Rupert Renorden Sandilands (7 August 186820 April 1946) was an English international

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as an

outside left In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

Early and personal life

Sandilands was born on 7 August 1868 at the vicarage in

Denford Denford is a small village and civil parish situated in North Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish population was 250 people, increasing to 282 at the 2011 census. The villages name means 'valley ford'. The vi ...

, near

Thrapston Thrapston is a market town and civil parish in the North Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. It was the headquarters of the former East Northamptonshire district, and at the time of the 2021 census, had a pop ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

, where his father Percival was the vicar. He was the youngest of six children. By 1881 the family was living at Lyvdene School in Devon, where his father was schoolmaster. Sandilands attended

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

. He worked in London as a clerk for the Bank of England. In addition to his football career, he also played hockey and cricket.

Football career

Sandilands played football whilst attending

, and played club football for

Old Westminsters The following people were educated at Westminster School in London, and are sometimes listed with OW (Old Westminster) after their name (collectively, OWW). There are over 900 Old Westminsters listed in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biogra ...

, Casuals, Corinthian and

Ealing Ealing () is a district in west London (sub-region), west London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. It is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Pl ...

. He earned five caps for the England national side between 1892 and 1896, scoring three goals. His first appearance for England was against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in March 1892; he scored England's second goal in a 2–0 victory. He had previously played for an England XI against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in a match not regarded as an official international.

Later life and death

Sandilands had retired from the Bank of England by 1939. He was living in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. The town is the administrative centre of the wider Lewes (district), district of the same name. It lies on the River Ouse, Sussex, River Ouse at the point where the river cuts through the Sou ...

and died in

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

on 20 April 1946, aged 77.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandilands, Rupert 1868 births 1946 deaths English men's footballers England men's international footballers Old Westminsters F.C. players Casuals F.C. players Corinthian F.C. players Men's association football outside forwards People educated at Westminster School, London People from North Northamptonshire Footballers from Northamptonshire