Charles Edward Wilson was an England rugby

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...

 international and British Army

British Army

The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...

 officer who was killed during the First World War.

Born at Fermoy

Fermoy

Fermoy is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is situated on the River Blackwater in the south of Ireland. Its population is some 5,800 inhabitants, environs included ....

, County Cork

County Cork

County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

, he was the son of Major General F.E.G. Wilson. He was educated at Dover College

Dover College

Dover College is a co-educational independent school in Dover in southeast England. It was founded in 1871, and takes both day pupils and boarders....

 and attended Sandhurst

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst , commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is a British Army officer initial training centre located in Sandhurst, Berkshire, England...

 in July 1892. He graduated in July 1896 and was commissioned as a lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

.

Wilson served in the Second Boer War

Second Boer War

The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...

 with the Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment

Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey)

The Queen's Royal Regiment was a regiment of the English and later British Army from 1661 to 1959. It was the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, behind only the Royal Scots in the British Army line infantry order of precedence...

 receiving the Queen's Medal

Queen's South Africa Medal

The Queen's South Africa Medal ‎was awarded to military personnel who served in the Boer War in South Africa between 11 October 1899 and 31 May 1902. Units from the British Army, Royal Navy, colonial forces who took part , civilians employed in official capacity and war correspondents...

 with two clasps

Medal bar

A medal bar or medal clasp is a thin metal bar attached to the ribbon of a military decoration, civil decoration, or other medal. It is most commonly used to indicate the campaign or operation the recipient received the award for, and multiple bars on the same medal are used to indicate that the...

, King's Medal

King's South Africa Medal

The King's South Africa Medal was awarded to all troops who served in the Boer War in South Africa on or after 1 January 1902, and completed 18 months service before 1 June 1902. The medal was not issued alone but always with the Queen's South Africa Medal or QSA.The KSA was awarded only to those...

 with two clasps and a Mention in Despatches. He fought in the relief of Ladysmith

Siege of Ladysmith

The Siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 30 October 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, Natal.-Background:...

, Battle of Spion Kop

Battle of Spion Kop

The Battle of Spion Kop was fought about west-south-west of Ladysmith on the hilltop of Spioenkop along the Tugela River, Natal in South Africa from 23–24 January 1900...

 and Battle of the Tugela Heights

Battle of the Tugela Heights

The Battle of Tugela Heights, consisted of a series of military actions lasting from 14 February through 27 February 1900 in which General Sir Redvers Buller's British army forced Louis Botha's Boer army to lift the Siege of Ladysmith during the Second Boer War.-Background:Buller's army had made...

. In August 1901, he was promoted to the rank of captain. He also served in India.

During the First World War, Wilson served as the adjutant of the 1st Battalion, Queen's (Royal West Surrey) Regiment, attached to the 3rd Brigade, 1st Division. He served on the Western Front

Western Front (World War I)

Following the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the German Army opened the Western Front by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium, then gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne...

 and was awarded the Légion d’Honneur. He was killed in action

Killed in action

Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...

 on 17 September 1914 during the Battle of the Aisne

First Battle of the Aisne

The First Battle of the Aisne was the Allied follow-up offensive against the right wing of the German First Army & Second Army as they retreated after the First Battle of the Marne earlier in September 1914...

, on the River Aisne. He is buried in Paissy Churchyard, Aisne, France [Grave 2], and was survived by his wife Mabel (nee Carr) and their two sons.

Rugby career

Wilson played rugby at a high standard as a forward. He represented the Army

Army Rugby Union

The Army Rugby Union is the governing body for rugby union in the British Army and a constituent body of the Rugby Football Union . The ARU was formed on 31 December 1906 and marked the fulfilment of Lieutenant J.E.C...

 and top class side Blackheath F.C., and was an active member of the club in 1895, the year he was offered and accepted an invitation to tour with the Barbarians

Barbarian F.C.

The Barbarian Football Club, usually referred to as the Barbarians and nicknamed the "Baa-Baas", is an invitational rugby union team based in Britain...

. In 1898, and still playing for Blackheath, Wilson represented 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...

 in a rugby union international, playing as a forward against Ireland in a match played at Richmond as part of the 1898 Home Nations Championship

1898 Home Nations Championship

The 1898 Home Nations Championship was the sixteenth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Five matches were played between 5 February and 2 April. It was contested by England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales....

. The England team, under the captaincy of J. F. Byrne

J. F. Byrne

James Frederick Byrne was English sportsman who captained Warwickshire at first-class cricket and was capped in rugby for both England and the British and Irish Lions.-Cricket career:...

, was fairly inexperienced with Wilson being one of six new caps into the team, four within the pack. The Irish controlled the game from the start and won 9-6. Wilson never represented his country again.