Anthony Henniker-Gotley (2 March 1887 – 4 May 1972) was a rugby union international who represented England from 1910 to 1911.Anthony Henniker-Gotley Profile on scrum.com
/ref> He also captained that country.

Early life

Anthony Henniker-Gotley was born on 2 March 1887 in Tysoe, Warwickshire. He was the son of a vicar, the Revd George Henniker Gotley MA.

Rugby union career

Henniker-Gotley played as a scrum half for his school, Tonbridge School. At his previous school, West Downs School,

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

a boarding school for boys aged between eight and thirteen, he had been an avid cricketer, playing in the first XI in 1899 to 1901. After Tonbridge he went up to the University of Oxford and there received his Blue in 1909. At a club level he played for Blackheath FC and at a representative level played for Barbarian FC (playing in the Barbarians: v Leicester 1909 match ending 9–9) as well as county rugby for both

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

and Kent. Henniker-Gotley made his international debut on 3 March 1910 at

Parc des Princes Parc des Princes () is an all-seater stadium, all-seater Association football, football stadium in Paris, France, in the south-west of the French capital, inside the 16th arrondissement of Paris, 16th arrondissement, near the Stade Jean-Bouin ...

in the France vs England match. Of the 6 matches he played for his national side he was on the winning side on 4 occasions. He played his final match for England on 18 March 1911 at Twickenham in the England vs Scotland match, in which game he captained England for the only time. Henniker-Gotley was also an early British and Irish Lion, representing the Combined British in the 1910 tour of Argentina, in which he featured in the only international match against the host nation.

Career outside sport

Henniker-Gotley moved to

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

in 1911. During the First World War he served in the

North Rhodesia Police North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north'' is ...

and served in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. He was a political officer in

Tanganyika Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

from 1918 to 1923 and called to the Bar in 1923. He then became the District Commissioner in Tanganyika in 1923, and served in this capacity until 1926. From 1926 he went into business in Durban until 1933 and then became Bursar and assistant master at St Columba's College, Dublin, from 1934 to 1936. From 1936 he acted as a Temporary Education Officer for the Royal Air Force and then served in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF ...

as a

Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the India ...

in Fighter Command. After the outbreak of the Second World War he was promoted to Squadron Leader in 1941. Following the war he was a civilian Substitution Officer with the RAF until 1947.

Personal and later life

Henniker-Gotley married Nora McMaster (17 May 1894 to 31 July 1979) on 2 June 1923. Her father was the Test cricketer Emile McMaster and her brother was the first-class cricketer Michael McMaster. He died on 4 May 1972.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Henniker-Gotley, Anthony 1887 births 1972 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves People educated at West Downs School People educated at Tonbridge School British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Barbarian F.C. players Oxford University RFC players Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II British colonial police officers British colonial political officers Royal Air Force squadron leaders Rugby union players from Warwickshire