John MacGregor Kendall Kendall-Carpenter (25 September 1925 – 24 May 1990) was an England

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 ...

international who won 23 caps as a back row forward between 1949 and 1954. He subsequently served as President of 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 ...

(1980–1981), the England Schools Rugby Football Union (1985–90) and Cornwall RFU (1984–87). He was also Chairman of the committee that organised the first

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

in 1987. He was one of only five Cornishmen to captain the England Rugby team – the others were E K Scott, Vic Roberts, Richard Sharp and Phil Vickery.

Career

Kendall-Carpenter was educated at

Truro School Truro School is a coeducational independent day and boarding school located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, England. It is the largest coeducational independent school in Cornwall with over 1050 pupils from pre-prep to sixth form. It is a membe ...

and

Oxford University 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 ...

where he won his Blue playing 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 ...

Twickenham Twickenham is a suburban district in London, England. It is situated on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames since 1965, and the boroug ...

for three successive years from 1948–1950. David Frost, the former Guardian rugby correspondent, recalled a famous tackle in the 1949 Varsity match when John Kendall-Carpenter preserved Oxford's 3–0 winning lead by thwarting J.V. Smith, the Cambridge centre, in the dying moments of the game: ''"Smith slipped his man, side-stepped two coverers and seemed certain to cross at the corner and bring at least an equalising try (three points in those days),'' reported the Guardian. ''Cambridge hats were already in the air and Oxford's supporters were dumb with horror but then at the last possible moment Kendall-Carpenter dived and took man and ball into touch a yard from the line."'' He appeared as a club player for Penzance & Newlyn, forerunners of the

Cornish Pirates The Cornish Pirates ( kw, An Vorladron Gernewek) are a professional rugby union team who play in the Championship, the second level of the English rugby union pyramid, and are the premier Cornish rugby club. Formerly known as Penzance & Newlyn ...

, before moving on to Bath, where he was dubbed "Prince of Cornerflaggers", while he taught rugby and history at Clifton College, Bristol. Subsequently, he became the Headmaster of Cranbrook School in Kent, followed by

Eastbourne College Eastbourne College is a co-educational independent school in the British public school tradition, for day and boarding pupils aged 13–18, in the town of Eastbourne on the south coast of England. The College's headmaster is Tom Lawson. Over ...

in 1970 before becoming Headmaster of

Wellington School, Somerset Wellington School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school in the English public school tradition for pupils aged 3–18 located in Wellington, Somerset, England. Wellington School was founded in 1837. Wellington School is a r ...

, in 1973. He was Chairman of the committee that organised the first

in 1987. Kendall-Carpenter was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(CBE) in the 1989 New Year Honours for services to rugby union. On 24 October 2011, at the IRB Awards ceremony in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, Kendall-Carpenter was posthumously recognised for his role in the creation of the Rugby World Cup with induction into the

IRB Hall of Fame The World Rugby Hall of Fame (formerly the IRB Hall of Fame) recognises special achievement and contribution to the sport of rugby union. The World Rugby Hall of Fame covers players, coaches, administrators, match officials, institutions and other ...

Kendall-Carpenter, John CBE (1926-1990) - gravestone

Legacy

After his death, a John Kendall-Carpenter Trust Fund was established. Linked to the Cornwall Rugby Football Union, the fund exists to help young people up to the age of 21 in sport both in Cornwall and elsewhere in the world. He was also honoured by his fellow

Cornishmen The Cornish people or Cornish ( kw, Kernowyon, ang, Cornƿīelisċ) are an ethnic group native to, or associated with Cornwall: and a recognised national minority in the United Kingdom, which can trace its roots to the ancient Britons w ...

by being appointed a Bard of

Gorseth Kernow Gorsedh Kernow (Cornish Gorsedd) is a non-political Cornish organisation, based in Cornwall, United Kingdom, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall. It is based on the Welsh-based Gorsedd, which was founded by Iolo Mor ...

at Illogan in 1981:– Kendall-Carpenter, John Macgregor (D) (Onen A Bymthek)

References

External links

Clifton RFC

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kendall-Carpenter, John 1925 births 1990 deaths Barbarian F.C. players Bards of Gorsedh Kernow Bath Rugby players Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Cornish Pirates players Cornish rugby union players England international rugby union players English rugby union administrators English rugby union players Heads of schools in England Oxford University RFC players People educated at Truro School World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees Rugby union forwards