Louis Moritz Speirs was born on 23 October 1885 in Glendevon, Perthshire, Scotland, the son of Ebenezer B. Speirs, the minister of Glendevon Parish, and his wife Marie, born in Ronilly, West Prussia. Sometime between 1891 and 1901 his father died and the family moved to the Morningside area of Edinburgh.[2] Here, the young Moritz, as he was referred to, attended to school.
Rugby Union careeredit
Amateur careeredit
Speirs played for the Watsonians, originally the club for the old boys of George Watson's College. He was part of the clubest historically greatest side that won five Scottish Unofficial Championships between 1908 and 1914. In the 1909/10 season he was a member of the team that was undefeated against Scottish opposition during that entire season.
That same season, Speirs was further capped byt the Cities District side in early 1907.[4]
He played for the Blues Trial side against the Whites Trial side on 21 January 1911 while still with Watsonians.[5]
International careeredit
Speirs made his Test debut for Scotland vs South Africa at Glasgow on 17 November 1906. He played in a further nine matches for his country between 1906 and 1910 all of which were in the Five Nations tournament. His last Test being a Calcutta Cup match against England at Inverleith on 19 March 1910.[6] In 1910 he was selected for the first official Britishtour to South Africa (in that it was sanctioned and selected by the four Home Nations official governing bodies).
Later life and militaryedit
In 1912 Speirs emigrated to Canada. However, during the First World War he enlisted in the Canadian 16th Battalion and found himself back across the Atlantic. On 16 January 1915 he captained a Canadian Army rugby union side against a Bath XV during which he dislocated his shoulder. However, he was able to later join his teammates at the Red House where Bath Football Club were entertaining them before going on to a pantomime.[7] He was captured during the war and escaped from a POW camp in 1918.
^Derek Tait, Bath in the Great War – Your Towns and Cities in the Great War, Pen and Sword, 2015, ISBN1473865689, 9781473865686
April 11, 2024
louis, moritz, speirs, scottish, rugby, union, international, played, times, country, part, first, official, british, irish, lions, team, that, toured, south, africa, 1910, moritz, speirsbirth, namedate, birth, 1885, october, 1885place, birthglendevon, perthsh. Louis Moritz Speirs was a Scottish rugby union international who played ten times for his country and was part of the first official British amp Irish Lions team that toured South Africa in 1910 Moritz SpeirsBirth nameLouis Moritz SpeirsDate of birth 1885 10 23 23 October 1885Place of birthGlendevon Perthshire Scotland 1 Date of death21 April 1949 1949 04 21 aged 63 SchoolGeorge Watson s CollegeRugby union careerPosition s ForwardAmateur team s YearsTeamApps Points Watsonians Provincial State sidesYearsTeamApps Points 1911Edinburgh DistrictCities DistrictBlues Trial International careerYearsTeamApps Points 1906 101910ScotlandBritish amp Irish Lions10 Contents 1 Early life 2 Rugby Union career 2 1 Amateur career 2 2 Provincial career 2 3 International career 3 Later life and military 4 ReferencesEarly life editLouis Moritz Speirs was born on 23 October 1885 in Glendevon Perthshire Scotland the son of Ebenezer B Speirs the minister of Glendevon Parish and his wife Marie born in Ronilly West Prussia Sometime between 1891 and 1901 his father died and the family moved to the Morningside area of Edinburgh 2 Here the young Moritz as he was referred to attended to school Rugby Union career editAmateur career edit Speirs played for the Watsonians originally the club for the old boys of George Watson s College He was part of the clubest historically greatest side that won five Scottish Unofficial Championships between 1908 and 1914 In the 1909 10 season he was a member of the team that was undefeated against Scottish opposition during that entire season Provincial career edit He was capped for Edinburgh District to play against Glasgow District in the inter city match of 1906 3 That same season Speirs was further capped byt the Cities District side in early 1907 4 He played for the Blues Trial side against the Whites Trial side on 21 January 1911 while still with Watsonians 5 International career edit Speirs made his Test debut for Scotland vs South Africa at Glasgow on 17 November 1906 He played in a further nine matches for his country between 1906 and 1910 all of which were in the Five Nations tournament His last Test being a Calcutta Cup match against England at Inverleith on 19 March 1910 6 In 1910 he was selected for the first official British tour to South Africa in that it was sanctioned and selected by the four Home Nations official governing bodies Later life and military editIn 1912 Speirs emigrated to Canada However during the First World War he enlisted in the Canadian 16th Battalion and found himself back across the Atlantic On 16 January 1915 he captained a Canadian Army rugby union side against a Bath XV during which he dislocated his shoulder However he was able to later join his teammates at the Red House where Bath Football Club were entertaining them before going on to a pantomime 7 He was captured during the war and escaped from a POW camp in 1918 References edit 1891 Scotland Census Reels 1 409 General Register Office for Scotland Edinburgh Scotland Parish Glendevon ED 1 Page 4 Line 5 Roll CSSCT1891 112 Year 1891 1901 Scotland Census Reels 1 446 General Register Office for Scotland Edinburgh Scotland Parish Edinburgh Morningside ED 139 Page 22 Line 19 Roll CSSCT1901 391 Year 1901 The Glasgow Herald Google News Archive Search news google com Retrieved 9 December 2023 British Newspaper Archive via British Newspaper Archive British Newspaper Archive via British Newspaper Archive Profile on ESPN Scrum com Derek Tait Bath in the Great War Your Towns and Cities in the Great War Pen and Sword 2015 ISBN 1473865689 9781473865686 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Louis Moritz Speirs amp oldid 1189029785, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
