John Skinner Wilson (rugby union)

Lieutenant-Commander John Skinner Wilson (10 March 1884 – 31 May 1916) was a Trinidad-born rugby player, who represented Scotland, United Services RFC and London Scottish FC. He enrolled in the Royal Navy in 1898. He was killed in World War I in the Battle of Jutland, serving as Lieutenant-Commander aboard HMS Indefatigable. He is remembered on panel 10 at the Plymouth Naval Memorial.

John Wilson
Birth nameJohn Skinner Wilson
Date of birth10 March 1884
Place of birthTrinidad
Date of death31 May 1916 (aged 32)
Place of deathHMS Indefatigable, North Sea
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[1]
Weight12 st 0 lb (76 kg)[1]
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
–
()
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1908–1909 Scotland 2 (0)
----
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch Royal Navy
RankLieutenant-Commander
Commands heldHMS Indefatigable
Battles/warsFirst World War

Early life

John Skinner Wilson was born on 10 March 1884 to Colonel Sir David Wilson KCMG and Nora Kate in Trinidad, where his father was subintendant of Crown Lands. From 1897 to 1904, his father was Governor and Commander in Chief of British Honduras. John had two brothers: the elder, Major Harry Stuart Wilson (born 1883), passed out of Sandhurst in 1902, and was killed in action on 9 September 1916 on the Western Front serving as Commanding Officer with the Royal Munster Fusiliers; his younger brother, Eric Ronald Wilson, survived the War as a captain in the Black Watch, and earned the Military Cross.[2][3]

Wilson signed up as a navy officer cadet at Britannia Royal Naval College on 15 September 1898, and on 14 January 1900 was gazetted midshipman aboard HMS Canopus, on which he served for three years.[4] On 12 July 1904, he was promoted to sub-lieutenant, with seniority backdated to 10 March 1903;[5] and on 5 January 1905, to lieutenant, backdated to 10 March 1904.[6] He served in the submarines for six months, before joining HMS King Edward VII, the flagship of Sir Arthur May. In 1906, he went to HMS Vernon, where he undertook specialist torpedo training, and in the years running up to the First World War, he served aboard HMS Talbot, HMS Formidable, HMS Superb, HMS Dreadnought, and finally, from 1913, HMS Indefatigable.[4]

Rugby career

Wilson was a forward with a reputation for keeping busy and remaining close to the action. He played for United Services RFC, and was captain of the team in 1908 and 1909, considered to be his best years of rugby, according to E. H. D. Sewell.[4] It was in 1908 that he earned his first cap for Scotland, against Ireland, on 29 February 1908.[7] He was selected a second time for Scotland, to play against Wales at Inverleith on 6 February 1909. Ahead of the game, the Welsh were 'quietly confident' of beating the home side.[8] Wilson also played for the Navy against the Army 1907–1908 and again in 1913.

Off the rugby field, he was also a good oarsman and sailor.[4]

International appearances
Opposition Score Result Date Venue Ref(s)
 Ireland16–11Lost29 February 1908Lansdowne Road[7]
 Wales3–5Lost6 February 1909Inverleith[9]

First World War

Wilson served aboard HMS Indefatigable from 1913. On 31 May 1916, the ship was engaged in the Battle of Jutland, and coming under fire from SMS von der Tann was sunk. Only two survivors were rescued by the S.68.[10]

Wilson is commemorated on the Plymouth Naval Memorial,[11] and, alongside his brother Harry, on the Chandler's Ford War Memorial.[3]

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See also
  • List of international rugby union players killed in action during the First World War

References
  1. "PHYSIQUE OF THE SCOTTISH TEAM". Evening Express. Walter Alfred Pearce. 6 February 1909. hdl:10107/4200146.
  2. Sewell 1919, pp. 236–237.
  3. "Chandler's Ford War Memorial Research: Part 4 – Chandler's Ford Today". Chandler's Ford Today.
  4. Sewell 1919, p. 236.
  5. "No. 27696". The London Gazette. 15 July 1904. pp. 4558–4559.
  6. "No. 27751". The London Gazette. 6 January 1905. p. 151.
  7. "Rugby Union – ESPN Scrum – Ireland v Scotland at Lansdowne Road". ESPN scrum.
  8. "BRIGHT CHANCE FOR WALES". Evening Express. Walter Alfred Pearce. 6 February 1909. hdl:10107/4200117.
  9. "Rugby Union – ESPN Scrum – Scotland v Wales at Inverleith". ESPN scrum.
  10. McCrery 2014.
  11. "Casualty Details: John Skinner Wilson". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 2 May 2016.

Bibliography
  • Bath, Richard (ed.) The Scotland Rugby Miscellany (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ISBN 1-905326-24-6)
  • McCrery, Nigel (2014). Into Touch: Rugby Internationals Killed in the Great War. Pen and Sword. ISBN 978-1473833210.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Sewell, Edward Humphrey Dalrymple (1919). The Rugby Football Internationals Roll of Honour. London, Edinburgh: T. C. & E. C. Jack.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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