Edgar Roberts Mobbs (1882–1917) was an English rugby union footballer who played for and captained Northampton R.F.C. and

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 ...

. He played as a three quarter. Mobbs is commemorated in the Ella-Mobbs Trophy, first competed for by the Australia and England rugby union teams in the 2022 series.

Life

Edgar Roberts Mobbs was born on 29 June 1882 in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

, the son of Oliver L. and Elizabeth Anne Mobbs. A brother was

Noel Mobbs Sir Arthur Noel Mobbs (1878–1959) was the founder of Slough Estates, one of the United Kingdom's largest property businesses. Career Brought up in Northampton, Mobbs was educated at Bedford Modern School. Together with his brother, Herbert, ...

(1878–1959), founder of Slough Estates. He was educated at

Bedford Modern School Bedford Modern School (often called BMS) is a Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference independent school in Bedford, England. The school has its origins in The Harpur Trust, born from the endowments left by Sir William Harpur in the six ...

where the name of a house commemorates him. After initially being turned down as too old to join the army in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Mobbs raised his own "sportsman's" company of 250 sportsmen (also known as Mobbs' Own) for the

Northamptonshire Regiment The Northamptonshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1960. In 1960, it was amalgamated with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment to form the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's O ...

. He rose to command his battalion (7th (Service) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment) with the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Order The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, ty ...

in the

1917 New Year Honours The 1917 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in several editions of ''The London Gazette'' in Ja ...

Mobbs was killed in action, on 31 July 1917, at Zillebeke,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

, during the

Third Battle of Ypres The Third Battle of Ypres (german: link=no, Dritte Flandernschlacht; french: link=no, Troisième Bataille des Flandres; nl, Derde Slag om Ieper), also known as the Battle of Passchendaele (), was a campaign of the First World War, fought by ...

, while attacking a machine gun post. His body has not been found, so his name is on the

Menin Gate The Menin Gate ( nl, Menenpoort), officially the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium, dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves ...

memorial. Mobbs is also commemorated with a bust in Northampton. In 1921 the first Mobbs' Memorial Match was held between the East Midlands RFU and the Barbarians at

Franklin's Gardens Franklin's Gardens (currently known for sponsorship purposes as cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens) is a purpose-built rugby stadium in Northampton, England. It is the home stadium of Northampton Saints. The stadium holds 15,249 people. The fo ...

. In 2008 the Barbarians played

Bedford Blues Bedford Blues are a rugby union club in the town of Bedford, England, currently playing in The RFU Championship. Bedford is one of the few towns in England where the rugby club is better supported than the football team. The Blues are a semi-pr ...

in the Mobbs Memorial Match at

Goldington Road Goldington Road is a rugby ground in the De Parys area of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. It is the home stadium of Bedford Blues. As of 2019 the stadium holds 5,000 people (down from 6,000). The stadium also has two hospitality boxes, "The Lar ...

and did so again in 2009. The final Mobbs Match to feature the Barbarians took place in April 2011 against Bedford. The fixture continues to be played with the

Army Rugby Union The Army Rugby Union (ARU) is the governing body for rugby union in the British Army and a constituent body of the Rugby Football Union (RFU). The ARU was formed on 31 December 1906 and marked the fulfilment of Lieutenant J. E. C. "Birdie" Partr ...

facing Bedford and

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. They were formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. James", ...

in alternate years and the game helps to raise money for youth rugby in the area. Edgar Mobbs Way, a road in Northampton, close to Franklin's Gardens stadium, is named after him. A band from Northampton have named themselves The Mobbs after Edgar Mobbs.

References

External links

History of the Raising of the 7th (Service) Battalion, Northamptonshire Regiment

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mobbs, Edgar 1882 births 1917 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players Northampton Saints players Northamptonshire Regiment officers Companions of the Distinguished Service Order British military personnel killed in World War I British Army personnel of World War I Barbarian F.C. Barbarian F.C. players People educated at Bedford Modern School Rugby union players from Northampton Rugby union wings

Life

See also

References

External links