Eric Milroy

Last updated

Eric Milroy
Eric-Milroy.jpg
Birth nameEric MacLeod Milroy
Date of birth(1887-12-04)4 December 1887
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Date of death18 July 1916(1916-07-18) (aged 28) (missing in action)
Place of death Delville Wood, France
School George Watson's College
University Edinburgh University
Occupation(s)Chartered accountant
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1906–1914 Watsonians ()
Provincial / State sides
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1909
1911
Edinburgh District
Blues Trial
()
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1910–1914 Scotland 12 (3)
----
Military career
AllegianceFlag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom
Service/branchFlag of the British Army.svg  British Army
Years of service1914–1916
Rank Lieutenant
Unit Black Watch
Battles/wars World War I

Eric "Puss" MacLeod Milroy (4 December 1887 – 18 July 1916) was a rugby union player who represented Scotland and Watsonians. He was capped twelve times for Scotland between 1910 and 1914, his first appearance coming as a surprise replacement for the Scottish captain, George Cunningham. He was selected for the 1910 British Isles tour to South Africa after other players were forced to withdraw. Due to illness, he only participated in three matches, and did not take part in any of the tests against South Africa. In 1914, he captained Scotland against Ireland, and against England in the last international match before the outbreak of the First World War.

Contents

At the start of the war, Milroy was commissioned in the Black Watch and was killed in action in Delville Wood, France, during the Battle of the Somme. He was one of 31 Scottish rugby internationals to be killed in action. Milroy is commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial to the missing dead of the Somme.

Early life

Eric Milroy was born in Edinburgh on 4 December 1887, [1] the second son of Alexander MacLeod Milroy, a bank agent, and Margaret Walteria Milroy. His siblings were Jessie, Rowatt, and Margaret. [2] He went to school at George Watson's College from 1895 to 1906. As well as playing scrum-half for the first XV in his final year, he was a scholar and a skilled debater in the Literary Society. Winning a bursary to Edinburgh University in 1906, he studied mathematics, graduating with a Master of Arts with honours in 1910. [3] Thereafter he took up an apprenticeship with the firm of Messrs A & J Robertson, chartered accountants, and himself became a chartered accountant in 1914. [4]

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

While at Edinburgh University, Milroy played for his school's old boys club, Watsonians, and remained with the team after graduating, until 1914. [1] Between 1908 and 1914, Watsonians won the Scottish Club Championship five times, being undefeated in the season of 1909 to 1910. [5] That success was attributed in part to Milroy's 'wonderful success at the base of the scrum'. [4]

Provincial career

He represented Edinburgh District in 1909. [6]

He played for the Blues Trial side against the Whites Trial side on 21 January 1911 while still with Watsonians. [7]

International career

Milroy won twelve caps for Scotland. [8] The first of them was against Wales on 5 February 1910 at Cardiff. [9] His selection was surprising, as he replaced George Cunningham, who had captained Scotland to victory against France in the preceding game. [10] Yet, there was a sentiment in the South Wales Daily Post that his inclusion, alongside four other changes, strengthened the team, [11] and the Welsh Evening Express ahead of the game described him as, "...a young player of fine ability... [and] very smart at getting the ball away to his threequarters." [9] The match, which the Welsh won 14–0, was played in, "...dismal and depressing conditions." [12] With ten minutes left of the game, and Wales leading 11–0, Milroy made a run for the Welsh tryline, but was brought down before crossing the line. [13] When asked for an interview following the match, Milroy responded, "No thanks, I want to get this mud off. Congrats to Wales." [14] Rhys Gabe, the former Welsh centre, reviewed the match for the Evening Express and said of Milroy: "[He] was exceedingly clever with his feet when he helped the forwards in the loose." [15]

In 1910, Milroy participated in the British rugby tour to South Africa, but due to illness only played in three games, none of them tests. [1] His place on the team was secured only after other players made themselves unavailable, and the Welsh Evening Express deemed that the resulting selection was mediocre. [16]

Milroy scored one try for Scotland, in the match against Wales on 3 February 1912. [8]

