George Aldwyn Methuen Isherwood (1889-1974) 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 ...

international who was part of the first official

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

team that toured South Africa in 1910.

Early life

George Aldwyn Methuen Isherwood was born on 3 February 1889 in

Barton upon Irwell Barton upon Irwell (also known as Barton-on-Irwell or Barton) is a suburb of Salford, in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 12,462 in 2014. History Barton Old Hall, a brick-built house degraded to a farmhouse, was the seat of the ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

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 ...

. He was the son of the stone and builder's merchant, Samuel G Isherwood and Annie Methuen (daughter of Scottish chemist Richard Methuen). He also had a younger sister Dorothy. For a time he lived on the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

whilst boarding at

Ramsey Grammar School Ramsey Grammar School is a coeducational comprehensive secondary school located in Ramsey, on the Isle of Man. History A grammar school has existed in Ramsey since 1681. It moved to Lezayre Road in 1933 and was housed in a building that now f ...

, but went on to attend

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

in south London where he played both rugby and cricket for the school.

Rugby career

Isherwood went on to play for

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and played regularly for that county side in the 1909 season.Sporting Honours : Old Alleynians from the 1910 yearbook Page 245/395
Isherwood also played for Sale and was part of the 50th anniversary team that swept to an unprecedented season record of P 26, W 24, D 2. Although P.H. Davies is counted as Sale's first international (having been picked to play for England in 1927), it was Isherwood who was Sale's first representative in an international Test match, when he played in all three tests of the 1910

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

tour to South Africa at scrum-half. Isherwood was selected for this first official tour (in that it was sanctioned and selected by the four Home Nations official governing bodies) and took part in twenty out of the twenty four matches played, including all three ‘Tests'. He was said to have played a useful and consistent game at half.Sporting Honours : Old Alleynians from the 1910 yearbook Page 395
Despite playing for the British team, he was never selected for England.

First World War

Isherwood fought in the

Royal Field Artillery The Royal Field Artillery (RFA) of the British Army provided close artillery support for the infantry. It was created as a distinct arm of the Royal Regiment of Artillery on 1 July 1899, serving alongside the other two arms of the regiment, the ...

in the first world war, rising to the rank of captain. Amongst the theatres of wars in which he served were Egypt, in September 1914 and in Gallipoli in May 1915.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isherwood, George 1889 births 1974 deaths English rugby union players Rugby union scrum-halves Sale Sharks players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from England People educated at Dulwich College English people of Scottish descent Rugby union players from Greater Manchester British Army personnel of World War I Royal Field Artillery officers Military personnel from Manchester 20th-century English sportsmen