Alpin Thomson
Encyclopedia
Alpin Erroll Thomson DSC
(14 May 1893 – 6 March 1960) played first-class
cricket
for Somerset
and the Royal Navy cricket team in 1922 and 1923. He also played international rugby union
for Scotland. He was born in Perth
, Western Australia
and died at Hawridge
, Chesham
, Buckinghamshire
. In some sources, his second name is spelled "Errol".
at the time of his birth, being under-secretary for railways in the colony's government. His mother was, in one account, the daughter of the colonial secretary (equivalent to chief minister) of Western Australia from 1877 to 1880, Sir Roger Goldsworthy
, and Goldsworthy left Alpin Thomson Sr and his wife with his unfinished house, called Lucknow, at Claremont
, when he was posted to St Lucia in 1881. In 1933, Thomson's mother was cited in The Times
as one of just nine remaining survivors of the Siege of Lucknow
in 1857; if that is accurate, it explains the name of the house, but she is likely on grounds of age to have been Goldsworthy's step-daughter rather than a direct descendant. By the time of the First World War, Thomson's parents had retired to live at Wellington
, Somerset
.
. He then moved on to the Britannia Royal Naval College
at Dartmouth
, Devon
, where he won an award for swimming. In 1911, he was appointed as a midshipman
to the HMS Superb
. He was promoted from acting sub-lieutenant to a full sub-lieutenant in 1914 and for the first two years of the First World was second-in-command of HMS Circe
, a "minesweeping gunboat". He was then promoted to full lieutenant and given command of a minesweeper
, HMS Kempton. In 1917, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross "in recognition of (his) gallantry when one of H.M. minesweepers hit a mine": the minesweeper was the Kempton, which sank off Dover after hitting a mine on 24 June 1917. He was awarded his medal personally by King George V
on a visit to ships at Harwich
in February 1918. Thomson went on to command two further minesweepers, HMS Melton
and HMS Tring.
Thomson stayed in the Royal Navy at the end of the First World War and retrained as a physical training instructor. He was attached to the 1st Battle Squadron
as an instructor, and later served on the aircraft carrier
HMS Argus
. He was promoted from lieutenant to lieutenant-commander in 1924 and retrained as an "air observer", serving on the Argus, and then HMS Furious
and HMS Eagle
. As a lieutenant-commander, he was "lent" to the Royal Air Force
in 1929 for "Observer and Instructional Duties" at RAF Leuchars
in Scotland. He stayed in Scotland after this posting as the officer-instructor to the East Scottish division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve from 1932 to 1936. He retired from the Navy in 1936 and retained the rank of Commander in retirement.
; the report in The Times, which dwelt largely on pitch invasions that once brought the match to a halt and impeded play throughout, praised Thomson's speed, though again it said his handling was "weak". An ankle injury prevented Thomson playing in the next international match away to Ireland, when Scotland were beaten, but he was recalled for the final international of the season, the Calcutta Cup
match against England
at Inverleith
. It was again not a happy experience: his miss of a pass let in the England wing three-quarter for a try, and the report in The Times said that both Thomson and his Royal Navy colleague Cecil MacKenzie
, the other centre three-quarter, were "entirely at sea, both in attack and defence". Thomson did not play any further international rugby in subsequent seasons, though he continued to play for the United Services club, moving successfully to full back.
Thomson's first-class cricket career was brief. In May 1922, he played a single match for Somerset against Oxford University
, batting as a tail-ender, failing to score a run, but taking three second innings wickets. Having earlier played in non-first-class matches for the Royal Navy team, he then turned out in a first-class game against The Army
at Lord's, scoring 7 not out
and 0 and taking one wicket. That was not quite the end of his first-class cricket career: at the end of the 1923 season, Somerset played Hampshire
at the United Services Ground
at Portsmouth
, and Thomson was drafted into the team: he batted at No 11, was not out 0 in the first innings and "absent hurt" in the second, and did not bowl.
