William Campbell Church

Capt. William Campbell Church (5 August 1883 – 28 June 1915) was a Scottish rugby union player.[1][2]

Bill Church

Birth name	William Campbell Church
Date of birth	5 August 1883
Place of birth	Partick, Glasgow, Scotland
Date of death	28 June 1915 (aged 31)
Place of death	Gallipoli, Turkey
Rugby union career
Position(s) Centre / Wing Amateur team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1904-07 Glasgow University Glasgow Academicals () Provincial / State sides Years Team Apps (Points) - Glasgow District () National team(s) Years Team Apps (Points) 1906 Scotland 1 (0)

Early life

Church was born in Partick, Glasgow, to William Reginald Monteith Church, a chartered accountant and stockbroker, and Christina Ainslie Church.[3] He was educated at Glasgow Academy but left for Switzerland in 1902.[4][5] He was educated at South African College.

Rugby Union career

Amateur career

He moved back to Scotland to attend university,[6] where he played for Glasgow Academicals.[4] He played on the wing for rugby union side.[4]

Provincial career

He was capped by Glasgow District in 1906.[7]

International career

Church was capped for Scotland in 1906.[8] He was also selected to play against New Zealand but he declined this.[4]

Military career

He was killed in action in World War I while serving with the Cameronians during the Gallipoli Campaign.[8] He is on the Helles Memorial for the missing at Gallipoli.[9][10]

References

1. Bath, Richard (ed.) The Scotland Rugby Miscellany (Vision Sports Publishing Ltd, 2007 ISBN 1-905326-24-6)
2. "William Campbell Church". ESPN scrum.
3. "1883 CHURCH, WILLIAM CAMPBEL (Statutory registers Births 646/3 1096)". Scotland's People. National Records of Scotland and the Court of the Lord Lyon.
4. "University of Glasgow :: Story :: Biography of Captain William Campbell Church". www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk.
5. "William Campbell Church : Rugby Player | Military History Forum". www.militarian.com.
6. "PressReader.com - Your favorite newspapers and magazines". www.pressreader.com.
7. "The Glasgow Herald - Google News Archive Search". news.google.com.
8. Bath, p. 109
9. "Casualty: Captain Church, William Campbell". Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
10. "William Campbell Church — Friends of Glasgow Necropolis". www.glasgownecropolis.org.

External links

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