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 Davies, William John Abbott (‘Dave’) played for England Internationals: 22 : 1913 SA- W+ F+ I+ S+ ; 1914 I+ (1t) S+ F+ (1t) ; 1920 F+ (1t) I+ S+ ; 1921 W+ (1d) I+ S+ F+ ; 1922 I+ F= S+ (1t) ; 1923 W+ I+ (1d) S+ F+ (1d) William Davies was born on 21 June 1890, in Pembroke, Wales. Played as a Fly-half for: Royal Naval Engineering College Keyham, Royal Naval College Greenwich, United Services Portsmouth, Royal Navy, Hampshire Profession: Royal Navy War service: HMS Iron Duke in Grand Fleet, transferred to HMS Queen Elizabeth, on the staff of the Commander in Chief, Grand Fleet. Remarks: Played for the Officers of the Royal Navy v the Officers of the Army in 1911 (22-13), 1912 (16-8), 1913 (18-8) and 1914 (14-26). He Captained England 11 times. At Greenwich he won the Championship as the best athlete of the year. He made his first appearance with Cyril Kershaw for Grand Fleet v Rest of the Navy in 1919; they later made a record 14 appearances as the England halfback pairing. Played in the Centenary match at Rugby School 1923. Played v France in 1923 while in Paris on his honeymoon – and dropped a goal. Teetotaler. Author of 2 books: Rugby Football 1923 and Rugby Football and How to Play It 1933. He died on 26 April 1967
WJA 'Dave' Davies http://www.englandrugbyphotostore.c...united-services-v-english-public-schools.html WJA 'Dave' Davies and Cecil Kershaw http://www.englandrugbyphotostore.c...united-services-v-english-public-schools.html
William John Abbott Davies OBE was an England international rugby union footballer playing at fly-half. Davies was born in Pembroke, Wales, and originally played for Pembroke Dock Harlequins before he played for England starting in 1921. He was part of the England team that won the Grand Slam in both 1921 and 1923. During his time playing he earned 22 caps, making him England's most capped fly-half until Rob Andrew overtook him. He played half of his matches as captain. During his 22 matches at international level, he was never on a losing side. Outside of Rugby, Davies served as a naval officer aboard HMS Iron Duke and HMS Queen Elizabeth during World War I, for which he was awarded an OBE in 1919. Davies also was offered to play at Wimbledon, but declined the offer to focus on his rugby. Wall of Fame Dave Davies – born in Pembroke in Wales in 1890 – who led England to the Grand Slam in 1921 and 1923. He was England’s most capped fly-half with 22 appearances until Rob Andrew’s emergence towards the end of the 20th century, and he captained his country on 11 occasions His career was interrupted by the First World War, when, as a naval officer, Davies served aboard HMS Iron Duke, then HMS Queen Elizabeth and was appointed OBE in 1919 in recognition of his naval duty. http://www.rfu.com/microsites/museum/pdfs/edwards_davies.pdf
