Walter Wilson (rugby union)
| Full name | Walter Carandini Wilson | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 22 June 1885 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Brisbane, Australia | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 12 April 1968 (aged 82) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Brighton, England | ||||||||||||||||
| School | Tonbridge School | ||||||||||||||||
| Notable relative(s) | Marie Carandini (grandmother) Christopher Lee (cousin) | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Lieutenant colonel Walter Carandini Wilson (22 June 1885 – 12 April 1968) was an Australian-born British Army officer and England international rugby union player.
Born in Brisbane, Queensland, Wilson was the grandson of an Italian nobleman (the Marquis of Sarzano) and opera singer Marie Carandini, who were the parents of his mother. His father, Robert Walker Wilson, was Scottish. He moved to England during his childhood and was educated at Tonbridge School in Kent.[1]
Wilson received his commission in the Royal Warwickshire Regiment in 1905 and two years later joined the Leicestershire Regiment. During this period, Wilson played rugby in the army and was capped twice for England as a wing three-quarter in the 1907 Home Nations, against Ireland and Scotland.[2] He was promoted to lieutenant in 1908 and then captain while on secondment to the West African Regiment in 1913.[1]
In World War I, Wilson served with the Leicestershire Regiment and was badly wounded during an attack on a German position, but continued to lead his soldiers over the enemy parapet before getting treatment, for which he was made a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order.[3] He was later awarded a Military Cross and OBE.[4]
Wilson was a cousin of actor Christopher Lee.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Wilson, Walter Carandini - CBE DSO* MC". royalleicestershireregiment.org.uk.
- ^ "Colonel who became a Group Captain". Leicester Mercury. 15 April 1968.
- ^ "Awards For Gallantry In The Field". The Daily Telegraph. 5 November 1915.
- ^ "Round And About". Western Mail. 17 October 1936.
External links
[edit]- Walter Wilson at ESPNscrum
- 1885 births
- 1968 deaths
- English rugby union players
- England international rugby union players
- Rugby union wings
- Rugby union players from Brisbane
- Army rugby union players
- People educated at Tonbridge School
- Australian emigrants to England
- English people of Italian descent
- English people of Scottish descent
- Royal Leicestershire Regiment officers
- British Army personnel of World War I
- Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Recipients of the Military Cross