Thomas Witheridge Gubb (23 March 1908 – 19 November 1978)Thomas Gubb's grave
/ref> was a South African businessman and an early twentieth century rugby union international who is known as one of the "lost lions" due to his participation on the

1927 British Lions tour to Argentina Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

which, although retrospectively recognised as a

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

tour, did not confer test status on any of the four encounters with the

Argentina national rugby union team The Argentina national rugby union team (Spanish: ''Selección de rugby de Argentina'') represents Argentina in men's international rugby union; it is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union ( es, Unión Argentina de Rugby). Nicknamed the Pumas ...

Early life

Gubb was born on 23 March 1908''Who's who of Southern Africa'', Vols. for 1967–70 include as a section: Who's who of Rhodesia, Mauritius, Central and East Africa, Argus Printing & Publishing Co., 1974 in

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

. He was the son of Thomas Witheridge Gubb the cricketer and businessman, (21 March 1875 – 10 October 1922) who had played first class cricket for the Eastern Province. He was also therefore the nephew of Albert J Gubb who had also played cricket for the Eastern Province. Like his father before him, he attended St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown and was awarded the

Rhodes Scholarship The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

to then attend

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. His college was

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

, from 1926 to 1930. There he studied

Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

for which he received 2nd Class Honours. He then went on to study for the Dipl. Econ. B.A. which he received in 1930.''Register of Rhodes Scholars 1903 1945 (1950)'', Publisher: Oxford University Press
/ref>

Rugby career

Whilst at Oxford, Thomas was selected to play in the

Varsity Match A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murray ...

in each year of his education, from 1926 to 1929. As well as receiving his rugby blue, he had the honour of being selected as the captain for the 1929 season. In so doing, he became the second Rhodes Scholar from St Andrew's College to captain Oxford, and is one of eight Rhodes Scholar's who have been the Oxford captain (the others being L. G. Brown, F.R.C.S., and Dr. H. G. Owen Smith, both captains of England as well, and also W. W. Hoskin (St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown, and Trinity, 1904); S. J. Hofmeyr (Cape Province and University, 1928); N. K. Lamport (New South Wales and Balliol, 1930); M. M. Cooper; and H. D. Freakes). It was from Oxford that he was selected for the 1927 tour to Argentina. On this tour he was one of a number of uncapped players who was selected to play against the Argentina national side. He played in one of the four tests. Despite being selected for the Great Britain side, he never went on to play for his national side. He was the captain of the Oxford side that toured France in 1929. Of his captaincy, it was noted by ''The American Oxonian'', that he was criticised by those who lamented that not more English public school boys were on the side and that Gubb was "more attracted to a man who can play rugger than one who had played at

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 ...

Uppingham Uppingham is a market town in Rutland, England, off the A47 between Leicester and Peterborough, south of the county town, Oakham. It had a population of 4,745 according to the 2011 census, estimated at 4,853 in 2019. It is known for its ep ...

".''The American Oxonian'', Volumes 51-52 By Association of American Rhodes Scholars page 4 He went on to captain both

Blackheath F.C. Blackheath Football Club is a rugby union club based in Well Hall, Eltham in south-east London. The club was founded in Blackheath, London, Blackheath in 1858, and is the fourth-oldest rugby club in continuous existence in the world, after Du ...

and Middlesex RFC.

Business and Military

After leaving Oxford Thomas became an Articled Accountant in London from 1930 to 1934, working his way towards becoming a Chartered Accountant, under the auspices of

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) is the world's first professional body of Chartered Accountants (CAs). It is a regulator, educator, influencer and thought leader. ICAS act as a thought leader and voice of the professiona ...

. In 1934, as a qualified accountant, he joined I.C.I. Ltd. and moved to

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. From 1936 to 1940 he was in the Secretariat of

Shanghai Municipal Council The Shanghai International Settlement () originated from the merger in the year 1863 of the British Concession (Shanghai), British and American Concession (Shanghai), American list of former foreign enclaves in China, enclaves in Shanghai, i ...

becoming Deputy Secretary in 1937. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he served with the

Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

and latterly the

10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles The 10th Princess Mary's Own Gurkha Rifles, (abbreviated to 10 GR), was originally a rifle regiment of the British Indian Army. The regiment was formed in 1890, taking its lineage from a police unit and over the course of its existence it had ...

, attaining the rank of

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

. From 1941 to 1943 he was the Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General. At the latter end of the war he fulfilled the role of General Staff Officer in the British Military Mission to Greece. Following the war, he returned to southern Africa, more specifically to

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; Ndebele: ''Bulawayo'') is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council cl ...

where he dedicated his professional life to Francis & Co Ltd. He rose to become the Managing Director and finally Chairman of the company. He also held positions with the Merchant Bank of Central Africa and Philpott & Collins Ltd.

Personal life

In 1930 he married Katherine Margaret Hillary by whom he had one son. His marriage to Katherine was later dissolved.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gubb, Thomas 1908 births 1978 deaths People from Uitenhage Alumni of University College, Oxford South African rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from South Africa Oxford University RFC players Blackheath F.C. players Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers British Army personnel of World War II Alumni of St. Andrew's College, Grahamstown South African people of British descent Rugby union props