This is one of a series of posts to mark the international Rugby players who served in, and survived, The Great War. If anyone has further information on the men concerned, I’d be most grateful if it could be added to the thread. Gareth Harris, Stanley Wakefield CBE played for England and the British Isles England Internationals: 2 : 1920 I+ S+ (1t) British Isles Internationals: 2 : SA 1924 2- Stanley Harris was born on 13 December 1893 Played as a Wing for: Bedford Grammar School, Blackheath, East Midlands, Pirates (SA), Transvaal Profession: Army War service: Trooper, Imperial Light Horse, in South West Africa 1914-1915. Commissioned in the Royal Field Artillery in 1915. He fought in France, being severely wounded during the Battle of the Somme in 1916, after which he served in Flanders and North Russia. Remarks: Played for Transvaal in 1914. Took up ballroom dancing when recuperating from war injuries; progressed to final of the World Championship. Declined to represent Great Britain in 1920 Olympic modern pentathlon in order to concentrate on Rugby. He won the South African amateur light heavyweight boxing title in 1921. In 1924 he was chosen as a replacement wing on the 1924 British Isles tour of South Africa while he was playing for the Pirates Club in that country; he then took over as fullback after a spate of injuries to the touring party. As a tennis player he represented SA in the Davis Cup, and won the All-England mixed doubles title. Represented England at Polo. Member of the Army Sports Control Board 1935-1939. He served again during the 1939-1945 War; when he was a prisoner of the Japanese in Siam for 3½ years. CBE 1946. He died in 1973 at Cape Town.
Heres some snippets * Stan Harris died October 3 1973 Kenilworth S Africa aged 78 * * BEDFORD SCHOOL RUGBY FOOTBALL INTERNATIONALS England P Christopherson C E L Hammond E L Chambers J G Cook P G Jacob C H Milton H H Vassall L F L Oakley J G Milton F G Brooks S W Harris *D P Rogers M Bayfield A C T Gomarsall http://www.schoolsrugby.co.uk/schoolSportHistory.asp?Id=18 1924 TOUR: BRITISH & IRISH LIONS SCORERS AND APPEARANCES http://www.sarugby.co.za/lionstour/content.aspx?id=15974 * Stan was a Lieut Colonel at Changi ! I thought the name sounded familiar .... Surpisingly there's quite a few references to him - he stood up to the Janapese on quite a few occasions ! .... F Force - 7000 prisoners under the command of British Lt Col S.W.Harris, with Lt Col Dillon leader of the British and Lt Col Kappe Leader of the Australians, were sent by rail to Non Pluduc during the latter part of April 1943. Made up of 3666 Australians and 3334 British they were to suffer the highest casualties of any group. They remained under the control of the Malay Command, not the Thai-Burma Command so they suffered in the distribution of supplies. Another factor was the forced march of some 300 kilometres in shocking conditions to their work area near the Burma border. The final disaster on top of over work, poor rations, and diseases rife in the area was the cholera epidemic, which struck during the wet season. 637 of F Force succumbed to Cholera up to September, 193 Australians, 444 British, 10% of F Force The final death toll for the British prisoners was 61.3% the Australians 29%. Of the 3336 British in F Force 2037 of them died, the Australians lost1060 men. National Archives of UK, File Reference WO 32/14551, “History of ‘F’ Force”, Lieut-Colonel S.W. Harris, O.B.E., R.A. (Commander, 18 Div P.O.W. Area in Changi), pp.1-35. http://www.cofepow.org.uk/pages/asia_thailand6.htm http://books.google.com/books?id=5g...Q6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=lt col S W harris&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=Vb...Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=lt col S W harris&f=false Reassessing the Japanese prisoner of war experience: the Changi POW camp http://books.google.com/books?id=pZ...#v=onepage&q=Stanley Wakefield harris&f=false
Medal card of Harris, Stanley Wakefield Royal Field Artillery Acting Major Date 1914-1920 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/...asp?Edoc_Id=2747372&queryType=1&resultcount=1
Was this training ...... ?? 1919 (20th Dec) England v The South at Twickenham The South (won) (DG: Smallwood, T: Conway, Wood, Blakiston 2, Krige) 18-14 England (T Davies, Lowry. G Harrison, PG Davies) ENGLAND back:- W.H.Pemberton (Birkenhead Park). three-quarters:- C.N.Lowe (Blackheath), F.M.Arkle (Birkenhead Park), E.Myers (Bradford, W.M.Lowry (Birkenhead Park). half-backs: C.A.Kershaw (United Services), W.J.A.Davies (United Services). forwards:- Major.H.C.Harrison (United Services) (Captain), C.H.Pillman (Blackheath), L.P.B.Merriam (Blackheath), H.J.White (Headingley), A.T.Voyce (Gloucester), S.G.Holford (Gloucester),Captain W.W.Wakefield (Harlequins), V.H.Neser (Oxford University). THE SOUTH back:- H.Millet (Guy's Hospital). threequarters:- G.F.Wood (Oxford University), J.A.Krige (Guy's Hospital), A.M.Smallwood (Cambridge University), S.W.Harris (Blackheath). halfbacks:- H.Coverdale (Blackheath), A.K.Horan (Blackheath). forwards:- F.W.Mellish (Blackheath), W.H.Wright (Plymouth), A.Hall (Gloucester), J.S.Golding (Devonport Services), E.Rodda (Cambourne), R.E.Sharp (Newton Abbott), G.S.Conway (Cambridge University), F.Blakiston (Northampton).
