a semi-final cup-tie thus depriving Wales of several players. This was Wales's first international, organised before the

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 ...

was set up. The players had never played together before, though one player, Major Richard Summers, was selected for Wales on his performances a couple of years earlier for his school,

Cheltenham College ("Work Conquers All") , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent School Day and Boarding School , religion = Church of England , president = , head_label = Head , head = Nicola Huggett ...

, in matches against Cardiff and Newport. No formal invitations to play were sent out to the Welsh XV. Two of those expected to appear did not turn up, so bystanders, university undergraduates with tenuous Welsh links who had travelled to London to see the match, were called in to play for Wales. It was a humiliating defeat for the Welsh team and Bevan never played for Wales again (under modern scoring values Wales lost 82–0). A month after the match the WRFU was founded at the Castle Hotel,

Neath Neath (; cy, Castell-nedd) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a po ...

on 12 March 1881. The

James Bevan Trophy The James Bevan Trophy is a rugby union trophy which was created in 2007, and named after James Bevan, the Welsh Australian who was the first ever captain of the Wales rugby union team in 1881. The trophy was established after a decision on 10 May ...

was named in his honour to celebrate 100 years of Test Rugby.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), pg 463. *

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 ...

1881

Clergy career

Bevan later became an Anglican clergyman. He was ordained deacon in 1888 and priest in 1889. He served his title first at

Christ Church, Hampstead Christ Church, Hampstead, is a Church of England church in Hampstead, London. It is a church with particular connections to the old village of Hampstead and the Heath. Former Prime Minister Clement Attlee was married to his wife, Violet Attlee, ...

(1888-1892) and secondly at Trinity Church, Hampstead (1892-1899). From 1899 to 1936 he was

vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

at St George's Church in

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

(now St George's Theatre). In addition, he was Vicar of St Margaret's,

Herringfleet Herringfleet is a place and former civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is located north-west of Lowestoft in the East Suffolk district. The parish was combined with Somerleyton and Ashby to create the parish of Somer ...

from 1906 to 1908.

Personal life

He married Annie Susan Woodall in 1882. One of their sons was

Kenneth Bevan Kenneth Graham Bevan (27 September 1898 – 3 December 1993) was an Anglican missionary bishop in China. Early life Bevan was born in 1898, in Hampstead, where his father was a curate. He was the son of the Rev. James Alfred Bevan, who had capt ...

, who also became a clergyman, and went on to become a missionary bishop in China. Bevan died in 1938, aged 79, at the vicarage of St Paul's,

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, S ...

, where another son, Ernest, was the incumbent. He is buried in

Hampstead Cemetery Hampstead Cemetery is a historic cemetery in West Hampstead, London, located at the upper extremity of the NW6 district. Despite the name, the cemetery is three-quarters of a mile from Hampstead Village, and bears a different postcode. It is j ...

Bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bevan, James Wales international rugby union players Australian rugby union players Wales rugby union captains 1858 births 1938 deaths Abergavenny RFC players Newport RFC players Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Rugby union players from Melbourne People educated at Hereford Cathedral School 20th-century English Anglican priests Rugby union three-quarters People from St Kilda, Victoria Australian people of Welsh descent Australian emigrants to Wales