Gilbert Harrison (rugby)

Gilbert "Gillie" Harrison (13 June 1858 – 9 November 1894[2]) was an English philatelist, and rugby union footballer who played in the 1870s and 1880s. He was one of the "Fathers of Philately" entered on the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists in 1921.

Gilbert Harrison

Personal information
Full name	Gilbert Harrison
Born	13 June 1858 Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
Died	9 November 1894(1894-11-09) (aged 36) Sculcoates, East Riding of Yorkshire, England
Playing information
Rugby union
Position	Forwards
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P ≤1877–≥85 Hull FC Yorkshire Wanderers Total 0 0 0 0 0 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1877–85 England 7 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

Birth

Harrison was born in Cottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire, England.[3]

Rugby

Harrison played at representative level for England, and at club level was captain for Hull FC,[4] as a forward, e.g. front row, lock, or back row. Before Thursday 29 August 1895, Hull F.C. was a rugby union club.[5]

Gillie Harrison won caps for England while at Hull F.C. in 1877 against Ireland, and Scotland, in 1879 against Scotland, and Ireland, in 1880 against Scotland, and in 1885 against Wales, and Ireland.[1]

Philately

He joined The Philatelic Society, London, now The Royal Philatelic Society London, in February 1889[6] and was an expert on the stamps of Afghanistan, Portuguese India, Kashmir, and on United States postal stationery. It was reported in The London Philatelist that Harrison had spent over £4500 on his United States stamped envelope collection alone but still lacked many varieties.[7] He won a gold medal at the London Philatelic Exhibition 1890 for his display of US stamped envelopes.[8]

He died on 9 November 1894, at Ferriby (Sculcoates), at the age of 36.[9]

His notes for a work on the early postage stamps of Afghanistan, uncompleted at the time of his death, were handed to Edward Denny Bacon and the book was eventually published by the Philatelic Society of India as The Postage Stamps of Afghanistan.[10]

Publications

• Portuguese India. London: Stanley Gibbons, 1893. (With Lieut. F. H. Napier, R.N.) Reprinted from articles in Stanley Gibbons' Monthly Journal.
• The Nesbitt Stamped Envelopes and Wrappers of the United States of America. A supplement to The London Philatelist, Volume IV, 1895, compiled by Harrison and edited and completed by Edward Denny Bacon.[6]

References

1. "Statistics at en.espn.co.uk". en.espn.co.uk. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
2. "Death of Mr. Gilbert Harrison." in The London Philatelist, Vol. III, No. 35, November 1894, p. 270.
3. "Birth details at freebmd.org.uk". freebmd.org.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
4. Williams, Graham; Lush, Peter; Farrar, David (2009). The British Rugby League Records Book. London League. p. 178. ISBN 978-1-903659-49-6.
5. Lord Derby (Foreword), Michael E. Ulyatt (Author), Bill Dalton (Author) (Mar 1988). Old Faithful: History of Hull Football Club, 1865–1987. Hutton Press Ltd. ISBN 978-0-907033-63-9
6. de Worms, Percy. The Royal Philatelic Society London 1869 – 10–1 April, 919. Bath: 1919.
7. "The Difficulty of General Collecting" in The London Philatelist, Vol. XIII, No. 155, November 1904, pp. 263–264.
8. "British International Stamp Exhibitions" by H.R. Holmes in The London Philatelist, Vol. 79, No. 932-933, August–September 1970, pp. 166–170.
9. "Death details at freebmd.org.uk". freebmd.org.uk. 31 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
10. Masson, Sir David P. & B. Gordon Jones. The Postage Stamps of Afghanistan. Madras: Higinbotham & Co., Philatelic Society of India, 1908.

External links

• Biography of Arthur Budd with an England team photograph including Gilbert Harrison
• Football; the Rugby union game
• Search for "Harrison" at rugbyleagueproject.org