Matthew James Dalton ( – 2016) was an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer. He played at representative level for Great Britain (under-21s), and at club level for Hensingham ARLFC and

Whitehaven R.L.F.C. Whitehaven 2010 R.L.F.C. is a professional rugby league club, from Whitehaven, Cumbria. They currently play in the 2025 RFL League One, RFL League One following relegation from the 2024 RFL Championship, Championship in 2024. They currently pla ...

, as a , and he is a member of

Immortals (Hall of Fame).

Career

Dalton was capped for

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

against France in 1986. His career ended due to Castleman’s syndrome . Later, he was diagnosed with Pyrin Associated Febrile Syndrome. Besides working at Starting Point, he was also working the switchboard and security at West Cumberland Hospital. Dalton started his

career at Amateur side Hensingham ARLFC with his brothers he signing for

soon after.

Death

Dalton was found dead in Crow Park, Whitehaven on 8 November 2016, after people had been searching for him for two days. In a suicide note to his family, Dalton referenced the toll of both physical and mental health issues as well as having broken up with his on-and-off partner of ten years, Gail Lamb. At the time of his death, he was 53 years old. Dalton was the father of two children and had four grandchildren. He was considered influential in setting up Starting Point in Whitehaven. He helped people there in the road to recovery from drug and alcohol problems.

References

1960s births 2016 deaths 2016 suicides English rugby league players Great Britain under-21 national rugby league team players Rugby league wingers Rugby league players from Whitehaven Whitehaven R.L.F.C. players Drug-related suicides in England 20th-century English sportsmen Cumbria rugby league team players {{England-rugbyleague-bio-stub