Wickham "Wick" James Powell (13 September 1892 – 20 March 1961) was a Welsh 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 1910s and 1920s. He played representative level rugby union (RU) for

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 ...

, and at cub level for

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 ...

(

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 ...

), 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 ...

, i.e. number 11 or 14,, and representative level rugby league (RL) for the

Other Nationalities The Other Nationalities rugby league team are a rugby league representative team that usually consists of non-English players. They have also played under the name The Exiles and more recently Combined Nations All Stars. They competed in the first ...

, and at cub level for

Rochdale Hornets The Rochdale Hornets are a professional rugby league club from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, competing in the Championship, the second tier of European rugby league. The Rochdale Hornets are one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs ...

International honours

Wick Powell won

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 ...

s for

(RU) while at Cardiff RFC in 1920 against England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, and won a

for

(RL) while at Rochdale Hornets in 1921 against England.

Personal history

Powell was born in Cardiff in 1892. His brother Jack Powell (born 12 August 1894 in

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 ...

– died 7 February 1968 aged 73 in Llandough/

Llandough, Penarth Llandough ( /lænˈdɒk/; cy, Llandochau Fach �an'doːχaɨ vaχ is a village, community and electoral ward in the Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg, links=no), Wales, approximately 2.3 miles (3.7 km) south west of Cardiff city centre, ...

Llandow Llandow ( cy, Llandŵ) is a village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The community population taken at the 2011 census was 726. The village is located south west of Cardiff. The community includes the villages of Sigingstone and ...

) also played for Cardiff and was capped for Wales against Ireland in 1923, as a

. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Wick Powell served with the

38th (Welsh) Infantry Division The 38th (Welsh) Division (initially the 43rd Division, later the 38th (Welsh) Infantry Division and then the 38th Infantry (Reserve) Division) of the British Army was active during both the World War I, First and World War II, Second World Wa ...

in France, returning to Cardiff after the end of hostilities to

Cardiff RFC in the 1919-1920 season. He changed

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union and rugby league. Canadian football and, to a lesser extent, American football were once considered forms of rugby football, but are seldom now referred to as such. The ...

codes from

when he transferred from

to the

. After breaking his shoulder in the

's 2-16 defeat by

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 ...

during the

1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the third ever Kangaroo tour. Again an Australasian side rather than an Australian team alone (although the 28-man squad featured only one New Zealander) travelled to Great Britain to contest the ...

match at

Athletic Grounds The Athletic Grounds ( ga, Páirc Lúthchleasaíochta) is a GAA stadium in Armagh, Northern Ireland. It is the county ground and administrative headquarters of Armagh GAA and is used for both Gaelic football and hurling. Uses The stadium i ...

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

on Saturday 12 November 1921, he retired from rugby league, and returned to Cardiff in 1922 where he captained Cardiff at

bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

, while becoming the

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the ...

of the Cardiff Cottage

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

lic house, St Mary Street, Cardiff and then the City Arms Hotel

lic house on Quay Street, Cardiff, just opposite the

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...

, he died, aged 68, in

Cyncoed Cyncoed ( ); is an affluent and exclusive community (Wales), community in the northeast of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. With many properties in the area fetching over £1 million, Cyncoed is considered to have some of the highest property prices ...

, Wales.

References

External links

Search for "Wickham Powell" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.ukSearch for "Wick Powell" at britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Wick 1892 births 1961 deaths British Army personnel of World War I Cardiff RFC players Dual-code rugby internationals Other Nationalities rugby league team players Publicans Rugby league players from Cardiff Rugby union players from Cardiff Rochdale Hornets players Wales international rugby union players Welsh bowls players Welsh rugby league players Welsh rugby union players Rugby union wings