William Edward Norman Davis better known as Wendy Davis (7 September 1913 – c. 2002) was an 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 ...

prop who represented

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

on three occasions and played club rugby for

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. His international rugby career was curtailed by the outbreak of the Second World War but he continued to play as part of the British Army team.

Personal history

Davis was born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England, in 1913. He was educated at Camp Hill School for Boys in Birmingham, and then at Cardiff High School. He ran a

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

. With the outbreak of the Second World War Davis joined the British Army. The Who's Who of Welsh International Rugby Players states that Davis served in the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

, but the

London Gazette London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 1940 lists him in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. In retirement Davis moved to Cirencester where he died circa 2002.

Rugby career

Davis played rugby for both Camp Hill and Cardiff High while a youth. He joined

Cardiff RFC Cardiff Rugby Football Club ( cy, Clwb Rygbi Caerdydd) is a rugby union club based in Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. The club was founded in 1876Parry-Jones (1989), pg 59 and played their first few matches at Sophia Gardens, shortly after ...

during the 1934–35 season and remained at the club until the outbreak of war.Davies (1975) p. 401 He played 119 matches for Cardiff receiving his First XV cap during the 1934–35 season when he represented the club 15 times. In the 1938–39 season, he was Cardiff's vice captain, under Wilf Wooler. As well as Cardiff, Davis also played for local rivals

Penarth RFC Penarth Rugby Football Club is a Welsh rugby union club based since 1924 at The Athletic Field, Lavernock Road, in Penarth, in the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales. Team history Origins and early history Penarth RFC was founded in 1879 by Cyril and ...

and Cardiff High School Old Boys. In 1939 Davis was selected to play for his first international match for

. His inaugural game was against

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 ...

in the

1939 Home Nations Championship The 1939 Home Nations Championship was the thirty-fifth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Five Nations, and prior to that, the Home Nations, this was the fifty-second series of the nor ...

. Although Wales lost the opening game, Davis was on the winning side for both of the tournament's remaining matches against Scotland and Ireland. Although the outbreak of the Second World War brought a close to international rugby, Davis continued to play, most often in charity war matches. In 1940 was chosen to represent the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, playing against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, and scored a rare

try Try or TRY may refer to: Music Albums * ''Try!'', an album by the John Mayer Trio * ''Try'' (Bebo Norman album) (2014) Songs * "Try" (Blue Rodeo song) (1987) * "Try" (Colbie Caillat song) (2014) * "Try" (Nelly Furtado song) (2004) * " Try (Ju ...

in a heavy 36–3 victory over the French. As well as the Army team, Davis also played for touring invitational team the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

. His first match for the Barbarians was before the war, playing against the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Li ...

county team. He would play a further four matches for the team, all wartime charity matches between 1941 and 1943, against Thorneloe's XV (named after Leicester secretary J.E. Thorneloe who organised the games). After retiring from playing rugby Davis worked as a summariser for the Welsh Home Service during the 1950s.

International matches played

WalesSmith (1980), p. 472. * 1939 * 1939 * 1939

Bibliography

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Wendy 1913 births 2002 deaths Barbarian F.C. players British Army personnel of World War II Cardiff RFC players English rugby union players Penarth RFC players People educated at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Boys Royal Artillery personnel Royal Welch Fusiliers soldiers Rugby union players from Birmingham, West Midlands Rugby union props Wales international rugby union players Welsh rugby union players Military personnel from Birmingham, West Midlands