, in Edinburgh
in 1945. Reports in The Times
across the 1930s and 1940s indicate Thomson played golf
to a high standard at St Andrews
. He retired to Hawridge Place, where he died in 1960. His wife died in 1982.
Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the third level military decoration awarded to officers, and other ranks, of the British Armed Forces, Royal Fleet Auxiliary and British Merchant Navy and formerly also to officers of other Commonwealth countries.The DSC, which may be awarded posthumously, is...
(14 May 1893 – 6 March 1960) played first-class
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
for Somerset
Somerset County Cricket Club
Somerset County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Somerset...
and the Royal Navy cricket team in 1922 and 1923. He also played international rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
for Scotland. He was born in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
and died at Hawridge
Hawridge
Hawridge, is a small village in the Chilterns in the county of Buckinghamshire, England and bordering the county boundary with Hertfordshire. It is from Chesham, from both Tring and Berkhamsted....
, Chesham
Chesham
Chesham is a market town in the Chiltern Hills, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located 11 miles south-east of the county town of Aylesbury. Chesham is also a civil parish designated a town council within Chiltern district. It is situated in the Chess Valley and surrounded by farmland, as well as...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
. In some sources, his second name is spelled "Errol".
Family and background
Thomson's father, also called Alpin Thomson, was a colonial administrator in Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
at the time of his birth, being under-secretary for railways in the colony's government. His mother was, in one account, the daughter of the colonial secretary (equivalent to chief minister) of Western Australia from 1877 to 1880, Sir Roger Goldsworthy
Roger Goldsworthy
Sir Roger Tuckfield Goldsworthy KCMG was a British colonial administrator.Roger Goldsworthy was born in Marylebone, Middlesex in 1839, and educated at Sandhurst, the younger brother of Major-General Walter Tuckfield Goldsworthy MP...
, and Goldsworthy left Alpin Thomson Sr and his wife with his unfinished house, called Lucknow, at Claremont
Claremont, Western Australia
Claremont is a western suburb of Perth, Western Australia on the north bank of the Swan River.-History:Prior to European settlement, the Noongar people used the area as a source of water, for fishing and for catching waterfowl. In 1830, John Butler, a settler, set up an inn at Freshwater Bay to...
, when he was posted to St Lucia in 1881. In 1933, Thomson's mother was cited in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
as one of just nine remaining survivors of the Siege of Lucknow
Siege of Lucknow
The Siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defense of the Residency within the city of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief attempts had reached the city, the defenders and civilians were evacuated from the Residency, which was abandoned.Lucknow was the capital of...
in 1857; if that is accurate, it explains the name of the house, but she is likely on grounds of age to have been Goldsworthy's step-daughter rather than a direct descendant. By the time of the First World War, Thomson's parents had retired to live at Wellington
Wellington, Somerset
Wellington is a small industrial town in rural Somerset, England, situated south west of Taunton in the Taunton Deane district, near the border with Devon, which runs along the Blackdown Hills to the south of the town...
, Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
.
Naval career
At the age of 13 in 1906, Thomson was sent to the Osborne Naval College on the Isle of WightIsle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
. He then moved on to the Britannia Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College
Britannia Royal Naval College is the initial officer training establishment of the Royal Navy, located on a hill overlooking Dartmouth, Devon, England. While Royal Naval officer training has taken place in the town since 1863, the buildings which are seen today were only finished in 1905, and...
at Dartmouth
Dartmouth, Devon
Dartmouth is a town and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is a tourist destination set on the banks of the estuary of the River Dart, which is a long narrow tidal ria that runs inland as far as Totnes...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, where he won an award for swimming. In 1911, he was appointed as a midshipman
Midshipman
A midshipman is an officer cadet, or a commissioned officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Kenya...
to the HMS Superb
HMS Superb (1907)
HMS Superb was a of the British Royal Navy. She was built in Elswick at a cost of £1,744,287, and was completed on 19 June 1909. She was only the fourth dreadnought-type battleship to be completed anywhere in the world, being preceded only by and by her two sister-ships and -Origin:The advent of...
