Well-known local journalist Phil Hill has published his first book – and it contains a number of sporting connections with Wellington.
Phil worked at the Somerset County Gazette for 37 years – during which time he was Chief Reporter and Deputy Editor – and although he’s now semi-retired, he still reports -part=time for the paper.
His book, The Lives of England Rugby Players 1871-1899, features tales of murder, suicide and tragedy on and off the pitch.
It tells of famous friends, wild cat attacks in India, bigamy, domestic violence, drunken arrests, criminal behaviour, men who left England to search for gold, a spy, war heroes, and a priest wrestling with another man of the cloth on the floor of his church during a service.
Phil has researched all 337 men who donned the Red Rose jersey during that period following the first match against Scotland in 1871 and has sourced images of all but one of them. In that particular case, he does, at least, have an image of the player’s gravestone).
The players are joined by Queen Victoria and other Royals; a Jack the Ripper suspect; Prime Ministers; Archbishops of Canterbury; and the creators of Sherlock Holmes, Peter Pan and The Jungle Book.
Among the Wellingtonians is Hugh Fox, of the Fox Bros company, who turned out for the town’s rugby club and captained the national side.
In his younger days, he enjoyed mountaineering, even after his cousin went missing in the Caucasus Mountains, while in his later years, three soldiers stole his car, which led to a bungling police officer arresting Hugh’s chauffeur.
Percy Ebdon, the son of the headmaster of Milverton School and an accountant in the Fox firm, also played cricket for Somerset.
Herbert Gamlin, who was born in West Buckland and attended Wellington School, was nicknamed ‘The Octopus’ for his ability to tackle more than one opponent at the same time.
Reg Forrest, who played for Wellington after leaving the Taunton club, died days after his final international due to a dodgy plate of oysters he had eaten.
A number of Somerset cricketers represented England at rugby, as well as Wellington-born Froude Hancock, who played rugby for Wiveliscombe, where he ran a brewery.
Phil Hill, who turned out for rugby teams at Wellington School and Wiveliscombe in his younger days, said: “I am unaware of any other rugby book like this.
“It has taken me a few years to research all the players, some of whom had been lost in the mists of time.
“It’s been hard work, but very rewarding and I hope anyone who reads the book gets as much enjoyment from it as I did writing it.”
Readers will also find out why former England wing Rory Underwood, the country’s leading try scorer who played into the 1990s, gets a mention and why it inspired him to write the foreword.
Politician, novelist and Great Britain athlete Jeffrey Archer, another former Wellington School student, has called the book “a work of scholarship, educated research, and now part of the canon of the game.”
And the foremost England rugby historian John Griffiths has described it as “unique” and “a fascinating collection of tales of the unexpected”.
The Lives of England Rugby Players 1871-1899 is available from Amazon, priced £14.95 – CLICK HERE.
ABOVE: Left, Percy Ebdon, who played rugby for England and cricket for Somerset. (Image: Steve Hill). Right, Hugh Fox, who captained England. (Image: Ben Fox).
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