Ralph Risk

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, MC and Bar (28 July 1891 – 24 May 1961) was a Scottish solicitor, lawyer and president of the

Law Society of Scotland The Law Society of Scotland is the professional governing body for Scottish solicitors. It promotes excellence among solicitors through the support and regulation of its members. It also promotes the interests of the public in relation to the ...

. He also briefly played as an

outside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

in the

Scottish League The Scottish Football League (SFL) was a league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4 km sout ...

for Queen's Park and was later the president of the club between 1935 and 1938.

Personal life

Risk was educated at Queen's Park School and

Mount Florida Mount Florida ( gd, Cnoc Florida) is an area in the south-east of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Origins The Glasgow district of Mount Florida originated on the "Lands of Mount Floridon", which were described in detail when offered for sale a ...

School in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

and later studied law at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, eventually becoming a solicitor. He was married with three sons and two daughters and his elder brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

also played football for Queen's Park. Risk was a member of the General Council of Solicitors in Scotland between 1933 and 1939, a senior partner in

Maclay Murray & Spens Maclay Murray & Spens LLP was a top 100 UK law firm headquartered in Glasgow with offices in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and London, and was one of the UK's leading full service commercial law firms. In July 2017, it was announced that Maclay, Murray ...

and president of the

. He died in hospital in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1961.

War service

In June 1915, nearly a year after Britain's entry into the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

, Risk received his

commission Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anothe ...

as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until 1 ...

in the

Gordon Highlanders Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordo ...

. He won an MC and Bar, for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty" in actions at

Rœux Rœux () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Rœux lies on the banks of the Scarpe river about east of Arras at the junction of the D33, D42 and D46 roads. The junction of the A1 and ...

Chemical Works during the Battle of Arras in spring 1917 and during the Battle of the Scarpe in August 1918. Risk rose to the rank of captain during the course of his war service, having been promoted to lieutenant in July 1917 and to captain in April 1918. He left his battalion on special leave to Britain on 25 September 1918 and would see no further action before the

Armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

. Risk served with the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and established the

barrage balloon A barrage balloon is a large uncrewed tethered balloon used to defend ground targets against aircraft attack, by raising aloft steel cables which pose a severe collision risk to aircraft, making the attacker's approach more difficult. Early barr ...

defence of

Scapa Flow Scapa Flow viewed from its eastern end in June 2009 Scapa Flow (; ) is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, Scotland, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,S. C. George, ''Jutland to Junkyard'', 1973. South Ronaldsay an ...

in 1939. He later rose to the rank of

wing commander Wing commander (Wg Cdr in the RAF, the IAF, and the PAF, WGCDR in the RNZAF and RAAF, formerly sometimes W/C in all services) is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historic ...

and was superintendent of balloon development at

RAF Cardington The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

Career statistics

Notes

References

1891 births Scottish men's footballers Scottish Football League players British Army personnel of World War I Gordon Highlanders officers Footballers from Glasgow Men's association football outside forwards Queen's Park F.C. players Recipients of the Military Cross 1961 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow Royal Air Force personnel of World War II Royal Air Force officers Scottish solicitors Scottish lawyers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Queen's Park Secondary School {{Scotland-footy-forward-1890s-stub