Charles Gurdon (3 December 1855 – 26 June 1931) 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 ...

barrister, judge,

rower Rowing, sometimes called crew in the United States, is the sport of racing boats using oars. It differs from paddling sports in that rowing oars are attached to the boat using oarlocks, while paddles are not connected to the boat. Rowing is ...

and

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 it ...

forward who played club rugby for

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

and Richmond. Gurdon represented England fourteen times during the early development of international rugby union, once as captain. He and his brother

Edward Temple Gurdon Edward Temple Gurdon, often known as Temple Gurdon, was a rugby union international who represented England from 1878 to 1886. He also captained his country. Early life Temple Gurdon was born on 25 January 1854 in Barnham Broom, Norfolk. He w ...

formed one of the most notable sibling pairings in English rugby.

Life and legal career

Gurdon was born in Barnham Broom,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, in 1855, the second son of Rev Edward Gurdon. He was educated at Haileybury School before matriculating to

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college's full name is The College of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Saint John the Evangelist and the glorious Virgin Saint Radegund, near Cambridge. Its common name comes fr ...

, in 1874. He was a member of the

Pitt Club The University Pitt Club, popularly referred to as the Pitt Club, the UPC, or merely as Club, is a private members' club of the University of Cambridge, with a previously male-only membership but now open to both men and women. History The ...

at Cambridge. His elder brother Edward Temple and younger brother Francis also studied at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

; Francis entered the clergy, becoming the Bishop of Hull. Gurdon chose to enter the legal profession and was admitted to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1877. He received his BA in 1878, and was called to the Bar in 1881. From 1923 to 1929 he was a County Court judge for

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, before retiring to London. He died suddenly on 26 June 1931.

Sporting career

Gurdon was keen sportsman from a young age. At Cambridge he was a member of both the rugby club and Cambridge University Boat Club and won five sporting Blues. He won four Blues for rowing in

the Boat Race The Boat Race is an annual set of rowing races between the Cambridge University Boat Club and the Oxford University Boat Club, traditionally rowed between open-weight eights on the River Thames in London, England. There are separate men's ...

in 1876, 1877, 1878 and 1879 with two Cambridge wins in 1876 and 1879 and the only

dead heat A dead heat is a rare situation in various racing sports in which the performances of competitors are judged to be so close that no difference between them can be resolved. The result is declared a tie and the competitors are awarded a joint ra ...

in 1877. In 1879 he was a member of the Jesus College eight which won the

Grand Challenge Cup The Grand Challenge Cup is a rowing competition for men's eights. It is the oldest and best-known event at the annual Henley Royal Regatta on the River Thames at Henley-on-Thames in England. It is open to male crews from all eligible rowing ...

and the

coxless four A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with sweep oars, without a coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each having one oar. There are two rowers on t ...

which won the Stewards' Challenge Cup at Henley Royal Regatta.R C Lehmann ''The Complete Oarsman''
/ref> Gurdon gained one Blue for playing in

the Varsity Match The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions only for the two World Wars. Since 1921, the game has ...

in 1877. His brother Edward had won three Blues the previous three seasons in the Varsity Match, and Gurdon followed his brother in representing Cambridge. Oxford were the stronger team throughout the season, Cambridge played with just five members with prior Varsity Match experience and Oxford won by two tries to nil. On leaving University, Gurdon joined first-class English club team Richmond. Gurdon was first chosen to represent England during the 1879–80 season. By this time, his brother Edward had already gained two caps but was unavailable for Gurdon's first international, which was played away against

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. Gurdon was reselected for the very next international and for the first time, the brothers played in the same pack for England, Edward scoring a try in a heavy defeat of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. The brothers would play a total of ten matches together as England teammates, from 1880 through to 1886. Gurdon next played in all three England internationals of the 1880–81 season, which began with a win over Ireland at Manchester, followed by a crushing victory over

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

in the first Welsh international rugby match. The season ended with an away draw with Scotland. England played in just two games during 1881–82 and Gurdon played in both, bringing his consecutive matches for England to seven. His sixth match, against Ireland at

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

, was notable as the one and only time that Gurdon was given the captaincy of the England national team. The seventh match was also the first time Gurdon had appeared on a losing England team, with Scotland beating England by two tries to nil to take the

Calcutta Cup The Calcutta Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the rugby match between England and Scotland played annually in the Six Nations Championship. Like the match itself (England–Scotland), the Calcutta Cup is the oldest trophy contested be ...

for the first time in four attempts. The next year saw the first Home Nations Championship, with all the Home Nations competing for the title. Gurdon missed the first two encounters, but was in the team for the final England game of the tournament away to Scotland. Under the captaincy of his brother Edward, England had won the first two games against Ireland and Wales, leaving the match with Scotland as the Championship decider. In a tight and exciting game England narrowly won, taking the title, Calcutta Cup and the very first

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Tri ...

. Gurdon returned for the 1884 Home Nations Championship, and under the captaincy of his brother, he played in the first and third games of the tournament; England taking the Triple Crown for the second year in succession. Gurdon played in four more matches for England, playing once in the

1885 Home Nations Championship The 1885 Home Nations Championship was the third series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, but the tournament was not completed. The 1885 Championship was notable for the disp ...

and then all three games of the 1886 Championship. Gurdon played his last international game in 1886 to Scotland, which was also his brother's final game.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gurdon, Charles 1855 births 1931 deaths People from Barnham Broom People educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players England international rugby union players English rugby union players Rugby union forwards Richmond F.C. players Cambridge University Boat Club rowers English male rowers Rugby union players from Norfolk County Court judges (England and Wales)

Life and legal career

Sporting career

See also

Bibliography

References