John Boswell (rugby union)

John Boswell (16 February 1867 – 5 January 1948) was a Scotland international rugby union player.[1] He was the 25th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. He served in the military in the Boer War and the First World War and won the Serbian medal Order of the White Eagle in 1917. He was a Writer to the Signet and owned Garallan House near Cumnock.[2]

John Boswell
Birth nameJohn Douglas Boswell
Date of birth(1867-02-16)16 February 1867
Place of birthGarallan House, East Ayrshire, Scotland
Date of death5 January 1948(1948-01-05) (aged 80)
Place of deathEdinburgh, Scotland
SchoolRugby School
Loretto School
UniversityBrasenose College, Oxford
University of Glasgow
Rugby union career
Position(s) Forward
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1885-87 Oxford University
West of Scotland		 ()
Provincial / State sides
Years Team Apps (Points)
1889 Glasgow District ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1889–94 Scotland 15 (27)
Refereeing career
Years Competition Apps
1899 Scottish Districts
25th President of the Scottish Rugby Union
In office
1898–1899
Preceded byRobert Rainie
Succeeded byIan MacIntyre

Rugby union career

Amateur career

Boswell was introduced to rugby union at Rugby School and then Loretto School in Musselburgh. At Brasenose College he played for Oxford University.[2]

In Scotland he played for West of Scotland.[2]

Provincial career

He was capped by Glasgow District in the inter-city match of 1889.[3]

International career

Boswell played 15 times for Scotland.[4]

He captained Scotland in 1890 and in 1893. He was described as 'florid and stout almost to rotundity'.

Boswell is the only Scotland forward to score a drop goal in two international matches (versus Ireland 1890 & versus England 1893).[5]

Referee career

He refereed in the Scottish Districts match between Cities District and Provinces District on 14 January 1899.[6]

Administrative career

Boswell became the 25th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. He served the 1898–99 term in office.[7]

Military career

In the 2nd Boer War of 1900–01, Boswell served in the 6th Scottish Battalion Imperial Yeomanry.[8]

In the First World War, Boswell served in the military as a Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Scots Fusiliers, 12th battalion, which were the Ayrshire Yeomanry; working on coast defences. Boswell saw action in Gallipoli; Egypt, at the Battles of Katta and Romani; Palestine, at the Battles of Gaza; and France.[9]

He was awarded the Order of the White Eagle (Serbia), 4th class with swords.[10]

Law career

He received a Bachelor of Law from the University of Glasgow in 1906 and an LL.B. in 1907.[11]

He was a Writer to the Signet.[12]

Family

Boswell owned the Garallan House estate near Cumnock in Ayrshire. Garallan House was first owned by the Campbells and then the Douglases. One of Boswell's ancestors, his great uncle, Hamilton Boswell married Jane Douglas and acquired Garallan.[13] Boswell was born at Garallan.[14]

In 1920, Boswell bought Auchinleck House in Ayrshire from Talbot de Malahide, a descendant of James Boswell. Boswell stayed in 8 Heriot Row in Edinburgh in the 1930s, just before it was converted into flats.[8]

References
  1. "John Douglas Boswell". Espnscrum.com.
  2. "John Boswell : Rugby Player | Military History Forum". Militarian.com.
  3. "The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search". News.google.com.
  4. "Rugby Union - ESPN Scrum - Statsguru - Player analysis - John Boswell - Test matches". Espnscrum.com.
  5. Burns, Peter (4 October 2018). Scottish Rugby 101: A Pocket Guide in 101 Moments, Stats, Characters and Games. Birlinn. ISBN 9781788851091 – via Google Books.
  6. "Register". Retrieved 17 March 2023 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  7. "Scottish Rugby Record 2018/19" (PDF). Scottish Rugby.
  8. "Heriot Row History". Heriotrow.org.
  9. "Roll of Honour : Members of the Society of Writers to His Majesty's Signet, and Apprentices : 1914-1919" (PDF). Deriv.nls.uk. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  10. "(194) - Army lists > Monthly army lists > 1914-1918 > Supplement to the monthly Army List - British Military lists - National Library of Scotland". Digital.nls.uk.
  11. "University of Glasgow :: Story :: Biography of John Douglas B.A. Boswell". Universitystory.gla.ac.uk.
  12. "20: John Douglas Boswell". Newcumnockhistory.com. 4 March 2017.
  13. "Garrallan House". Douglashistory.co.uk.
  14. Mcmeekin, Kay (16 August 2014). "WW1 Soldiers from Cumnock: Lt Col John Douglas Boswell". Cumnocksoldliers.blogspotc.om.
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