Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

Charles Eric St John Beamish (23 June 1908 – 18 May 1984) was an Irish rugby player and

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

RAF pilot. He gained 12 caps for

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

as a prop forward and also represented the

British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...

on their 1936 tour of Argentina. He was one of the Beamish brothers - elder brother

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

also played for Ireland, and other brothers Victor and Cecil were also accomplished sportsmen and RAF officers.

Rugby career

Beamish played his first international match for Ireland in the encounter against Wales in the 1933 Home Nations Championship. At the time Beamish was playing at club level for North of Ireland F.C., and when he joined the Ireland squad he came in at prop, with his elder brother George at No 8. and team captain.Godwin (1984) p.194 Ireland won the game 10-5, and Beamish was reselected for the final match of the tournament against Scotland in April. By this time Beamish was no longer recorded as playing for North of Ireland, and had switched clubs to English side Harlequins. Although missing the opening loss to England, Beamish was back in the Ireland squad for the second game of the

1934 Home Nations Championship The 1934 Home Nations Championship was the thirtieth series of the rugby union Home Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Five Nations, and prior to that, the Home Nations, this was the forty-seventh series of the nort ...

, against Scotland. He had again swapped club sides and was now turning out for

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, the same club as brother George.Godwin (1984) p.197 Beamish also played in the final game of the championship, against Wales. It was a poor campaign for Ireland and they finished bottom of the table without a win. The 1934/35 season was also notable as he was invited to play for the British touring team the Barbarians for whom he would play a total of 9 matches between 1934 and 1938. The 1935 Championship saw Beamish play in all three matches, and despite a bad loss against England in the opening game, victories over Scotland and Wales gave Ireland the title, Beamish's first Championship win. In late 1935 Beamish was selected to face his first overseas team when the touring New Zealand team came to Ireland. Ireland played well, and despite Beamish scoring his only international try during this game, it was not enough to stop the All Blacks. In 1936 Beamish was invited to tour Argentina with the

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

References

Biography

* 1908 births 1984 deaths Barbarian F.C. players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland British Army personnel of World War II Harlequin F.C. players Ireland international rugby union players Irish rugby union players Leicester Tigers players North of Ireland F.C. players Rugby union players from Cork (city) Rugby union props {{Ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub