Horace Wyndham Thomas (28 July 1890 – 3 September 1916) was a Welsh international rugby union fly-half who played club rugby for Swansea. He won just two caps for Wales, and was one of thirteen Welsh internationals to die in conflict during World War I.
Thomas was born to a rector from Bettws, Bridgend, but moved to England when he gained a place at King's College, Cambridge after winning a choral scholarship.[2] At Cambridge, Thomas studied History and was a keen sportsman. He played cricket for the Cambridge seconds, represented the athletics team and won a Blue at rugby. While playing for Cambridge he was first selected to represent Wales in 1912 in a game against the touring South African team. When Thomas was selected for the South African game he was chosen against a stipulated agreement, that stated that no Welsh player could be chosen to represent the country if they played within the London area, but did not play for London Welsh. Eight selectors travelled to Cambridge to watch Thomas play in a Varsity match which saw Cambridge victorious for the first time in seven years.[3] The Thursday before the game, Thomas was named in the squad at a conference at the Queens's Hotel in Cardiff. Wales lost the game 3–0, but at one point after Thomas attempted a drop goal, the crowd mistakenly believing that the kick had succeeded, cheered thinking that Thomas had won the game for Wales.[4]
Thomas would play only one more game for Wales, under the captaincy of Tommy Vile, in the team's opening match of the 1913 Five Nations Championship against England. Wales lost the game and Thomas ended his international rugby career without a win. Thomas left Britain to take up a post in Calcutta. While in Calcutta he joined and later became captain of the Calcutta Football Club.
In 1916 Thomas volunteered to serve his country in World War I. He reached the rank of Second Lieutenant within the Rifle Brigade and was killed in battle at Hamel, north of the river Ancre, in September 1916.[6] His body was never recovered and he is commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial.[7]
Bibliographyedit
Billot, John (1974). Springboks in Wales. Ferndale: Ron Jones Publications.
Smith, David; Williams, Gareth (1980). Fields of Praise: The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union. Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN0-7083-0766-3.
horace, thomas, confused, with, american, lawyer, public, official, horace, holmes, thomas, birth, namehorace, wyndham, thomasdate, birth, 1890, july, 1890place, birthbridgend, walesdate, death3, september, 1916, 1916, aged, place, deathguillemont, franceschoo. Not to be confused with American lawyer and public official Horace Holmes Thomas Horace ThomasBirth nameHorace Wyndham ThomasDate of birth 1890 07 28 28 July 1890Place of birthBridgend WalesDate of death3 September 1916 1916 09 03 aged 26 Place of deathGuillemont FranceSchoolMonmouth SchoolUniversityKing s College CambridgeRugby union careerPosition s Fly halfAmateur team s YearsTeamApps Points 1911 1912Cambridge University R U F C Swansea RFCBlackheath F C Barbarian F C Calcutta Football Club International careerYearsTeamApps Points 1912 1913Wales 1 2 0 Horace Wyndham Thomas 28 July 1890 3 September 1916 was a Welsh international rugby union fly half who played club rugby for Swansea He won just two caps for Wales and was one of thirteen Welsh internationals to die in conflict during World War I Contents 1 Rugby career 1 1 International matches played 2 Later life 3 Bibliography 4 References 5 External linksRugby career editThomas was born to a rector from Bettws Bridgend but moved to England when he gained a place at King s College Cambridge after winning a choral scholarship 2 At Cambridge Thomas studied History and was a keen sportsman He played cricket for the Cambridge seconds represented the athletics team and won a Blue at rugby While playing for Cambridge he was first selected to represent Wales in 1912 in a game against the touring South African team When Thomas was selected for the South African game he was chosen against a stipulated agreement that stated that no Welsh player could be chosen to represent the country if they played within the London area but did not play for London Welsh Eight selectors travelled to Cambridge to watch Thomas play in a Varsity match which saw Cambridge victorious for the first time in seven years 3 The Thursday before the game Thomas was named in the squad at a conference at the Queens s Hotel in Cardiff Wales lost the game 3 0 but at one point after Thomas attempted a drop goal the crowd mistakenly believing that the kick had succeeded cheered thinking that Thomas had won the game for Wales 4 Thomas would play only one more game for Wales under the captaincy of Tommy Vile in the team s opening match of the 1913 Five Nations Championship against England Wales lost the game and Thomas ended his international rugby career without a win Thomas left Britain to take up a post in Calcutta While in Calcutta he joined and later became captain of the Calcutta Football Club International matches played edit Wales 5 nbsp England 1913 nbsp South Africa 1912Later life editIn 1916 Thomas volunteered to serve his country in World War I He reached the rank of Second Lieutenant within the Rifle Brigade and was killed in battle at Hamel north of the river Ancre in September 1916 6 His body was never recovered and he is commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial 7 Bibliography editBillot John 1974 Springboks in Wales Ferndale Ron Jones Publications Smith David Williams Gareth 1980 Fields of Praise The Official History of The Welsh Rugby Union Cardiff University of Wales Press ISBN 0 7083 0766 3 References edit Welsh Rugby Union player profiles permanent dead link Flanders Battlefields Archived from the original on 9 October 2008 Retrieved 13 December 2008 Billot 1974 pg 99 Billot 1974 pg 100 Smith 1980 pg 472 TNA WO 95 2586 1 Entry for 3 September 1916 Rugby Heroes who went to War BBC Online Matthew Ferris November 2008External links editPhotograph of Horace Thomas in military dress Low resolution image of Thomas in Welsh strip permanent dead link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Horace Thomas amp oldid 1177192751, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
