Rear-Admiral Spencer Henry Metcalfe Login, C.V.O., Royal Navy (24 September 1851 – 22 January 1909) was an officer of the Royal Navy and was also a rugby union international who represented England in 1875Spencer Login Profile on espn.co.uk
/ref>

Life

Login was born on September 24, 1851, in Futtehghur, Punjab. He was the son of the celebrated naval surgeon Sir John Spencer Login, a native of

Stromness Stromness (, non, Straumnes; nrn, Stromnes) is the second-most populous town in Orkney, Scotland. It is in the southwestern part of Mainland Orkney. It is a burgh with a parish around the outside with the town of Stromness as its capital. E ...

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

and Lena, Lady Login (nee Campbell), the Scottish courtier and author. Having attended Wellington College, he joined the Royal Navy and went on to the Royal Naval College, Greenwich.

Career

sub-lieutenant Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces. In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second high ...

he served in the Third Anglo-Ashanti War and was awarded the Ashanti Medal in 1874. He then attended the

Royal Naval College Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a ci ...

and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 31 March 1874. As a lieutenant he served on the HMS Sphinx in North Africa and was awarded the Soudan Medal (with clasps: "THE NILE 1884-85", "ABU KLEA" (1885), "KIRKEBAN" (1885), "SUAKIN 1885", and "TOFREK" (1885)) and

Khedive's Egyptian Star The Khedive's Star was a campaign medal established by Khedive Tewfik Pasha to reward those who had participated in the military campaigns in Egypt and the Sudan between 1882 and 1891. This included British forces who served during the 1882 Angl ...

. He was later promoted to the rank of

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

on 30 June 1888. When he was promoted to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 1 January 1895, he was subsequently appointed captain of the battleship HMS Centurion in March of that year. He was later appointed in command of the battleship Repulse in September, 1900.Mackie, Colin. ROYAL NAVY WARSHIPS Whilst maintaining the rank of captain, Login carried the functional position of Commodore and was appointed an aide-de-camp to the King. He married Mary Lavinia Anderson (nee Griffin) on 10 April 1905. Login was later that year appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (C.V.O.) on 11 August 1905 on the occasion of the visit of the French fleet to Britain. and soon after was promoted to the rank of

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

on 1 January 1906. At the end of that year, on 15 November 1906, he succeeded Charles H. Cross as Rear-Admiral Commanding, Portsmouth Reserve Division

Rugby union career

, where he was beginning career in the Royal Navy.Marshall, Francis, ''Football; the Rugby union game'', p153, (1892) (London Paris Melbourne, Cassell and company, limited) He made his only international appearance on December 13, 1875, in Dublin in England's victory over Ireland at Rathmines in Ireland's debut international. Having played for the Royal Naval College, Login continued to be involved with rugby in the Royal Navy and when the Royal Navy Rugby Union was formed in 1907 he served as its first president.Official site of the Royal Navy Rugby Union
/ref>

References

Bibliography

*"Obituary" (Obituaries). ''The Times''. Saturday, 23 January 1909. Issue 38864, col E, p. 13. {{DEFAULTSORT:Login, Spencer 1851 births 1909 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players British people in colonial India People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Rugby union fullbacks Royal Navy rear admirals Graduates of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich