James Pearson (rugby union)

James Pearson

Birth name	Alexander William Angus
Date of birth	(1889-02-24)24 February 1889
Place of birth	Edinburgh, Scotland
Date of death	22 May 1915(1915-05-22) (aged 26)
Place of death	Hooge, Belgium
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) Watsonians () Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) 1910 Edinburgh District () International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1909-13 Scotland 12 (10)

James Pearson (24 February 1889 – 22 May 1915) was a Scotland international rugby union player. He played at Centre. At the First World War, Pearson joined the Royal Scots as a soldier; he was killed in Second Battle of Ypres.[1]

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

Pearson was born in Dalkeith, Midlothian. He was educated at George Watson's College, where he played cricket for the Watsonians. A friend encouraged him to take up rugby as well, and he soon excelled at that as well.[2]

Provincial career

He played for Edinburgh District against Glasgow District in the 1910 inter-city match. Edinburgh won the match 26-5.[3]

International career

He earned 12 caps for Scotland between 1909–13.[1]

Military career

Memorial to the 133 rugby players killed in the Great War, at Fromelles

He served as a Private with the 9th Battalion, Royal Scots during the war. Following the Second Battle of Ypres, he was shot and killed by a sniper while going for water in Sanctuary Wood in May 1915.[4]

He is buried at Sanctuary Wood Cemetery (plot VE 27) but also remembered on the special memorial to the 133 rugby players killed in the Great War, at Fromelles in north France.[5]

References

1. Bath, Richard (ed.) The Scotland Rugby Miscellany, p. 109. (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ISBN 1-905326-24-6)
2. McCrery, Nigel (2014). Into Touch: Rugby Internationals Killed in the Great War. Pen and Sword. pp. 190–191. ISBN 9781781590874. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
3. "The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
4. "Casualty Details: Pearson, James". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
5. https://www.cwgc.org/stories/stories/private-james-pearson/

External links

• "An entire team wiped out by the Great War". The Scotsman, 6 November 2009