Anthony Thomas Voyce (18 May 1897 – 22 January 1980) was an English rugby union player who played in the flanker position. Voyce played club rugby with

Gloucester RFC Gloucester Rugby are a professional rugby union club based in the West Country city of Gloucester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was formed in 1873 and since 1891 has played its home matches ...

, was capped 29 times for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, and was a member of the British Isles team that toured in 1924.

Early life

Voyce was born in Gloucester on 18 May 1897, to Thomas and Annie Voyce. Voyce was a student at the National School, Gloucester where he took up the game of rugby. Appearances for Gloucester schoolboys resulted in interest from the England national team, with Voyce playing in a trial game in February 1911, leading to an appearance for the England Under-15 team against Wales in March 1911.

Playing career

His senior Gloucester debut came in December 1919, and was followed in short succession by his first appearance for the

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

county team in January 1920 and his first

cap in February 1920 against Ireland in the

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament contes ...

. He played in every game during the England's three Grand Slam victories in the Five Nations Championship in 1921, 1923 and 1924. A sole appearance for the Barbarians invitational team came on 19 April 1924 against Cardiff. Voyce was announced as a member of the British Isles team to tour South Africa, and played in 12 games during the tour, including two of the four test matches against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Initially overlooked as a test player, Voyce played his way into the side and took over kicking duties, ending as the tour's top points scorer with 37 points. His versatility saw appearances as a wing and full-back to cover injuries, as well as his usual position in the back row. Voyce was made Gloucester's club captain ahead of the 1924–25 season, a role he held for three seasons. His final appearance as a player for Gloucester was in November 1927.

Post-playing rugby career

Following his retirement from playing, he held a number of administrative roles, including as President of the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

from 1960 to 1961. He was President of Gloucester RFC between 1970 and 1978. In the

1962 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1962 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countrie ...

, Voyce was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) "for services to sport and for public services in Gloucestershire".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Voyce, Tom 1897 births 1980 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Gloucester Rugby players Barbarian F.C. players Rugby union players from Gloucester Rugby union flankers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Gloucestershire County RFU players 20th-century English sportsmen