Harry Alexander (6 January 1879 – 17 October 1915) was a

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 ...

international who represented from 1900 to 1902, and was captain for one match, against . Alexander was born in Cheshire, and after attending

Uppingham School Uppingham School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils 13-18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. The headma ...

, went to

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517, it is the 12t ...

, where he earned two blues in rugby. While playing for

Birkenhead Park Birkenhead Park is a major public park located in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847. It is generally acknowledged as the first publicly funded civic park in the world. Th ...

after graduating from Oxford, he was selected in 1900 to play for England and earned seven caps over the course of three seasons. In 1902, he authored a book on rugby, ''How to Play Rugby Football. The Theory and Practice of the Game''. Later, he played for

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

and was captain in his final season, 1905 to 1906. He was commissioned second lieutenant into the 1st Battalion, the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

in July 1915, and was sent to the Western Front in October, where he participated in the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

, and was killed in action, along with some 400 soldiers of his battalion.

Early life and family

Harry Alexander was born on 6 January 1879 in Oxton, Cheshire, the son of a cotton broker. He went to school at Uppingham from 1891 to 1897, then studied at

, from 1897. At Oxford, Alexander read classics, English law, French language and literature, and political theory and institutions, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1900. He was secretary of the athletics club in 1899 and captained the cricket XI in 1900, having earned blues in rugby in 1897 and 1898.Roll of Honour World War I: Biographies – Corpus Christi College, Oxford
/ref> On graduating from Oxford, he was appointed assistant master at Stanmore Prep School but then left to become a professional singer. Alexander had a brother and two sisters. He married Louise Risby in 1913 and together they had a daughter, Jean born in 1914.

Rugby union career

After leaving Oxford, Alexander played for

. Following the North versus South trials, he made his international debut for on 3 February 1900 at

Athletic Ground, Richmond Built in 1886, and located in Richmond upon Thames, London, the Athletic Ground is a rugby ground, managed by Richmond Athletic Association, home to Green King IPA Championship sides Richmond and London Scottish. The first team pitch has a sta ...

in the England vs match. Of the 7 matches he played for his national side he was on the winning side on 2 occasions. He captained England in his penultimate international game, against in 1902, losing by one point. He played his final match for England on 8 February 1902 at Welford Road, Leicester in the England vs Ireland match. In his final year playing for England, Alexander published a work on rugby entitled ''How to Play Rugby Football. The Theory and Practice of the Game''. Alexander then played for

, and was the team's captain for the 1905–06 season, during which Richmond played the touring Original All Blacks, on 11 November 1905.

International appearances

Military service

Alexander was commissioned second lieutenant in the 1st Battalion, the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

on 23 July 1915. He was sent to the Western Front in October and was killed after only 13 days of service. His battalion took part in an assault on

Hohenzollern Redoubt The Hohenzollern Redoubt () was a strongpoint of the German 6th Army on the Western Front during the First World War, at Auchy-les-Mines near Loos-en-Gohelle in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France. Named after the House of Hohenzollern, ...

towards the end of the

, suffering 400 casualties in the span of three hours. Alexander was killed by a shell during this action. He is buried at the Arras Road Cemetery in the Pas de Calais, France.

References

Bibliography