William Robert "Billy" King (16 December 1902 in County Clare

County Clare

-History:There was a Neolithic civilisation in the Clare area — the name of the peoples is unknown, but the Prehistoric peoples left evidence behind in the form of ancient dolmen; single-chamber megalithic tombs, usually consisting of three or more upright stones...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 – January 1987 in Dublin) was an all-round sportsman who played 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 both Ireland and the Straits Settlements

Straits Settlements cricket team

The Straits Settlements cricket team was the team that represented the Straits Settlements in international cricket matches between 1890 and 1940.-History:...

, and played 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 Singapore

Singapore national rugby union team

The Singapore national rugby union team represents Singapore in international rugby union. They have yet to make their debut at the Rugby World Cup, though since the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Singapore have been participating in qualification competitions....

.

Biography

Educated mainly in Tipperary

Tipperary

Tipperary is a town and a civil parish in South Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,415 at the 2006 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and is in the historical barony of Clanwilliam....

, he excelled at sport, particularly cricket and rugby union. He entered Dublin University

University of Dublin

The University of Dublin , corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin , located in Dublin, Ireland, was effectively founded when in 1592 Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter for Trinity College, Dublin, as "the mother of a university" – this date making it...

 in 1921, where he quickly found himself part of the cricket team

Dublin University Cricket Club

Dublin University Cricket Club is a cricket team in Ireland. They currently play in the Leinster Senior League, and in the past had first-class status, and played against several sides that were touring England, including the Australians , South Africans and West Indians .Their first first-class...

, for whom he played a 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...

 match against Essex

Essex County Cricket Club

Essex County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...

 in 1922. His sole appearance for the Irish national side came against Wales in August 1923, scoring 45 as Ireland beat Wales by an innings.

Soon after that match, he took up an appointment in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, and eventually played both rugby for Singapore and cricket for the Straits Settlements, playing against the Federated Malay States

Federated Malay States cricket team

The Federated Malay States cricket team was a team that represented the Federated Malay States in international cricket matches between 1905 and 1940. Cricket has been played in Peninsular Malaysia since the 1880s, and the Federated Malay States usually combined with the Straits Settlements cricket...

 in 1926. He joined the army in 1941, and was awarded the Military Medal

Military Medal

The Military Medal was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other services, and formerly also to personnel of other Commonwealth countries, below commissioned rank, for bravery in battle on land....

 for bravery in the Battle of Singapore

Battle of Singapore

The Battle of Singapore was fought in the South-East Asian theatre of the Second World War when the Empire of Japan invaded the Allied stronghold of Singapore. Singapore was the major British military base in Southeast Asia and nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the East"...

. He was captured when the city fell and spent the remainder of the war in Changi Prison

Changi Prison

Changi Prison is a prison located in Changi in the eastern part of Singapore.-First prison and POW camp:...

. He later returned to live in Ireland, and married late in life, having children in his late 70s.

See also

• List of Irish cricket and rugby union players