Scotland played Wales at home on 1 February 1913, in a match that Wales won 0–8. Milroy, according to the Welsh press, was outclassed by Bobby Lloyd, his opposite number, who tackled him several times after he had received the ball back from the scrum. [17]

Milroy did not play in the 1914 fixture against Wales, and the press speculated that his late withdrawal was due to the exclusion of his Watsonian teammates Angus and Pearson from the Scottish side travelling to Cardiff. [18] Nevertheless, he was selected to play in the next fixture, against Ireland in Dublin on 28 February. [19] Moreover, he was appointed captain. [20]

He captained Scotland in the final match before the outbreak of the First World War, at Inverleith in March 1914, which England won by a tight margin. [1]

International appearances

OppositionScoreResultDateVenueRef(s)
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 14–0Lost5 February 1910Cardiff [21]
Flag of England.svg  England 13–8Lost18 March 1911Twickenham [22]
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 21–6Lost3 February 1912Swansea [23]
IRFU flag.svg  Ireland 10–8Lost24 February 1912Lansdowne Road [24]
Flag of England.svg  England 8–3Win16 March 1912Inverleith [25]
Red Ensign of South Africa (1912-1951).svg  South Africa 0–16Lost23 November 1912Inverleith [26]
Flag of France.svg  France 3–21Win1 January 1913Parc des Princes [27]
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg  Wales 0–8Lost1 February 1913Inverleith [28]
IRFU flag.svg  Ireland 29–14Win22 February 1913Inverleith [29]
Flag of England.svg  England 3–0Lost15 March 1913Twickenham [30]
IRFU flag.svg  Ireland 6–0Lost28 February 1914Lansdowne Road [31]
Flag of England.svg  England 15–16Lost21 March 1914Inverleith [32]

Memorial trophies

Milroy's life and early death are commemorated on three rugby trophies.

The Eric Milroy Trophy, presented by Milroy's mother to George Watson's College in 1920, continues to be awarded for kicking. [33] Winners have included the Scotland internationals Gavin Hastings and Scott Hastings.[ citation needed ]

Milroy's Mother Trophy GWC Milroy's Mother Trophy GWC.jpg
Milroy's Mother Trophy GWC

The Challenge Milroy - Black Watch Trophy, presented by Association Mémoire de Rugby events since 2017, continues to be awarded for veterans and leisure rugby in France or in Scotland every two-year between Amiens, Lorient, SUP'R XV Hauts-de-France, Nivelles, Clermont and Howe of Fife RFC Cupar. This trophy had been created by Christian Raoult.[ citation needed ]

The Milroy's Challenge Black Watch veterans and leisure rugby. The Milroy's Challenge Black Watch Trophy (since 2017).jpg
The Milroy's Challenge Black Watch veterans and leisure rugby.

The Auld Alliance Trophy, first presented in 2018 to the winner of the Six Nations match between Scotland and France, honours the French and Scottish rugby players who fell in the First World War. [34] Inscribed on the Trophy are the names of Milroy and of the French aviator Marcel Burgun, Scottish and French captains in 1914. [35] The trophy was carried on to the pitch at Murrayfield on 11 February 2018 by Lachlan Ross and Romain Cabanis, 11-year-old descendants of the families of Milroy and his French counterpart. [36]

Military service

Shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, Milroy joined the 9th Royal Scots from the Watsonian Military Training Corps in September 1914. [37] On 29 December 1914, he was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 11th Battalion Black Watch. [38] [1] He was sent to the Western Front in October 1915, and was drafted into the 8th Battalion. [1] He was promoted to Lieutenant in June 1916. [39] The 8th was one of five Black Watch battalions involved in the Battle of the Somme, commencing on 1 July 1916. [40] On 14 July, the 8th Black Watch and the 10th Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, as part of the 26th Brigade of the 9th (Scottish) Division, led the assault on Longueval. [41] By the time Longueval was held some days later, the 8th Black Watch was reduced to 171 men. [40] Milroy went missing in action on 18 July, presumed dead. [1]

