Charles John Cliff Touzel (1855 – 24 August 1899) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

priest who became the rector of

Heswall Heswall () is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was historically part of Cheshire and became part of Merseyside in 1974. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 202 ...

in Cheshire. In his younger days he was a

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 ...

player of note, representing Cambridge University and winning two international caps for

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Early life

Touzel was born in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

, Cheshire, in 1855, and was baptised 7 June of that year. He was the only son of Charles Touzel, a superintendent for the South American Steam Navigation Company, and his wife Mary Cliff. Touzel was educated at

Wellington College Wellington College may refer to: New Zealand * Wellington College, Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington College of Education, now the Faculty of Education of Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Girls' College, Wellington, N ...

before matriculating to

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

in 1874. He received his BA in 1878, and his MA in 1881. On receiving his BA he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

as a

Deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England cathedral in Worcester, England, Worcester, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Worcester and is the Mother Church# ...

. He was made a priest in 1879, and was a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

of Coventry from 1878 to 1880. In 1880 he became the Rector of Heswall, until he availed himself of the provisions of "The Clerical Disabilities Relief Act 1870", and disclaimed his Orders in 1886 to study law. On 2 December 1886 he was admitted to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

, though by 1888 he was a captain in the 3rd Battalion of the

Royal Welsh Fusiliers The Royal Welch Fusiliers () was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, and part of the Prince of Wales's Division, that was founded in 1689, shortly after the Glorious Revolution. In 1702, it was designated a fusilier regiment and becam ...

. He later moved to

Oswestry Oswestry ( ; ) is a market town, civil parish and historic railway town in Shropshire, England, close to the England–Wales border, Welsh border. It is at the junction of the A5 road (Great Britain), A5, A483 road, A483 and A495 road, A495 ro ...

where he took residence at Rhysnant Hall, before returning to live in Heswall. He died at the age of 44 at Cotswold Sanatorium. In memory of Touzel one of the bells of St Peters parish church in Heswall is dedicated to him.

Rugby career

Touzel first played rugby as a schoolboy, and was a member of the Wellington College team. On matriculating to Cambridge, he was selected for the University team gaining three sporting 'Blues' when he played 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 ...

es of 1874, 1875 and 1876. Described as a 'brilliant forward', Touzel saw Cambridge draw in 1874, the final 20-a-side Varsity Match, lose in 1875 and win in 1876. In

1877 Events January * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed Empress of India by the Royal Titles Act 1876, introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great Sioux War of 1876: Batt ...

, while still playing for Cambridge University, he was called up to represent England in their third encounter with

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 ...

. Played at

Kennington Oval Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

, this was the first England game played under the new 15-a-side rules, and despite the reduction of the teams, down from 20, Touzel was one of five newly capped players. The England selectors had chosen a light forward pack to aid running with the ball, and although the Irish pack played well their poor kicking tactics allowed England to dominate, winning 2–0. Just over a month later, Touzel was given his second international call up, this time an away game to Scotland. The game was a dour affair, which Scotland controlled throughout. The game was decided by a long range drop goal from Scotland's

Malcolm Cross Malcolm Cross was a Scotland international rugby union player.Bath, p136 Rugby Union career Amateur career He played for Merchistonians. Provincial career Cross was capped by Glasgow District to play against Edinburgh District in the int ...

, and Touzel never represented his country again. Despite the end of his international career, Touzel continued to play rugby, representing both

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and

Blackheath F.C. Blackheath Football Club is a rugby union club based in Well Hall, Eltham, in south-east London. The club was founded in Blackheath in 1858 and is the oldest open rugby club in continuous existence in the world. The Blackheath club also assi ...

Griffiths (1892) p. 484

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Touzel, Charles 1855 births 1899 deaths English rugby union players England international rugby union players Rugby union forwards Rugby union players from Birkenhead People educated at Wellington College, Berkshire Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Blackheath F.C. players Royal Welch Fusiliers officers Liverpool St Helens F.C. players