Sidney Crowther (1875–1914) was an English rugby union international who represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

on the 1904 tour to Australia and New Zealand.

Early life

Sidney Crowther was born in the early part of 1875 in

Keston Keston is a village in Greater London, England, located within the London Borough of Bromley, Greater London. Prior to 1965 it was withing the historic county of Kent. It is part suburban, part rural in nature and lies on the edge of Hayes Com ...

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 grew up at Holly Lodge. He was the son of Alfred H. Crowther, a solicitor, of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

and Mary Crowther. He had a number of siblings, including Julia (b. c1866); Nelson (b. c 1872); Keston (b. c. 1874); and Bertrand (b. c 1877). Sidney attended

Warwick School Warwick School is a selective, independent day and boarding school in Warwick, England in the public school tradition. Known until about 1900 as King's School, Warwick, it is believed to have been founded by Æthelflæd of Mercia in 914 AD ...

, and was the first Old Warwickian to gain international honours for Great Britain, when he later went on a tour to Australia and New Zealand. In the same school rugby side as Sidney was

Robert Challoner Robert Louis Challoner (3 October 1872 – 6 May 1955) was a rugby union player who represented for Australia. Challoner, a number 8, was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and claimed a total of 1 international rugby caps for Australia. His debu ...

who emigrated to Australia and represented

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and later

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the second test against a touring Great Britain side in 1899.

Rugby union career

He went to Westminster Hospital that by the time of his arrival had a distinguished rugby union playing record being one of the teams competing for the

United Hospitals Cup The United Hospitals Challenge Cup is contested by the six medical schools in London and is most notable for being the oldest rugby cup competition in the world. History In 1874 the United Hospitals RFC instituted a cup competition, the United ...

. Whilst in London he also played for Lennox FC, then a club that had some measure of prominence having won the inaugural Surrey Cup in 1891. 1904 Lions in NZ

Crowther was selected for the 1904 tour of the British Isles to Australia and New Zealand. He played in all Test Matches, three against Australia and the final Test against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. The British Isles were victorious over the Australians, but lost the New Zealand match. When the team returned home after the 1904 campaign, Crowther, along with team-mates

David Bedell-Sivright David Revell "Darkie" Bedell-Sivright (8 December 1880 – 5 September 1915) was a Scottish international rugby union forward who captained both Scotland and the British Isles. Born in Edinburgh, and educated at Fettes College where he l ...

, and

Blair Swannell Blair Inskip Swannell (20 August 1875 – 25 April 1915) was an English-born international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Northampton, and internationally for the British Isles and later Australia. He was invited to tour with t ...

decided to remain in Australia, to begin a new life, although Crowther later returned to England. All three of these players lost their lives in the First World War.

Career

Sidney Nelson Crowther practised as a medical doctor. He received his medical education at

Westminster Hospital Westminster Hospital was a hospital in London, England, founded in 1719. In 1834 a medical school attached to the hospital was formally founded. In 1939 a newly built hospital and medical school opened in Horseferry Road, Westminster. In 1994 the ...

, becoming MRCSEng and LRCPLond in 1903.Association of Medical Officers of Asylums and Hospitals for the Insane (London, England), Medico-psychological Association of Great Britain and Ireland, Royal Medico-psychological Association, ''The Journal of mental science, Volume 61'', p. 171, (Longman, Green, Longman & Roberts) Following his time at Westminster, he took up asylum work at

Brookwood Hospital Brookwood Hospital at Knaphill (near Woking) in Surrey, was established in 1867 by Surrey Quarter Sessions as the second County Asylum, the first being Springfield Asylum in Tooting (1840). A third asylum, Cane Hill Hospital at Coulsdon in the ea ...

and on completion of the new

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

asylum at Netherne transferred there as Senior Assistant and later was the Superintendent elect of the Netherne facility. He did not live long enough to become superintendent because, having enlisted as a motor cyclist dispatch rider, he was killed in action during the First World War near

Armentières Armentières (; vls, Armentiers) is a commune in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. The motto of the town is ''Pauvre mais fière'' (Poor but proud). Geogra ...

on 18 October 1914. He had been assigned to the 2nd Signal Troop of the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

as a Corporal. He is commemorated on the Le Touret War Memorial.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowther, Sidney Nelson 1875 births 1914 deaths British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England British military personnel killed in World War I English rugby union players People educated at Warwick School Royal Engineers soldiers Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Bromley