William Henry Thorman (29 August 1869 – 13 August 1922) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

forward who was a member of the British Isles XV that toured South Africa in 1891. Despite playing for Cambridge and the British Isles, Thorman was never awarded a national cap.

Personal life

Thorman was born in Seaham,

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 ...

in 1869 to Robert Thorman, a ship-broker and Harriet Marshall. He was educated at Richmond Grammar School and then West Riding, entering

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

in 1887. He received his Bachelor of Arts in 1890 and moved to London to become a Clinical Assistant at

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...

. By 1897 Thorman was a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, becoming House Surgeon and Resident Medical Officer at the

Royal United Hospital The Royal United Hospital (RUH) is a major acute-care hospital in the Weston suburb of Bath, England, which lies approximately west of the city centre. The hospital has 565 beds and occupies a site. It is the area's major accident and emergenc ...

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

. He eventually returned to the North of England, practicing in

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

before becoming Medical Officer for Health for the municipal area of

Kirkburton Kirkburton is a village, civil parishes in England, civil parish and ward in Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is south-east of Huddersfield. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the township ...

and

Farnley Tyas Farnley Tyas is a small village in West Yorkshire, England south east of Huddersfield. It is located on a hilltop between Almondbury, Castle Hill, Thurstonland and Honley. It is mostly rural and farmland with private housing and some local auth ...

. He died in Bournemouth in 1922.

Rugby career

Thorman first came to note as a rugby player when he was selected for the

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

team, though he never played in The Varsity Match so did not win a sporting blue for rugby. Having just finished his time at Cambridge, he was invited to join

Bill Maclagan William Edward Maclagan (5 April 1858 – 10 October 1926) was a Scottish international rugby union forward who played club rugby for London Scottish F.C. Maclagan was one of the longest-serving international rugby players during the early dev ...

's British Isles team on a tour of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. Thorman played in all six of the first encounters against regional and invitational teams, all wins for the tourists. But after the match against Port Elizabeth on 25 July, Thorman played no further games in the twenty match tour, including all three Test matches against the

South Africans The population of South Africa is about 58.8 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions. The South African National Census of 2022 was the most recent census held; the next will be in 2032. In 2011, Statistics Sout ...

. This was because he suffered a knee injury. On returning to Britain, Thorman joined St. Thomas' Hospital Football Club, the hospital where he was a Clinical Assistant. Thorman was captain of St. Thomas' for three seasons, from 1892 through to 1895.Honours Board - St. Thomas's Hospital Rugby Football Club Captains
guysrugby.com In 1894 while still representing St. Thomas, he was chosen to join invitational touring side,

Barbarian F.C. The Barbarian Football Club, known as the Barbarians is a British-based invitational rugby union club. The Barbarians play in black and white hoops, though players wear socks from their own club strip. Membership is by invitation. As of 2011, p ...

Starmer-Smith (1977), pg 231.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thorman, William Henry 1869 births 1922 deaths Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players English rugby union players Rugby union forwards Sportspeople from Seaham Rugby union players from Seaham