. He was promoted from acting sub-lieutenant to a full sub-lieutenant in 1914 and for the first two years of the First World was second-in-command of HMS Circe
HMS Circe
Six ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Circe, after the Greek goddess Circe.* The first Circe was a 28-gun sixth-rate launched in 1785 and wrecked in 1803.* The second Circe was a 32-gun fifth-rate launched in 1804 and sold in 1814....
, a "minesweeping gunboat". He was then promoted to full lieutenant and given command of a minesweeper
Minesweeper (ship)
A minesweeper is a small naval warship designed to counter the threat posed by naval mines. Minesweepers generally detect then neutralize mines in advance of other naval operations.-History:...
, HMS Kempton. In 1917, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross "in recognition of (his) gallantry when one of H.M. minesweepers hit a mine": the minesweeper was the Kempton, which sank off Dover after hitting a mine on 24 June 1917. He was awarded his medal personally by King George V
George V
George V was king of the United Kingdom and its dominions from 1910 to 1936.George V or similar terms may also refer to:-People:* George V of Georgia * George V of Imereti * George V of Hanover...
on a visit to ships at Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
in February 1918. Thomson went on to command two further minesweepers, HMS Melton
HMS Melton
HMS Melton was a of the Royal Navy. The Racecourse class comprised 32 paddlewheel coastal minesweeping sloops.-Great War:Built by William Hamilton and Company in Port Glasgow, Scotland, she was launched in March 1916 with the pennant number 898. As built she was equipped to operate two seaplanes...
and HMS Tring.
Thomson stayed in the Royal Navy at the end of the First World War and retrained as a physical training instructor. He was attached to the 1st Battle Squadron
1st Battle Squadron (United Kingdom)
The British 1st Battle Squadron was a squadron of battleships, initially part of the Royal Navy's Home Fleet, renamed the Grand Fleet during World War I...
as an instructor, and later served on the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
HMS Argus
HMS Argus (I49)
HMS Argus was a British aircraft carrier that served in the Royal Navy from 1918–1944. She was converted from an ocean liner under construction when the First World War began, and became the world's first example of what is now the standard pattern of aircraft carrier, with a full-length flight...
. He was promoted from lieutenant to lieutenant-commander in 1924 and retrained as an "air observer", serving on the Argus, and then HMS Furious
HMS Furious (47)
HMS Furious was a modified cruiser built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Lord John Fisher, they were very lightly armoured and armed with only a few heavy guns. Furious was modified while...
and HMS Eagle
HMS Eagle (1918)
HMS Eagle was an early aircraft carrier of the Royal Navy. Ordered by Chile as the Almirante Cochrane, she was laid down before World War I. In early 1918 she was purchased by Britain for conversion to an aircraft carrier; this work was finished in 1924...
. As a lieutenant-commander, he was "lent" to the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in 1929 for "Observer and Instructional Duties" at RAF Leuchars
RAF Leuchars
RAF Leuchars is the most northerly air defence station in the United Kingdom. It is located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland, near to the university town of St Andrews.-Operations:...
in Scotland. He stayed in Scotland after this posting as the officer-instructor to the East Scottish division of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve from 1932 to 1936. He retired from the Navy in 1936 and retained the rank of Commander in retirement.
Sporting career
Thomson played rugby union for the Royal Navy before the First World War, appearing as a centre three-quarter in a match against Harlequins at New Year 1914. After the war, The Times carried reports on matches played by both the Royal Navy and by the United Services team in which Thomson features, and he was "one of the outstanding players" in the trial match for the Scottish national side in January 1921. On 12 January 1921 The Times reported his name among those picked to play for Scotland against France as a centre. The match itself was not a success for Thomson: he "was entirely out of form" and "mishandled the ball practically every time it came to him", said the report of the match, a 3-0 win for France. Thomson retained his place in the Scotland team for the next match against Wales at St Helen's, Swansea and was the subject of comment in The Times: "A. E. Thomson's mishandling of the ball was so atrocious that the Scottish selectors may, perhaps, be pardoned for assuming that his form was too bad to be real. One knows that he does possess the quality of pace." This match was won by Scotland and Thomson was the scorer of the first tryTry
A try is the major way of scoring points in rugby league and rugby union football. A try is scored by grounding the ball in the opposition's in-goal area...
