Henry Arnold Lawrence (17 March 1848 – 18 April 1902) 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 ...

forward who played club rugby for

Richmond F.C. Richmond Football Club is a rugby union club from Richmond, London. It is a founding member of the Rugby Football Union, and is one of the oldest football clubs (of any code). It fields teams in both men's and women's rugby; the men's first ...

and international rugby for

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 b ...

. He was the third captain of the England rugby team.

Personal life

Lawrence was born at

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

in 1848, the second son of

John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence John Laird Mair Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence, (4 March 1811 – 27 June 1879), known as Sir John Lawrence, Bt., between 1858 and 1869, was an English-born Ulsterman who became a prominent British Imperial statesman who served as Viceroy ...

and Harriette Katherine. His father was

Viceroy of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 19 ...

between 1864 and 1869. Lawrence was educated at

Wellington College, Berkshire Wellington College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Crowthorne, Berkshire, England. Wellington is a registered charity and currently educates roughly 1,200 pupils, between the ages of 13 a ...

, before matriculating to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

in 1866. He was a Director of the London office of the

Ottoman Bank The Ottoman Bank ( tr, Osmanlı Bankası), known from 1863 to 1925 as the Imperial Ottoman Bank (french: Banque Impériale Ottomane, ota, بانق عثمانی شاهانه) and correspondingly referred to by its French acronym BIO, was a bank ...

. He spent his later life in Box, Gloucestershire, where he died on 18 April 1902, aged 54.

Rugby career

Lawrence first came to note as a rugby player when he represented Richmond. In

1873 Events January–March * January 1 ** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar. ** The California Penal Code goes into effect. * January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defe ...

, Lawrence was selected to play for the England national rugby team, in their third match in an encounter against

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 game ended in a draw. Lawrence was reselected for the next encounter with Scotland the next season, and in

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...

he was given the captaincy of his country, in the team's first ever match against the newly formed Ireland team. His fourth and final game saw Lawrence retain the captaincy for the 1875 encounter with Scotland.

Family

In 1876, he married Constance Charlotte Davies (died 1929), daughter of the Reverend George Davies, Rector of

Kelsale Kelsale is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Kelsale cum Carlton, in the East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England. It is located approximately 1 mile north of Saxmundham town centre at the junction of the ...

in Suffolk. They had three sons, John Dalhousie (1887-1900), Malcolm Eyton (born 1889), and Christopher Hal (born 1893), and three daughters, Constance Letitia (1881-1946), Phyllis May (1882-1956), and Mary Paolina (1886-1963). Second Lieutenant Christopher Hal Lawrence (1893-1914), of the 2nd Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps, educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

and

, was killed by a sniper in the trenches during action on 13 October 1914, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, less than two weeks after arriving in France. The location of his grave is unknown and he is commemorated at the La Ferté-sous-Jouarre memorial. Lieutenant Malcolm Lawrence (1889-1915), was educated at Eton and lived in Canada for four years before returning to Great Britain and being commissioned in the 6th Battalion of the King's Royal Rifles in November 1914. He was killed in action on 10 January 1915. The location of his grave was unknown until his remains were discovered along with several others during construction excavations in 1928. The remains were interred at the Arras Road Cemetery,

Roclincourt Roclincourt () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. Geography Roclincourt is north of the town of Arras, south of Lens, and approximately from Calais. List of successive mayors History World War I Roclincour ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Henry Arnold 1848 births 1902 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players Blackheath F.C. players Rugby union forwards Richmond F.C. players People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Younger sons of barons