Harry Peacock

Harry Peacock (14 February 1909–16 March 1996) was a Welsh international rugby union flanker who played rugby union for Newport. He won six caps for Wales and faced two international touring teams with Newport.

For the actor, see Harry Peacock (actor).

Harry Peacock

Birth name	Harry Peacock
Date of birth	(1909-02-14)14 February 1909
Place of birth	Newport, Wales
Date of death	16 March 1996(1996-03-16) (aged 87)
Place of death	France[1]
School	Municipal Secondary School, Newport St. Woolos School, Newport
Occupation(s)	Police officer
Rugby union career
Position(s) Flanker, Number 8 Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) ? 1925-1932 1929-1930 Pontypool RFC Newport RFC Crawshays RFC () National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1929-30 Wales[2] 6 (6)

Peacock played with several club and invitational teams throughout his rugby career. His first major club team was Pontypool, before moving to Newport in 1925. While with Newport, Peacock faced the touring New South Wales Waratahs in 1927 and he was chosen to play against the 1931 touring South Africans. As a police officer he was also selected to play with police teams such as the Monmouthshire Police and also turned out for invitational team Crawshays

Personal history

Born in Newport in 1909, Peacock was educated at St Woolos School and then Municipal Secondary School. From school he became an apprentice engineer before then joining the Monmouthshire Constabulary as a police officer.[3] He joined the British Army in 1943, remaining in the Forces until 1946, holding the rank of Major on demobilisation.[3] He was seconded to the Allied Military Government for Germany, where he served for 11 years.[3] On retirement he moved to Jersey, dying in France in 1996.

International career

Peacock was first capped for Wales against Scotland on 2 February 1929 at St Helens. Wales beat the Scottish team, and in doing so denied the Scots the Grand Slam. Peacock scored a try on his debut and was selected to play in the next two games of the Championship under the captaincy of Guy Morgan. The next season Peacock was not selected for the opening game of the 1930 Five Nations Championship against England, but again was selected for the remaining games against Scotland, Ireland and France. Although losing to Scotland, Wales won the next two games. During the game against Ireland, Peacock scored a joint try with Swansea's Howie Jones; both men dived for the ball and the referee could not decide on the actual scorer. The record books show the try as a joint score. The final game of the tournament was against France and Wales won an overly violent match to finish the Championship in second place behind England. This was Peacock's last game for Wales.

International matches played

Wales[4]

•  France 1929, 1930
•  Ireland 1929, 1930
•  Scotland 1929, 1930

Bibliography

• Billot, John (1974). Springboks in Wales. Ferndale, Glamorgan: Ron Jones Publications.
• Godwin, Terry (1984). The International Rugby Championship 1883-1983. Grafton Street, London: Willow Books. ISBN 0-00-218060-X.
• 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

1. "Newport RFC player profile". Archived from the original on 2011-06-17. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
2. Welsh Rugby Union player profiles
3. Jenkins, John M.; et al. (1991). Who's Who of Welsh International Rugby Players. Wrexham: Bridge Books. p. 124. ISBN 1-872424-10-4.
4. Smith (1980), pg 470.