William Guest

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(1903-1991) was a rugby player for

Wakefield RFC Wakefield RFC was an English rugby union club, founded in 1901 and folded in 2004 as a result of poor finances, with a trading loss of £105,000 for the season and unsecured creditors' loans of approximately £640,000. The club's final season w ...

, a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the Territorial Army and was awarded the MBE for services to Army sport. William Guest was from Ackworth, near Wakefield and educated at QEGS Wakefield from 1913 to 1921. He played for the school team and captained it during the 1921/22 season with a playing record of 18 wins in 22 games. The QEGS 1874-1987 A history of school rugby booklet described him

"His experience of many seasons at full back has made him a most useful kick and his tackling has always been most fearless. Playing at three-quarter this season and although his passing has at times been erratic, his grit and determination has been invaluable. Fearless as a player and as a captain. Has developed that frequently neglected or over looked factor of success, the morale of the side. He has proved himself a real leader and captain of the most successful fifteen the school has had for many years"

He also played for South Elmsall RFC before joining

in 1923 until his retirement through injury in 1939, playing in 372 games - the fourth highest number of games for the club. He was captain of Wakefield between 1928 and 1936 (two spells), Honorary secretary between 1933 and 1939 and club President between 1980 and 1989. He also held posts at Wakefield Sports Club limited and remained active at the rugby club until his death. His contribution to the club was described in Wakefield Rugby Football Club—1901-2001 A Centenary History book as "probably unsurpassed". He also represented Yorkshire 22 times between 1922 and 1928 and was in the county team that won the County Championship by beating Cornwall at Bradford in 1928. In 1940 he was called up as a member of the Army Officer's Emergency Reserve to the 6th Gordon Highlanders and served throughout the war in North Africa, Italy and the Far East, where he served with the

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

(SOE). He served for a time as a staff officer and left with the rank of major. In 1946 he joined the TA when it was reformed and received a commission in the

King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry The King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) was a light infantry regiment of the British Army. It officially existed from 1881 to 1968, but its predecessors go back to 1755. In 1968, the regiment was amalgamated with the Somerset and Cornwall ...

, transferring in 1954 to the Army Cadet Force. In January 1971 he was awarded the

for his work as County Sports officer for the Army Cadet Force.London Gazette 1 January 1971 He was a manufacturing confectioners agent.

References

*Wakefield Rugby Football Club—1901-2001 A Centenary History. Written and compiled by David Ingall in 2001. *Wakefield RFC programmes - various dates. *Wakefield Express newspaper - various dates *QEGS 1874-1987 A history of school rugby booklet *London Gazette 1 January 1971
British Army Officers 1939−1945
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guest, William 1903 births 1991 deaths Members of the Order of the British Empire English rugby union players Wakefield RFC players People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield Rugby union players from Wakefield British Army personnel of World War II British Army officers Military personnel from Yorkshire King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry officers Gordon Highlanders officers British Special Operations Executive personnel Rugby union fullbacks