Lieutenant-Commander John Skinner Wilson (10 March 1884 – 31 May 1916) was a

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-born

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 ...

player, who represented , United Services RFC and

London Scottish FC London Scottish Football Club is a rugby union club in England. The club is a member of both the Rugby Football Union and the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is currently playing in the RFU Championship. The club share the Athletic Ground wit ...

. He enrolled in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

in 1898. He was killed in

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in the

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, serving as Lieutenant-Commander aboard . He is remembered on panel 10 at the

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Early life

John Skinner Wilson was born on 10 March 1884 to Colonel Sir David Wilson and Nora Kate in

, where his father was subintendant of Crown Lands. From 1897 to 1904, his father was Governor and Commander in Chief of British Honduras. John had two brothers: the elder, Major Harry Stuart Wilson (born 1883), passed out of Sandhurst in 1902, and was killed in action on 9 September 1916 on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

serving as Commanding Officer with the Royal Munster Fusiliers; his younger brother, Eric Ronald Wilson, survived the War as a captain in the Black Watch, and earned the Military Cross. Wilson signed up as a navy officer cadet at

Britannia Royal Naval College Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC), commonly known as Dartmouth, is the naval academy of the United Kingdom and the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy. It is located on a hill overlooking the port of Dartmouth, Devon, En ...

on 15 September 1898, and on 14 January 1900 was gazetted midshipman aboard , on which he served for three years. On 12 July 1904, he was promoted to sub-lieutenant, with seniority backdated to 10 March 1903; and on 5 January 1905, to lieutenant, backdated to 10 March 1904. He served in the submarines for six months, before joining , the flagship of Sir Arthur May. In 1906, he went to HMS ''Vernon'', where he undertook specialist torpedo training, and in the years running up to the First World War, he served aboard , , , , and finally, from 1913, .

Rugby career

Wilson was a forward with a reputation for keeping busy and remaining close to the action. He played for United Services RFC, and was captain of the team in 1908 and 1909, considered to be his best years of rugby, according to E. H. D. Sewell. It was in 1908 that he earned his first cap for , against Ireland, on 29 February 1908. He was selected a second time for Scotland, to play against at Inverleith on 6 February 1909. Ahead of the game, the Welsh were 'quietly confident' of beating the home side. Wilson also played for the Navy against the Army 1907–1908 and again in 1913. Off the rugby field, he was also a good oarsman and sailor.

International appearances

First World War

Wilson served aboard HMS ''Indefatigable'' from 1913. On 31 May 1916, the ship was engaged in the

, and blew up and sank after coming under fire from . Only two survivors were rescued by the German torpedo boat S.68. Wilson is commemorated on the

, and, alongside his brother Harry, on the

Chandler's Ford Chandler's Ford (originally The Ford and historically Chandlersford) is a largely residential area and civil parish in the Eastleigh (borough), Borough of Eastleigh in Hampshire, England. It has a population of 21,436 in the 2011 UK Census. Cha ...

War Memorial.

References

Bibliography

* Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Scotland Rugby Miscellany'' (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ) * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, John Skinner 1884 births 1916 deaths Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players British military personnel killed in World War I Royal Navy officers of World War I United Services players Rugby union forwards British people in the British West Indies