Aubone Alfred Surtees (2 October 1865 – 22 November 1923) was an English

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

forward who played international rugby for the British Isles XV that toured South Africa in 1891.

Personal life

Surtees was born in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, London in 1865 to Alfred Wright Surtees of

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

before being accepted into

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

in 1884. He graduated in 1887 and by 1891 was admitted into the legal profession, practising at Bond Court in

Walbrook Walbrook is a Ward of the City of London and a minor street in its vicinity. The ward is named after a River Walbrook, river of the same name. The ward of Walbrook contains two of the City's most notable landmarks: the Bank of England and the ...

. He married Jeanetta Smith in 1892, and they had at least two children, Bessy and Aubone.Low Dinsdale
british-history.ac.uk In 1914, following the death of his cousin, John Ralph Surtees, he inherited the manor of Dinsdale Park, though he sold most of the estate fairly soon after acquiring it. Surtees enlisted into the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

on the outbreak of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and served his country from 1914 through to 1919. Surtees reached the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

assigned to the

Northumberland Fusiliers The Royal Northumberland Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army. Raised in 1674 as one of three 'English' units in the Dutch Anglo-Scots Brigade, it accompanied William III to England in the November 1688 Glorious Revolution and ...

and was also on the

General List The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army. Role The role of the corps is to provide specialists, who are usually on the Special List or General List. These lists were used in both World Wars for specialists and those not allo ...

where he was assigned to duties connected to the newly formed Army Canteen Committee. In 1921, his daughter Bessy married Standish Vereker, 7th Viscount Gort.

Rugby career

Surtees was educated at Rugby School, the home of rugby union, and on entering Cambridge, he joined the University team. He won a sporting 'Blue' in 1886 when he took part in

The Varsity Match The Varsity Match is an annual rugby union fixture played between the universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England. The event began in 1872 with the first men's match, with interruptions only for the two World Wars and the COVID-19 pandemic ...

. After leaving Cambridge, he joined London based club

Harlequin F.C. Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of ...

, and by 1890 was invited to join the newly formed touring club, the Barbarians, becoming one of its original members. In 1891 Surtees was invited to join the first official British Isles team in their tour of South Africa. The tour took in 20 games and three international Tests against the South African team. Surtees played in fourteen matches of the tour, including all three Tests.Aubone Surtees Lions profile
lionsrugby.com

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Surtees, Aubone 1865 births 1923 deaths Rugby union players from the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea English rugby union players Rugby union forwards British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Barbarian F.C. players Harlequin F.C. players Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge People educated at Rugby School British Army personnel of World War I Royal Northumberland Fusiliers officers British solicitors People from Kensington