His last letter home, written from the trenches, contains a poignant reference to the game of rugby. [42] According to his great nephew, Sir Eric Kinloch Anderson, Milroy's mother never believed he was dead. She believed that he would one day return home to her, and thus kept a light on in the house at night, so that he could find his way up the path. [43] He is remembered on the Thiepval Memorial to the missing soldiers of the Battle of the Somme. [44] In total, 31 Scottish rugby internationals were killed in action in the First World War. [45]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watsonian FC</span> Scottish rugby union club, based in Edinburgh

Watsonian Football Club is a rugby union club based in Edinburgh and part of the Scottish Rugby Union. The club is connected with George Watson's College as a club for former pupils, and changed its policy in the 1980s to be a fully open club, welcoming players of all abilities regardless of whether they attended the school or not. It is one of a small number of rugby union clubs entitled to call itself a 'football club', rather than a 'rugby football club'. Watsonians run a number of sides; the top male side plays in the FOSROC Super Series tournament, the Women's side plays in the Tennents Scottish Women's Premiership Scottish Rugby's Women's League

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Poulton</span> England international rugby union player

Ronald 'Ronnie' William Poulton was an English rugby union footballer, who captained England. He was killed in the First World War during the Second Battle of Ypres.

The 1910 Five Nations Championship was the first series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship following the inclusion of France into the Home Nations Championship. Including the previous Home Nations Championships, this was the twenty-eighth series of the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. Ten matches were played between 1 January and 28 March. It was contested by England, France, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The 1906 Home Nations Championship was the twenty-fourth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Six matches were played between 13 January and 17 March. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Williams (rugby union, born 1882)</span> British Lions & Wales international rugby union footballer (1882–1916)

John Lewis Williams was a Welsh international wing who played club rugby for Cardiff Rugby Football Club. A three times Triple Crown winner, out of seventeen appearances for Wales he was on the losing side only twice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Geen</span> Wales international rugby union footballer

William Purdon Geen was a rugby union wing and centre, who represented Wales, and played club rugby for Oxford University and Newport and county rugby for Monmouthshire. He was also invited to play for the Barbarians on several occasions. Geen unsuccessfully trialled for England in 1910, but was selected and played for Wales on three occasions in the 1912–1913 season. Injury prevented him from playing more internationals, and his service in the First World War put an end to his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Hayward (rugby)</span> Wales international rugby union & league footballer

George Hayward was a Welsh international rugby union forward who played club rugby for Swansea, and was capped for Wales on five occasions and was part of the 1908 Home Nations Championship winning team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lou Phillips</span> Rugby player

Louis Augustus Phillips was a Welsh rugby player, who played half-back for Newport RFC, and won four caps for Wales. He was also a talented amateur golfer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Moritz Speirs</span> British Lions & Scotland international rugby union player

Louis Moritz Speirs was a Scottish rugby union international who played ten times for his country and was part of the first official British & Irish Lions team that toured South Africa in 1910.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Garnons Williams</span> Welsh rugby union player and soldier (1856–1915)

Colonel Richard Davies Garnons Williams was a British Army officer and Welsh rugby union player who represented Wales, Brecon and Newport. He played in the first Wales international rugby union match in 1881.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Skinner Wilson (rugby union)</span> Scotland international rugby union player

Lieutenant-Commander John Skinner Wilson 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Michael Dickson</span> Scotland international rugby union player

Walter Michael "Mike" Dickson was a rugby union player, who represented Scotland, Blackheath and Oxford. He was killed in World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Middleton Wallace</span> Scotland international rugby union player

William "Willie" Middleton Wallace was a rugby union player. He played fullback for Cambridge University RFC and was capped for Scotland in 1913–14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Ross (rugby union, born 1879)</span> Scotland international rugby union player

Pte. Andrew Ross was a Scottish rugby union player from Edinburgh. He worked in the Merchant Navy as a marine engineer. He played for Royal High School FP and was capped several times for Scotland between 1905 and 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Guillemin</span> Rugby player

Pierre Guillemin was a French rugby union player, who represented France, Paris and Racing Club de France (RCF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur James Dingle</span> England international rugby union player

Arthur "Mud" James Dingle was a rugby union centre and wing, who won three caps for England, and played for County Durham, Hartlepool Rovers and Oxford University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonard Haigh</span> Rugby player

Leonard Haigh was an English rugby player. He won seven caps for England between 1910 and 1911, and also represented Manchester and Lancashire.

