Louis Birkett (1 January 1853 – ) was an English

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 ...

player who played for

Clapham Rovers Clapham Rovers was from its foundation in 1869 a leading English sports organisation in the two dominant codes of football, association football and rugby union. It was a prominent club in the late 19th century but is now defunct. The club playe ...

and was also selected to play for England. He was the younger brother of

Reg Birkett Reginald Halsey Birkett (28 March 1849 – 30 June 1898) was an English footballer who played for Clapham Rovers, as well as the English national side. He also played international rugby union for England in 1871, in the first international rug ...

and uncle of

John Birkett John Birkett may refer to: * John Birkett (rugby union), English rugby union player * John Birkett (surgeon), English surgeon See also * John Burkett John David Burkett (born November 28, 1964) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. ...

Early life

Louis Birkett was born in

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, London on 1 January 1853 and baptised at

St Saviour, Southwark Southwark Cathedral ( ) or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge. It is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Southwar ...

. His parents were

(born 1816, Hackney, London) a surgeon, and Lucy Matilda Janson (born 1823 in Tottenham, London). He had a number of brothers and sisters including Reginald (born 1849), Percival (born 1851), Evelyn (born 1864), and Arthur (born 1861). His older brother

Reginald Reginald is a masculine given name in the English language. Etymology and history The meaning of Reginald is “King". The name is derived from the Latin ''Reginaldus'', which has been influenced by the Latin word ''regina'', meaning "queen". Th ...

was the famed dual code international who scored England's first international try.

Rugby union career

Louis followed his brother into playing for

.Marshall, Francis, ''Football; the Rugby union game'', p152, (1892) (London Paris Melbourne, Cassell and company, limited) At that club he played both

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and by the rugby code. He was selected in March 1875 to play for England in the Scotland vs England match in EdinburghESPN profile of Louis Birkett
/ref> and was singled out as a ''"capital full-back and first-rate drop"''. His selection meant that he and his brother, Reg, had become the first pair of brothers to have both played for England in the same match. Later that year, the Bryden brothers,

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

and

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, became the second set of brothers to have played for England (albeit in separate matches) when Charles made his debut - both sets of brothers having come from Clapham Rovers. Louis played twice more for England two seasons later in the Ireland and Scotland encounters of the 1876–77 Home Nations rugby union matches.

Career and later life

Louis was working as a commercial clerk in 1881 and was based at his parental home. He married Agnes Wreford on 26 April 1881 in

Otford Otford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies on the River Darent, north of Sevenoaks. Otford's four churches are the Anglican Church of St Bartholomew in the village centre, the Otford Methodist Churc ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and they went on to have three daughters and two sons. The family moved to

Chislehurst Chislehurst () is a suburban district of south-east London, England, in the London Borough of Bromley. It lies east of Bromley, south-west of Sidcup and north-west of Orpington, south-east of Charing Cross. Before the creation of Greater L ...

and Louis became a Wool Broker's Clerk and later a Manager of the same firm. On 15 July 1930, Louis received the

Freedom of the City of London The Freedom of the City of London started around 1237 as the status of a 'free man' or 'citizen', protected by the charter of the City of London and not under the jurisdiction of a feudal lord. In the Middle Ages, this developed into a freedom or ...

in the

Worshipful Company of Ironmongers The Worshipful Company of Ironmongers is one of the Great Twelve livery companies of the City of London, incorporated under a Royal Charter in 1463. History The Ironmongers, who were originally known as the Ferroners, were incorporated unde ...

. He and his wife Agnes later retired to

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

where he died on 11 April 1943 having been married to Agnes for over 62 years.England, Andrews Newspaper Index Cards, 1790-1976

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Birkett, Louis 1853 births 1943 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players Birkett family Clapham Rovers F.C. players Men's association football players not categorized by position English men's footballers Sportspeople from Southwark Rugby union players from the London Borough of Southwark Rugby union fullbacks