; the report in The Times, which dwelt largely on pitch invasions that once brought the match to a halt and impeded play throughout, praised Thomson's speed, though again it said his handling was "weak". An ankle injury prevented Thomson playing in the next international match away to Ireland, when Scotland were beaten, but he was recalled for the final international of the season, the Calcutta Cup
Calcutta Cup
The Calcutta Cup is a rugby union trophy awarded to the winner of the annual Six Nations Championship match between England and Scotland. It is currently England's since the 2009 Six Nations Championship....
match against England
England national rugby union team
The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...
at Inverleith
Inverleith
Inverleith is an inner suburb in the northern part of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the fringes of the central region of the city. It is an affluent suburb. Its neighbours include Trinity to the north and the New Town to the south, with Canonmills at the south-east and Stockbridge at the south-west...
. It was again not a happy experience: his miss of a pass let in the England wing three-quarter for a try, and the report in The Times said that both Thomson and his Royal Navy colleague Cecil MacKenzie
Cecil MacKenzie
Cecil James Granville MacKenzie was a Scottish international rugby union player, who played for as a centre. He was capped once in 1921.-References:* on scrum.com...
, the other centre three-quarter, were "entirely at sea, both in attack and defence". Thomson did not play any further international rugby in subsequent seasons, though he continued to play for the United Services club, moving successfully to full back.
Thomson's first-class cricket career was brief. In May 1922, he played a single match for Somerset against Oxford University
Oxford University Cricket Club
Oxford University Cricket Club is a first-class cricket team, representing the University of Oxford. It plays its home games at the University Parks in Oxford, England...
, batting as a tail-ender, failing to score a run, but taking three second innings wickets. Having earlier played in non-first-class matches for the Royal Navy team, he then turned out in a first-class game against The Army
British Army cricket team
The Army cricket team is a cricket side representing the British Army. The team played a number of first-class matches between 1912 and 1939, although a combined "Army and Navy" side had played two games against a combined Oxford and Cambridge team in 1910 and 1911...
at Lord's, scoring 7 not out
Not out
In cricket, a batsman will be not out if he comes out to bat in an innings and has not been dismissed by the end of the innings. One may similarly describe a batsman as not out while the innings is still in progress...
and 0 and taking one wicket. That was not quite the end of his first-class cricket career: at the end of the 1923 season, Somerset played Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
at the United Services Ground
United Services Recreation Ground
The United Services Recreation Ground is a cricket ground in Portsmouth, Hampshire. The first recorded match on the ground was on 17 August 1882 which saw Cambridge University Past and Present play the touring Australians...
at Portsmouth
Portsmouth
Portsmouth is the second largest city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire on the south coast of England. Portsmouth is notable for being the United Kingdom's only island city; it is located mainly on Portsea Island...
, and Thomson was drafted into the team: he batted at No 11, was not out 0 in the first innings and "absent hurt" in the second, and did not bowl.
Later life
Thomson married Mary Elizabeth Lindsay, a widow from FifeFife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in 1945. Reports in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
across the 1930s and 1940s indicate Thomson played golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
to a high standard at St Andrews
St Andrews
St Andrews is a university town and former royal burgh on the east coast of Fife in Scotland. The town is named after Saint Andrew the Apostle.St Andrews has a population of 16,680, making this the fifth largest settlement in Fife....
. He retired to Hawridge Place, where he died in 1960. His wife died in 1982.
External links
- Alpin Thomson on scrum dot com.