Vincent McNamara was a rugby union player who represented Ireland. He died at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, Ottoman Turkey, during World War I.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robertson Smyth</span> Rugby union player

Major Robertson "Robbie" Stewart Smyth was an international rugby player, who represented Ireland and Great Britain. Born in County Down, Ireland, he went to Dungannon Royal School, then studied medicine at Trinity College, Dublin, where he obtained his doctorate in 1904. After a year as house surgeon at Sir Patrick Dun's Hospital, he was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1906, and went to India the following year.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sewell 1919, p. 110.
  2. McEwen 2014.
  3. "Watson's War Records". George Watson's School. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Missing". The Scotsman. 29 July 1916.
  5. "About – Watsonians". Archived from the original on 26 May 2016. Retrieved 6 July 2016.
  6. "The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search".
  7. https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000576/19110123/110/0009.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. 1 2 Puss Milroy at ESPNscrum
  9. 1 2 "The Scottish Team". Evening Express. 5 February 1910. hdl:10107/4214396.
  10. "FOOTBALL". Evening Express. 28 January 1910. hdl:10107/4214044.
  11. "FOOTBALL". The South Wales Daily Post. 5 February 1910. hdl:10107/3362043.
  12. "14 Pts to Nil". Evening Express. 5 February 1910. hdl:10107/4214397.
  13. "The Game". The Cambrian. 11 February 1910. hdl:10107/3348996.
  14. "Scotsmen Silent". Evening Express. 5 February 1910. hdl:10107/4214398.
  15. "An Expert's Review". Evening Express. 5 February 1910. hdl:10107/4214398.
  16. "British Rugby Team For South Africa". Evening Express. 19 May 1910. hdl:10107/4218389.
  17. "The World of Sport". The Cambria Daily Leader. 3 February 1913. hdl:10107/4424125.
  18. "International". The Cambria Daily Leader. 5 February 1914. hdl:10107/4095627.
  19. "Next International". The Cambria Daily Leader. 16 February 1914. hdl:10107/4095705.
  20. "Welsh Team". The Cambria Daily Leader. 19 February 1914. hdl:10107/4095732.
  21. "Wales v Scotland".
  22. "England v Scotland".
  23. "Wales v Scotland".
  24. "Ireland v Scotland".
  25. "Scotland v England".
  26. "Scotland v South Africa".
  27. "France v Scotland".
  28. "Scotland v Wales".
  29. "Scotland v Ireland".
  30. "England v Scotland".
  31. "Ireland v Scotland".
  32. "Scotland v England".
  33. Murray, Paula (3 February 2018). "Two bitter Six Nations rugby rivals commemorated in World War One delegation". Express. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  34. Shute, Joe (10 February 2018). "Scotland v France, Six Nations 1918: how the heroism of two fallen rugby rivals lives on". The Telegraph. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  35. Kennedy, Laurina (9 February 2018). "Designers and makers of the Auld Alliance Trophy". Thomas Lyte. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  36. McPartlin, Patrick (9 February 2018). "Six Nations: Scotland and France to contest new Auld Alliance Trophy". The Scotsman. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  37. "Watson's War Records – George Watson's College".
  38. "No. 29026". The London Gazette . 1 January 1915. p. 60.
  39. "No. 29786". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 October 1916. p. 9959.
  40. 1 2 "Black Watch History – First World War". The Black Watch. Archived from the original on 2 July 2016. Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  41. Buchan 1920, pp. 52–58.
  42. Fraser, Graham (22 December 2014). "World War One: The story of Scotland's rugby stars". BBC. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  43. "World War One: The story of Scotland's rugby stars". BBC News. 22 December 2014.
  44. "Casualty Details: Milroy, Eric". Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
  45. Fraser, Graham (22 December 2014). "World War One: The story of Scotland's rugby stars". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 22 December 2014.

Bibliography