Thompson Danby (10 August 1926 – 26 December 2022) was an English dual-code international

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 ...

, and professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and at club level for

Harlequin F.C. Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, south-west London. Foun ...

, as a

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

, and representative level rugby league (RL) for

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 ...

and

, and at club level for

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, as a .

Background

Born in

Trimdon Trimdon is a village in County Durham, in England, previously known as Tremeldon (1196) or Tremedon (1262).Eilert Ekwall,1959, ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Placenames'' (4th edition), OUP, Oxford, p. 480; he cites taxation sources, ...

County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly �About North East E ...

, he signed for Salford in August 1949, and in doing so, he became the first England rugby union international recruited by

. He attended St John's College, York between 1943 and 1945.

International honours

Danby won a

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for England (RU) in the 2–0 defeat by Wales on 15 January 1949. Danby won cap s for

(RL) while at Salford in 1950 against Wales (two matches), and France, and won cap s for

(RL) while at Salford in 1950 against Australia (two matches), and New Zealand.

Personal life and death

Tom Danby married Audrey Winifred Spencer (better known as "Penny" Spencer) on 26 June 1948 in Brighton. They had children; Christine H. Danby was born in Brighton in 1954 and Peter was born in 1956. After retiring from rugby Danby taught at

Shebbear College Shebbear College is an independent day and boarding school for girls and boys aged 4 – 18 situated in Shebbear, Devon, England. The school's 85-acre rural campus is situated in the Devon countryside. It was founded by the Bible Christian Soci ...

for over 30 years. Danby died at his home in

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...

on 26 December 2022, at the age of 96. At the time of his death, Danby was the oldest surviving member of a Great Britain rugby league team.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danby, Thompson 1926 births 2022 deaths Dual-code rugby internationals England international rugby union players England national rugby league team players English rugby league players English rugby union players Great Britain national rugby league team players Harlequin F.C. players People educated at Barnard Castle School People from Trimdon Rugby league players from County Durham Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from County Durham Rugby union wings Salford Red Devils players