He played for Canterbury, and was selected for the first test against the Springboks in August 1937. His test (and All Black) career only lasted 25 minutes, as he was severely injured in a bad tackle. As he was walking and greeted the team at the end of the game, a national selector said he should have returned to the field, and proposed to veto his further selection.
Cobden went to England in 1937, and in 1938 joined the Royal Air Force on a short service commission. In England he played for Catford Bridge, Kent, the RAF and the Barbarians.
He was posted to No. 74 Squadron RAF, which was flying Spitfires from RAF Hornchurch in Essex during the Battle of France and then the Battle of Britain. On 11 August 1940, he was despatched with members of 76 Squadron to protect a convoy, and they engaged a large group of Messerschmitt BF 110s about 10 miles off the coast of Harwich. He was last seen attacking a number of enemy aircraft, and failed to return. He was posted missing – on his 26th birthday. He is buried at Oostende new communal cemetery.[1]
donald, cobden, donald, gordon, cobden, august, 1914, august, 1940, zealand, black, rugby, player, 1937, wing, cobden, 1937birth, namedonald, gordon, cobdendate, birth, 1914, august, 1914place, birthchristchurchdate, death11, august, 1940, 1940, aged, place, d. Donald Gordon Cobden 11 August 1914 11 August 1940 was a New Zealand All Black rugby player No 430 in 1937 He was a wing Donald CobdenCobden in 1937Birth nameDonald Gordon CobdenDate of birth 1914 08 11 11 August 1914Place of birthChristchurchDate of death11 August 1940 1940 08 11 aged 26 Place of deathEnglish ChannelHeight1 85 m 6 ft 1 in Weight84 kg 185 lb Rugby union careerPosition s WingInternational careerYearsTeamApps Points 1937New Zealand1 0 He played for Canterbury and was selected for the first test against the Springboks in August 1937 His test and All Black career only lasted 25 minutes as he was severely injured in a bad tackle As he was walking and greeted the team at the end of the game a national selector said he should have returned to the field and proposed to veto his further selection Cobden went to England in 1937 and in 1938 joined the Royal Air Force on a short service commission In England he played for Catford Bridge Kent the RAF and the Barbarians He was posted to No 74 Squadron RAF which was flying Spitfires from RAF Hornchurch in Essex during the Battle of France and then the Battle of Britain On 11 August 1940 he was despatched with members of 76 Squadron to protect a convoy and they engaged a large group of Messerschmitt BF 110s about 10 miles off the coast of Harwich He was last seen attacking a number of enemy aircraft and failed to return He was posted missing on his 26th birthday He is buried at Oostende new communal cemetery 1 He was born in Christchurch and educated at Christchurch Boys High School His brother Alfred a professional cricketer was killed in North Africa in 1942 while with the New Zealand Army References edit Reading Room Manchester Casualty Details CWGC Retrieved 31 May 2014 Gone But Not Forgotten The Commemoration of Rugby Players Who Died in the Two World Wars Commonwealth War Graves Commission pamphlet c2002 External links editDonald Cobden at AllBlacks com Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Donald Cobden amp oldid 1079510430, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
